Special Forces
Willy James Harold “Kaweli” Ward
Special Force HQ
Special Forces Headquarters was established in 1974, at the Zanza Building in Pretoria. The General Officer Commanding Special Forces co-ordinates and commands the activities of the Special Forces Regiments from Special Forces Headquarters and the Senior Staff...
2 Recce
2 Reconnaissance Regiment was the Citizen Force, (Territorial Army), unit of the South African Special Forces. This unit was established in Pretoria as 2 Reconnaissance Commando in 1974.
5 Recce
5 Special Forces Regiment is based in Phalaborwa in the east of the northern Limpopo Province. It was established in Durban in 1976, with a sojourn at Duku Duku in northern KwaZulu-Natal. The unit moved into its present lines, near the Kruger National Park, in 1980....
4 Recce
This is the Seaborne Special Forces Regiment in South Africa. The unit was first established as 4 Reconnaissance Commando in 1978, at Langebaan, and comprised the original Charlie Group of 1 Reconnaissance Commando. Initially, the compliment of 4 Reconnaissance...
1 Recce
The 1 Reconnaissance Commando was the first South African special forces unit, founded by General Fritz Loots - the founder of the South African Special Forces, and the first General Officer Commanding of the South African Special Forces. He appointed 11 qualified...
José “Mr T” Da Costa
Da Costa was born in Lobito, then a lively coastal town in the Benguela province of Angola, to a white Portuguese father and a mother from one of the local tribes. In early 1976 Da Costa arrived at Buffalo Base in the Western Caprivi with a group of ex-FNLA soldiers,...
Gregory Ashton
He was a sergeant in 1 Recce Commando, qualifying in 1977. After years of operations, including as a mountaineering instructor, and team leader, he left for Wits University to study further. Soon, he was back at 1 Recce Regiment and eyed (wrongly) with much suspicion...
Schalk W. Fourie
Schalk W. Fourie served in 1 Reconnaissance Commando/Regiment between 1978 and 1988. As such, and as a demolitions/explosives expert, he was involved in all major Special Forces missions of that era. SW started his military career as a national serviceman at 1 Special...
M26 Hand Grenade
This is the American M26, a High-Explosive-Fragmentation (HE-Frag), Anti-Personnel (AP), delay (DLY) detonating, hand-grenade which has a notched fragmentation coil liner including the M26A1, A2 and A3 and is manufactured in various countries. Its distinct lemon shape...
Frans J. Fourie
During his career, he went on many operations, mostly with the seaborne specialists, 4 Recce. Some were spectacular, like Ops Kerslig where he won the Honoris Crux and many more. His list of decorations besides the Honoris Crux (HC) is the Southern Cross Medal (SM),...
Mike West
Jacobus Johannes “Koos” Stadler
A Breed Apart
The inside story of a Recce's Special Forces training year The South African Special Forces, or Recces, has always been known for their gruelling selection course that pushes soldiers to the ends of their physical and mental limits. Many sign up for it; only a select...
1 Recce
The Night Belongs to Us Every AK-47 is now firmly trained on the approaching man. Adrenaline pumps through the operators’ veins. They hold their breath, their hearts in their mouths. 1 Recce. One of the sharpest, most versatile and deadliest specialist units in the...