Commando system

The Commando system is a volunteer, part-time force of the South African Army."About the Commando system". Retrieved 2008-01-17. Commandos are assigned urban or rural areas to safeguard, and are charged with protecting all other persons in their area. The Commando system has existed since the 1770's.

The early Boer Commando system was a conscriptive service designed to provide a quickly-trained fighting force.

After the declaration of peace in 1902, the commandos were disbanded. They did reform themselves in clandestine "shooting clubs". In 1912, the commandos were reformed as a Active Citizen Force in the Union Defence Force. This system was in operation until in February 2003, President Mbeki announced the disbanding of the commando system over six years, to be replaced by 'specialised police units'. The Democratic Alliance has stated that this action is a 'total disaster'.

It´s spokesman, Armiston Watson said "that the disbanding of the rural commandos (announced by the government in 2003) was an irresponsible political move which now leaves all farmers and farm workers defenceless and easy targets for criminals."

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Agri SA Chairman Kiewiet Ferreira, a farmer in the central Free State Province town of Harrismith said: "We need commandos, and we see them as one of the backbones of the rural protection plan, without a doubt" He also pointed out that, in 1998, former President Nelson Mandela included the commandos in a rural security plan, and "encouraged farmers, especially white farmers, to join the commandos and help in rural protection". "If you [take into account] how many operations commandos have been involved in, under the police - more than 50,000 operations in 2001 and 37,000 operations in 2002 (most of them road-blockades, foot patrols, vehicle patrols, farm visits, manning of observation posts) - that's nearly 90,000 operations in two years," Ferreira said.

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Structure

At least during the Second Boer War each commando was attached to a town, after which it was named (e.g. Bloemfontein Commando). Each town was responsible for a district, divided into wards.The Commando was commanded by a Kommandant and each ward by a Veldkornet or fieldcornet ( equavilent of a senior NCO rank)

The Veldkornet was responsible not only for calling up the burghers, but also for policing his ward, collecting taxes, issueing firearms and other material in times of war. Theoretically, a ward was divided into corporalships. A corporalship was usually made up of about 20 burghers. Sometimes entire families ( farthers,sons,uncles,cousins) filled a corporalship.

The Veldkornet was responsible to the Kommandant, who in turn was responsible to a General. In theory, a General was responsible for four commandos. He in turn was Responsible to the Commander-in-Chief of the Republic. In the Transvaal, the C-in-C was called the Commandant-General and in the Free State the Hoofdkommandant or Chief Commandant. The C-in-C was responsible to the President.

Other auxiliary ranks were created in war time, such as " Vleis Korporaal" or meat corporal, responsible for issuing rations.

"The farmer-commandos receive a few weekends of training as army reservists and are each given an assault rifle. When they respond to an incident, the police do, too. But the police force is stretched thin in farm areas, trying to cover vast areas with few officers or vehicles. The farmers often get there much sooner." [[3]]

The retirement age of members of the commandos is 65 though it can be extented to 75 years. [[4]]

Weaponry

From the early days up until the present, the commandos were issued with firearms by the government of the day. The burghers were obliged to keep these firearms serviceable and ready at all times.

See also

• Military history of South Africa
• South African farm attacks