Reflections On My Time In The South African Defence Force During The Bush / Border War Poem by Gert Strydom

Forethought

There is in my memories sacred, holy and quiet places
where only the happy, expectant and painful faces
of men that will be forever young belong
and do return as if they are still with me
as in the time that they served their country.

Now during a time when few do understand,
do not even know the complexities of the people of this land
I do not let people easily enter that holy ground
its laughter, pain and destructive sound
of broken fragments are lost and forgotten to most
although the great majority of those who had served still survive
that savage border / bush war and are alive
but are somewhat shell-shocked
with lives forever changed and rocked
and I remain one of them,

in thoughts do live through experiences of war,
with its destruction, heartache and gore,
and the way of life where I had being forced to obey
and had to live out monotonous day after day
in sweltering heat and unending dust
with the enemy ever present and near to us

and those moments when men were forced to be friends
were ostracized by the world and used for political ends
remains in my memories and cannot be erased,
nor the faces of the buddies who shared what they had
or the times that were both good and bad
when we waited in the predawn morning quietness
for the enemy to attack or to start firing,
standing firm with reserve and aloofness
and that moment was almost a shivering living thing.

*

Basics

During the time of hurry up and wait
when entering National service
the only perspective that I got
was that time was wasted
and of it a great lot

but then that nasty PTI-corporal came along
and he looked somewhat mean and strong
and we had to run and exercise to get fighting fit
and during movement and fire tactics accurately hit
the targets that we were given
although the terrain was full of obstacles and uneven
while we were being fired upon with life ammunition

and obedience and respect
was expected with immediate effect
while discipline and tidiness was a never-ending thing
and to fit in and to work as a team
was the main theme
and days of harassment to break the individual spirit
(as I was not the instructor's favourite)
stays with me
and probably will do so eternally.

[Reference: PTI is Physical Training Instructor.]


*

Guard duty [Italian sonnet]


During basic training
my first time being on guard duty
is something that stays with me
and that cloudless evening

when I was walking
up and down on patrol and tried to see
anything that should not be
and then suddenly there was something:

a match lighting up and the flare of a cigarette
next to the big old oak tree
and in adventure my spirit did exalt
at finding instructors acting against military etiquette
and perhaps in great glee
I cocked the submachine-gun and called halt

*

At 12 Medical Supply Depot


At 12 MSD in Durban
the commanding officer, Commandant Caruthers
was a professional man, a great leader and person
and at that military unit so was every officer
with whom we did serve

and it was while I and corporal David Barry was on guard duty,
(at the time before we became non-commissioned-officers)
that we were talking about Irene the CO's civilian secretary
whom Dave said liked me a lot and she was really lovely

when we noticed an old blue Datsun car acting strangely,
driving up and down and past slowly,
as if the person's in it were observing our facility,
stopping to drop off men to seal off the road
and then that car drove right up to the roller shutter door
that led into 12 MSD.

We could not reach our head quarters by radio
and Dave went to phone Natal Command
while I went to that roller-shutter-door
to observe what the people in the car were doing.

That car's doors opened and men armed with AK-47 rifles
and a RPG-7V rocket launcher got out
and that was the cue to me
to ram the barrel of the R2 submachine-gun
right through the opening next to the door,
to cock it while saying halt
and to be ready to open fire.

At that instant I prayed that the Lord would provide
that I would not have to kill a man or several men
to be able to survive
and then something strange happened.

Those men got right back into that blue car,
with screaming tires it reversed
and drove off.

[References: The rank of Commandant is equal to that of Lieutenant Colonel.

'The 7.62mm R2 (3 Gewehrn 3A3) Assault Rifle: is designated the G3 by its German originators, Heckler & Koch, this rifle fires the NATO 7.62 x 51 mm 'long round', in common with the R1, and is in use as a standard service rifle in many armies. A development of the Spanish CETME design, which is in turn a development of the German World War Two StG45(M) , the G3 is, like the FAL, a reliable weapon, if somewhat less attractive and robust. It is designated the R2 in South Africa. The rifle is made from sheet metal stampings and plastic fitments, making for simple and economical manufacture. Like the R1, the R2 has a grenade launcher incorporated into the muzzle design (firing the same grenade) , and fits a 20-round box magazine. In contrast to the R1, however, the R2 has a rotary V-rear sight as opposed to a sliding peep-sight With a cyclic rate of between 500 and 600 rpm, the R2 has an automatic rate of 100 rpm and a single shot rate of 40 rpm.'

