This book captures the experience of the South African Air Force helicopter pilot as never before; from 'rookie' to seasoned combat aviator in one of history's most intense counterinsurgency conflicts - the South African Border War.Nick Lithgow's work relates the grueling endurance of SADF National Service and its grind, grind, grind ... until one day, helicopter drills with an SAAF Puma, saw him optimistically apply for pilot training. Called to Pretoria, Nick completed the mandat...

What really happened during South Africa’s military involvement in Angola? Did the military leaders always see eye to eye with the politicians – and with each other? Was South Africa responsible for the death of Mozambican President Samora Machel? What was the extent of South Africa’s nuclear programme? How did South Africa’s military machine deal with the end of apartheid? Based on interviews with the former generals of the South African Defence Force, Days of the Generals addresses these...

For over half a million white South African males conscripted before 1994, National Service was a compulsory, demanding and intense experience that had a powerful impact on them. This book is a compilation of recollections by more than forty former conscripts about their time in the South African Defence Force. The chapters take you through the sequence of a National Serviceman’s career: receiving call-up papers, klaaring in, Basics, keuring, bush phase, second-phase training, general serv...

‘Both my guns are jammed. I’m dead meat, a sitting duck. All the insurgent has to do is pull the trigger of his RPG-7 rocket launcher. My heart surges, pumping pure adrenalin through my body and my mind.’ Arn Durand was a member of Koevoet, the most deadly fighting force involved in the Border War. Their task was to seek and destroy SWAPO PLAN insurgents. Zulu Zulu Foxtrot is an explosive account of Durand’s time with Koevoet during the mid-1980s, during which he went deeper into Angola th...

‘There is no dignity in death. Six bodies are piled up in front of me, shot to shit. I can see that their bones are white, their blood is red and their brains are yellow. I’ve done this; I’ve helped to kill them.’ A unit of the South African Police, Koevoet was the most deadly fighting force involved in the Border War. This is the story of Arn Durand’s first years with Koevoet, from 1982 to 1983. Through his eyes, the madness, mayhem and complexity of war come alive as he describes patrols...

Brutally honest and devoid of hyperbole, this is Roelf van Heerden's Executive Outcomes. / Unapologetic, unassuming and forthright, the combat exploits of Executive Outcomes (EO) in Angola and Sierra Leone are recounted for the first time by a battlefield commander who was physically on the ground during all their major combat operations. From fighting UNITA for the critical oil installations and diamond fields of Angola to the offensive against the RUF in Sierra Leone to capture the Kono ...

"Spotlights the career of a fascinating modern warrior, while also shedding light on some of the conflicts that have raged throughout the world" ( Tucson Citizen).A former South African Air Force pilot who saw action throughout the region from the 1970s on, Neall Ellis is the best-known mercenary combat aviator alive. Apart from flying Alouette helicopter gunships in Angola, he fought in the Balkan war for the Islamic forces, tried to resuscitate Mobutu's a...

RELUCTANTLY KICKING KITTENS By Dan Pienaar (A tale of the Southern African Bush War) “ A journey into the soul of an accidental warrior.” A. Hoon “It’s like Asterix meets Shakespearean Tragedy” B.v.L. This powerful point-of-view book recounts Adam Black’s life-changing experiences during the Angolan Border War as a teenage conscript. Adam Black is a young boy/man on two epic juxtaposed and simultaneous journeys. War and first-hand battle experiences induce extreme stresses on its participa...

Zulu Foxtrot Reloaded covers Durand's last two of six years with the unit. Once again patrols, ambushes and contacts, situations of certain death, dealings with the enemy and relationships with Ovambo colleagues. Except now, what it was also like to be a killing machine in the heat of battle while becoming a loving husband and father and having to alternate mindset between surviving the murder and mayhem as well as family life.Told just how it was experienced without pulling any stops.

A thoughtful, reflective narrative of a reluctant soldier that captures the rhythms of life in war as well as the boredom and chaos of Vietnam.At the height of the Vietnam War, Charles Carr left graduate school to serve in the army in Southeast Asia, knowing that if he didn't, another man would go—and possibly die—in his place. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion of the 47th Infantry (Mechanized) in the northern Mekong Delta for a tour of forcing himself through r...

1 Recce. One of the sharpest, most versatile and deadliest specialist units in the South African Defence Force. These men - superfit and unbelievably tough - were dauntless. Time and again they put their lives on the line in covert operations that were mostly conducted under the cover of night, far behind enemy lines. For decades, the participants have kept silent about these secret missions. Now, for the first time, the Recces' legendary commanders reveal details about their many politica...

The SAS veteran, mercenary and author of No Mean Soldier looks back on a life of combat in this revised and expanded edition of his classic memoir.Peter McAleese's No Mean Soldier set the bar for the modern military memoir. This completely revised and expanded edition sees a philosophical McAleese revisiting his time with Britain's Parachute Regiment, the SAS, Rhodesia's SAS and the South African Defense Force's 44 Para Brigade. Peter also recount...