The SANDF is South Africa`s last line of defence, for use when diplomacy, the intelligence services and the military`s own attempts at deterrence have failed. US author James F Dunnigan called armed forces “one more bargaining chip in a state`s international diplomacy. If war comes, the armed forces have failed in their primary purpose: to appear too strong to be successfully attacked.”
The SANDF primarily consists of four Services, three combatant and one supporting, as well as a number of inter-service support establishments. The Services are the:
· SA Army (deemed established in 1912);
· SA Air Force (established 1920);
· SA Navy (established 1922 as the SA Naval Service); and the
· SA Military Health Service (established as the SA Medical Service in 1979).
A reorganisation in the late 1990s and further, usually unannounced, reorganisations since, have established the following supporting structures:
· Joint Operations Division. The Joint Operations Division is responsible for directing, planning and conducting operations in accordance with the Military Strategy and the “Employ Forces Strategy”. The missions cover all the three military strategic objectives, namely, “Defence against Aggression”, “Support to the People”, and “Promote Regional Security”.
· SANDF Corporate Services Division. The Corporate Staff Division has the provision of a sound centralised staff capability and service to the SANDF as mandate. Reliable and professional service in respect of planning, legal, defence foreign relations, corporate communication, defence reserves and chaplain services are expected. In April 2006 the division also assumed administrative responsible for the defence logistics agency, military policing and management information support to the SANDF.
· Human Resources Division. This division, established in April 2006, has under command the Human Resources Support Centre, Training Command, the Service Corps and the Chief Directorates Policy & Planning and Equal Opportunity, transferred from the Defence Secretariat.
· Defence Intelligence. Defence Intelligence is there to serve the DoD with intelligence in support of operations, planning and policy formulation.