'The 7.62 mm AK47 (Avtomat Kalashnikova) : Originated in 1947, the AK47 was the first generation of true Soviet assault rifles. Manufactured by most Warsaw Pact and Eastern Communist nations, the AK, the newer, modified AKM, and the SKM-S (folding metal stock version) have reached a production total in excess of 50 million units - the most extensively manufactured small arm in the world. This highly efficient gas-operated, selective fire weapon delivers the Soviet 7.62 x 39 mm Type M43 round at a cyclic rate of fire of up to 600 rounds per minute, translating to an automatic rate of 100 rpm, or single shot rate of 40 rpm. The AK47 fits a 30- or 40-round magazine and weighs 5,1 kg, as against the AKM's 4 kg.'

'The RPG-7V (Reaktivniy Protivotankovyi Granatomet-7) Anti-Tank Launcher is the standard man-portable shoulder-launched, short-range anti-armour weapon of the Warsaw Pact countries and their allies, the RPG-7 replaced the RPG-2 in 1962, with devastating versatility. The shoulder-rested launcher fires a 2,25 kg 85 mm calibre projectile (termed PG-7) which, powered by an internal rocket, gives short flight-time and flat trajectory. Accuracy, aided by an excellent range-finding Type PGO-7V optical sight, is possible up to 400 m, given good weather and a stationary target - but still largely dependent on the ability of the firer. Beyond 400 m accuracy decreases, and in windy conditions can be as low as 200 m. It is accurate on moving targets up to 300 m. The PG-7 round is a hollow charge anti-tank round capable of armour-penetration up to 200 mm to 230 mm, while the portability of the RPG-7 makes it one of the world's best anti-tank weapons. However, its support and attack versatility in the insurgency role is of greater interest in Southern Africa: it has been used (in Rhodesia and South West Africa) against homesteads, administrative buildings, civil and military vehicles, and as an ad hoc infantry support weapon with equal effect.'

*

Oblivion

They did drink themselves into oblivion
or so it seems
where I lay without dreams,
are full of emotion
from the last letter that I did receive

and the rest of the bungalow drank without instigation
where throughout the night they turn, roll and stretch
as if meeting a somnambulant requirement
and they smell like sour rotten beer
while I wish for all memories and my love of her
to fade away into the naught.


*

Across a dried river bed

Galloping across a dried river bed to the other side
sand shoot up under the hooves of the horse
while the R-4 on its swing band keeps hitting me
and I have got to be careful to avoid any branches
on the other bank
as they are full of scratching, stinging thorns
and then suddenly the horse senses something,
tenses under me and I see a glint
before all hell breaks loose in a cacophony of enemy fire
and we are right upon them
where I draw the horse to a sudden halt with stones flying
and see white eyes in pitch-black faces
while the R-4 comes alive in my hands
and I feel muscles quivering below me,
smell the sweet-sour horse smell with the acrid smell of gunpowder
and everything is deadly silent.

[Reference: 'The 5.56mm R4 Assault Rifle is the result of international operational study, and a blend of advanced 5.56 mm technology, the South African-manufactured R4 is in all respects an ideal assault rifle. Combining the best features of the Russian AK47, the American M16A1 and the Finnish M62 assault rifles, the R4 integrates many refinements to provide unusual versatility: a folding bipod mount provides for steady, accurate selective or automatic fire - as well as providing wire cutters and a bottle opener. The muzzle flash-suppressor acts as a grenade launcher support, while the sights are luminous for night use. Sufficiently heavy barrelled to double as a light machine gun, the R4 also features a metal folding stock, well suiting it to mechanised, airborne or mounted warfare. Weighing 3,5 kg unloaded, the R4 fits a 35- or 50-round curved magazine, and its stripping and assembly procedures follow those of the AK series. It fires the 5.56 x 45 mm cartridge at a cyclic rate of 600 rounds per minute, or 105 rpm on automatic, and 40 rpm single shot over an effective range of 500 metres.']

