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1 South African Tank Regiment

Field	Value
unit_name	1 South African Tank Regiment
image	SANDF 1 South African Tank Regiment emblem ver 2.png
caption	SANDF 1 SA Tank Regiment emblem
dates	1999 to present
country
branch
type	Armoured Regiment
command_structure	South African Armoured Formation
garrison	Tempe, Bloemfontein
motto	We make the rules.
equipment	Olifant Mk.2 main battle tank
commander2	Lt Colonel William Nondala
commander2_label	2nd OC
commander3	Lt Colonel W.O. Jansen
commander3_label	OC 2012
identification_symbol_2	Black
identification_symbol_2_label	Beret Colour
identification_symbol_3	[[File:SANDF Armour squadron emblems.jpg	200px	SANDF Armour squadron emblems]]
identification_symbol_3_label	Armour Squadron emblems
identification_symbol_4	[[File:SANDF Armour beret bar.jpg	200px	SANDF Armour beret bar]]
identification_symbol_4_label	Armour beret bar circa 1992

1 South African Tank Regiment is an armoured regiment of the South African Army, based at the Tempe military base in Bloemfontein as part of the South African Army Armour Formation.

History

Origin

The Regiment was established in April 1999, composed of members of the old Tank Wing of the National Defence Force's School of Armour.

Role

This unit supplies the only full-time tank force to the SA Army.

Lt Col William Nondala, the second CO, was the first black commanding officer appointed in the country's Armoured Corps.

There were 724 available posts, but only 335 were staffed and 389 vacant in 2005. The highest shortage level (75%) was experienced at the level of trooper.

Equipment and Operations

The unit trains jointly with the reserve force units to enhance the ‘one force’ concept, because the reserve force is the expansionary capability of the SANDF in times of national defence. There is however only a small percentage of active reserves, because training call-ups are limited, due to budgetary constraints.

It is equipped with the Olifant Mk.2 main battle tank. The unit's structure is a ‘type 38 regiment’, with 2 tanks at regimental headquarters and 12 tanks each in the three operational squadrons. There are also support squadrons and tank transport squadrons. [[File:Olifants in storage.JPG |thumb|Olifants parked at 1 Tank Regiment, Tempe]]

The Olifant tanks have been significantly upgraded with new power packs and stabilized night vision equipment. The vehicles are also capable of fire on the move manoeuvres. The Olifants may be replaced with a small number of new Main Battle Tanks some time after 2018.

SANDF Oliphant mark 2 main battle tank at African Aerospace and Defence 2016

Tank transporter at SANDF Armed Forces Day 2017 in [[Durban

Due to a lack of funds for their primary armoured role and a shortage of regular infantry, the unit has recently been deployed in their secondary line infantry role on border patrol and external peacekeeping operations in central Africa. The C (or third) squadron was deployed from April to July 2004 along the Lesotho border and received praise from the Tactical headquarters, police and the farming community. Another squadron was deployed from December 2004 to March 2005. Several members of the unit have also been deployed to the Democratic Republic of Congo, DRC as part of the United Nations’ peacekeeping force MONUSCO and in Burundi as VIP protectors.

Insignia

Previous Dress Insignia

| File:SANDF 1 South African Tank Regiment beret badge.png | SANDF 1 South African Tank Regiment beret badge | File:SANDF 1 South African Tank Regiment Tupper Flash.png | SANDF 1 South African Tank Regiment Tupper Flash

Current Dress Insignia

| File:SANDF Armoured Formation beret badge.png | SANDF Armoured Formation beret badge circa 1996 forward

References

(29 August 2013). "Armour Formation: About Us". RSA Department of Defence.
(1 March 2010). "Fact file: 1 SA Tank Regiment". Defence Web.
(13 December 2010). "Armour Formation: Structure". RSA Department of Defence.
(2005). "Portfolio Committee on Defence report 2004". Parliamentary Monitoring Group.

Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

armoured-regiments-of-south-africa military-units-and-formations-in-bloemfontein military-units-and-formations-established-in-1999 1999-establishments-in-south-africa

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