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P 251021Z SEP 09
FM AMEMBASSY PRETORIA
TO SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9684
INFO AFRICAN UNION COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
SECDEF WASHDC PRIORITY
CIA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
DIA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY

UNCLAS PRETORIA 001950 
 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: MCAP PGOV MASS SF
SUBJECT: SOUTH AFRICA: FORMER GENERAL TROUBLED BY THE STATE 
OF THE SANDF 
 
REF: PRETORIA 1825 
 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: Brigadier General (Ret) George Kruys, now a 
lecturer at University of Pretoria, shared with Poloffs  his 
perspective on the current state of the South African 
National Defense Force (SANDF).  Kruys discussed lack of 
discipline as a function of pressure on the institution from 
extended deployments, poor training, and high HIV and AIDS 
rates.  Kruys, who played a pivotal role in South Africa's 
military transformation, expressed concern that, despite 
promising new recruits, the SANDF might not be able to 
withstand the tremendous pressure it is facing from a variety 
of internal and external sources.  End summary. 
 
¶2. (SBU) General Kruys met recently with Poloffs to discuss 
his work in compiling a report entitled "South African Army 
Priorities and Roles in the Early 21st Century" for the 
Institute for Strategic Studies.  The report made local 
headlines with the revelation that the SANDF had recorded 
2,159 cases of disciplinary misdemeanors and military trials 
involving South African Africa troops deployed in 
peacekeeping missions in the Democratic Republic of Congo and 
Sudan over the past six years.  The news of the number of 
discipline cases involving SANDF peacekeepers came as a shock 
to South African readers accustomed to praise for South 
Africa's role in peacekeeping on the continent.  The report 
and the subsequent admission by Army Lieutenant-General Solly 
Shoke that ill discipline is a serious problem within the 
SANDF foreshadowed recent violent protests by soldiers (see 
Reftel). 
 
¶3. (SBU) The problem of ill-discipline in the SANDF is 
particularly troubling for Kruys, who was one of the early 
architects of the transformation of the apartheid-era South 
African Defense Force (SADF) into the SANDF.  Kruys briefly 
discussed his role in the early 1990's in commanding military 
forces sent to establish peace between African National 
Congress (ANC) and Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) irregulars. 
He also spoke of his work in integrating the ANC's military 
wing Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) paramilitary forces and allied 
paramilitary groups into the new South African military, the 
SANDF.  Kruys credited a 1993 month-long U.S. sponsored 
leadership course with playing a critical role in knitting 
together apartheid-era forces and newly integrated 
paramilitary into a single military command structure.  Kruys 
commented that one of the most difficult problems facing 
today's SANDF, resolving the status of, and assigning 
benefits to, Umkhonto we Sizwe veterans, is complicated by 
the lack of accurate personnel records on former ANC military 
operatives.  Encouraging the retirement of unskilled MK 
veterans from the SANDF is one of the biggest challenges the 
military faces in Kruys' view. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Kruys expressed a degree of optimism regarding the 
quality of the SANDF's new recruits, but he expressed concern 
that training practices in place, such as pass-one, pass-all, 
will prevent the military from utilizing fully the new talent 
it attracts.  Kruys would also like to see more joint 
operations to encourage the services to work together and 
learn from on another.  He expressed optimism that new 
initiatives are under way to address skills shortages in the 
military but was worried that the new programs would not 
reach large numbers of officers fast enough to counteract 
growing problems. 
 
¶5. (SBU) The problem of lack of discipline in the military 
took center stage on August 26 when a demonstration in 
Qtook center stage on August 26 when a demonstration in 
Pretoria of soldiers demanding wage increases turned violent. 
This problem was underscored when Defense Minister Liidiwe's 
Sisulu defended her decision to fire the striking soldiers. 
For General Kruys, discipline is lax in the SANDF because 
punishment is not implemented effectively and decisively.  He 
told POLOFFS that large numbers of SANDF soldiers are 
suspended without pay as their cases take up to two years to 
be reviewed.  Kruys commented that the SANDF's long 
deployments for peacekeeping operations are detrimental to 
strong discipline.  The retired general believes the South 
African military is over-stretched by overly long-duration 
deployments during which soldiers receive no training and are 
often bored.  Kruys believes that battalion-sized 
peacekeeping deployments are too large for the SANDF, and he 
added that deployment rotation schedules need to be 
addressed.  He said that expecting soldiers to be deployed 
for six out of every eighteen months is taxing on the 
personal lives of soldiers and leads to psychological 
problems. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Kruys noted that added to the SANDF's many other 
problems, an HIV rate that could be anywhere from 20 to 40 
percent is an enormous burden on the nascent institution. 
For Kruys, the hope for the SANDF lies in the future, which 
means that attention must be given to HIV testing for new 
recruits, to intensifying initial and in-service training, to 
planning for joint operations that will build rather than 
deplete skills.  Finally, General Kruys would like South 
Africa's political leaders consider to factor in the welfare 
and development of the SANDF when they consider peacekeeping 
commitments. 
 
 
GIPS