*

The ritual

That ritual to do things in a certain way
that is right from a military perspective,
to constantly clean and prepare
gives a certain kind of comfort
and self-confidence to the boy-man
who jumps from airplanes,
who rush out of Puma-helicopters
into the hell bound firing fray.

*

The vigil

With binoculars I watch across the river
that teams with crocodiles,
that has got a few hippos
and unconcerned they go on with life
while that river churns and flows on
and on the other shore there are dark shadows
or is it just my imagination?

More clinical I reexamine the enemy territory
that can far too easily become a killing ground,
notice a female lion stretching out with her two cubs
and it seems peaceful in that hostile vista
when we are ready to cross the river
and a single fully grown acacia tree on the other side
is sculptured against the cumulus.

*

After takeoff

After takeoff
strapped into harness,
I meet a sea of eyes
see the pre-jump tension
while alone each man
is stuck in his own private thoughts,
and the air out of the bottle strapped on my back
oozes cool through the breathing mask
and we are together and yet I feel alone
with the thundering roar of the engines
going on and on.

*

Contact

Jumping down from the puma helicopter
we went down crouching
ready to fire
while the others completed
the defensive ring
just below the whining blades
that chattered away.

The tracker was like a hound on the enemy spoor
silently followed the tracks watching the shadows,
becoming one of them
with his R1-rifle cradled in his arms.

Kneeling at the unsettled leaves
waiting on the shadows of men to join him
for the warriors of his fathers
that went with assegais to do service for
Shaka and Dingaan
as the amaZulu people
and tensing he beckons me to join him,
points out the enemy that does not notice us.

Ready we meet on the killing ground,
our mortars rain down
and the chatter of their return fire
kick dust up around us,
the LMG clears the bush
with bursts from my side
and the smell of death and blood
is with silence in the air.

[References: 'The 7.62mm R1 (FN FAL) Assault Rifle is one of the most successful of the weapons produced by Belgium's Fabrique Nationale d'Armes de Guerre, the FAL (Fusil Automatique Legere - light automatic rifle) has been adopted by over 70 countries, and remains the principal assault rifle of the NATO Alliance. Manufactured under licence in South Africa, and designated the R1 it is a reliable and robust weapon. Capable of selective or fully automatic fire, the R1 is also fitted with a heavy barrel and bipod thus converting it into a squad-level light machine gun. It delivers the standard NATO 7.62 x 51 mm 'long round' from a 20-round magazine, and weighs 4,31 kg unloaded. The FAL was originally available in a selective-fire only model, designated the R3, but this has subsequently been converted to standard R1 configuration. The R1 will ultimately make way for the 5.56 mm calibrated R4, which is a lighter and more compact weapon. Interestingly, the Rl's muzzle velocity, at 840 metres per second, is 125 mps faster than the Soviet AKM assault rifle at 715 mps, but 140 mps slower than the R4 at 980 mps. The R1 has a cyclic rate of fire of 650 to 700 rpm, an automatic rate of 120 rpm, and a single shot rate of 60 rpm over an effective range of 600 to 700 metres.'

The light machine gun (LMG) 'FN MAC (Mitrailleuse a Gaz) is yet another product of Belgium's Fabrique Nationale and, like so many other FN products, demonstrates first class engineering ability. This weapon combines the operating system of the Browning automatic rifle with a belt-feed mechanism similar to the German MG42. Developed and introduced in the mid-1950s, it was rapidly recognised as one of the best general purpose machine guns available. Designed to be used as an LMG on a bipod, it is also used as a heavy machine gun when tripod mounted. The FN MAG is gas operated, belt fed, has a quick change barrel and fires the standard NATO 7.62 x 51 mm cartridge from a 50-round disintegrating link belt. Its cyclic rate of fire is adjustable from 600 rpm up to 1 000 rpm, with an automatic rate of 250 rpm. Its muzzle velocity is 840 metres per second, with an effective range of 800 metres bipod mounted and 1 400 metres tripod mounted. At 10,8 kg the bipod mounted MAG is light enough to be carried by an infantryman, while spare 50-round belts weigh 1,47 kg each.']