61 Mech | 61 Mech

By Maj Gen (Ret) Roland de Vries, SD, SM, MMM – former Officer Commanding 61 Mechanised Battalion Group from 1981 to 1982

Introduction — Badge of Courage and Valour

When looking at the shoulder flash of 61 Mechanised Battalion Group it inadvertently engenders a sense of roused excitement and heightened pride. This is true to the respective former members who served this proud unit loyally during its period of operational service. It is equally true to the current members of the Veterans Association of 61 Mechanised Battalion Group. The active years lasted close on 27 years – from the inception of the unit in 1979 until its disbandment in 2005. The badge of “61” struck both fear and created respect in the hearts and minds of its former enemies.

61 Mechanised Battalion Group was one of the South African units commended for its professionalism and military prowess by the Cubans for battles fought extremely successfully in Angola. This said announcement by a Cuban delegation during the peace negotiations of the Angolan War in 1989, serves as a tribute to the units’ fighting men. Most of the soldiers of 61 Mechanised Battalion Group at the time were young National Servicemen. These soldiers marshaled the now internationally recognised unit badge of 61 Mechanised Battalion Group with pride throughout all its military campaigns and operations conducted in Southern Africa. This was a badge that became a status symbol in the former South African Defence Force and later also in the South African National Defence force. This tribute was due to the unit’s widely recognised military professionalism and highly regarded operational standing.

Four yellow lightening bolts with a fighting dagger amidst them, emblazoned on a black shield, are striking features of the emblem of 61 Mechanised Battalion Group. The badge or shoulder flash of “61” was approved by Chief of the Army in 1981. It became the official symbol of 61 Mechanised Battalion Group from 1981 until the unit’s disbandment in 2005.

Historical Background — Marshalling the Coat of Arms

The design and evolvement of 61 Mechanised Battalion Group’s range of military badges and other insignia are inexplicitly linked to its organisational development path and previously assigned operational roles and tasks. The unit’s history, pertaining to the assigning and marshalling of its insignia, is briefly described below.

What was later to become 61 Mechanised Battalion Group was established in February 1978 as Combat Group Juliet. The unit was based on the organisation of a battalion group and was formed at Oshivello in South West Africa. Oshivello was renamed by Commandant Johan Dippenaar to Omuthiya in 1979. Omuthiya became the primary operational base of 61 Mechanised Battalion Group for operations conducted during the South West African and Angolan military campaigns.

Commandant Joep Joubert was appointed as the first commanding officer of Combat Group Juliet. The combat group was a temporary formation mainly utilizing a range of Ratel armored fighting vehicles as the core of its fighting force. The original purpose of the unit was to establish a mobile reserve for the South West African (SWA) Territorial Force and for lightening cross-border strikes into Angola. The main foe originally was the military wing of the South West Africa Peoples Organisation. They were operating from safe strategic and operational base areas and havens situated in Southern Angola. The enemy later included the Angolan government forces of FAPLA (People’s Armed Forces of Angola — “Forcas Armadas Popular de Angola”). The Angolan Government and its military forces were fully and openly supporting SWAPO with their cross-border military incursions into SWA. Both SWAPO and FAPLA were supported by Russian and East German military advisors as well as Cuban military forces.

Commandant Frank Bestbier was appointed as the second commanding officer of Combat Group Juliet. Under his command the unit successfully participated in Operation Reindeer in May 1978. Their target was the main forward operational headquarters of SWAPO for Southern Angola. This base was used as a training camp by them as well. Objective Bravo (Vietnam as SWAPO and the Angolans called it) was a network of six SWAPO bases in the vicinity of Chetequera. The enemy base also contained the forward headquarters for Western Ovamboland in South West Africa, which lay across the Angolan border. In addition it was an important supply base for the insurgents. Objective Bravo was situated approximately 30 kilometers inside Angola and was successfully attacked and destroyed by Combat Group Juliet on 4 May 1978.

The aftermath of Operation Reindeer led to the official establishment of 61 Mechanised Battalion Group on 1 January 1979. This historical step for the South African Defence Force and “61” was promulgated in terms of Chief of the Army’s Operations Order Number 1/79. The Army Order was dated 6 February 1979. This order was issued by the then serving Chief of the Army, Lieutenant General Constand Viljoen.

Commandant Johann Dippenaar was appointed as the first officer commanding and was responsible to formally establish the unit at Omuthiya. 61 Mechanised Battalion Group successfully participated in Operation Sceptic under his command in June 1980. This pre-emptive strike by the unit into Angola was commonly referred to as Operation Smokeshell. During this operation 61 Mechanised Battalion Group was responsible to destroy SWAPO command, control and logistic structures in Angola on 10 and 11 June 1980. The said enemy targets were located in the vicinity of Ionde in Southern Angola. The attack was followed up with the conduct of area operations against scattered enemy forces for a period lasting more than ten days.

Commandant Roland de Vries was appointed as the second commanding officer of 61 Mechanised Battalion Group. He served “61” from January 1981 until January 1983. This period is mentioned in particular as it relates to the maturity attained by the approved shoulder flash of the unit early in 1981. Well known operations that were carried out during this era by 61 Mechanised Battalion Group was respectively Operations Protea, Carrot, Yahoo, Makro, Daisy and Meebos. The newly approved shoulder flash of 61 Mechanised Battalion Group was adopted during Operation Protea in August 1981. This included the Operational Identification Emblem of the unit as well as the respective emblems adopted by the sub-units. Operation Protea was launched on 24 August 1981. The operation was heralded as one of the most successful large-scale conventional type actions in Africa since the last world war. A brigade size force, namely Task Force Alpha, executed a deliberate pre-emptive strike against conventional FAPLA units and formations positioned respectively at Humbe, Peu-Peu, Xangongo and Ongiva. Four mechanised combat groups constituted Task Force Alpha. 61 Mechanised Battalion Group, designated for this operation as Combat Group 10, formed the western attacking force. The unit attacked its objective at Humbe from the western side of the Kunene River.

Operation Protea provided indications of how things would be in the future. The war was escalating and the Angolan mechanised capabilities, air power and air defenses promised to become a serious threat in the future. SWAPO insurgents were also fighting side-by-side with FAPLA and Cuban conventional forces. Ratels were used extensively with decisive effect during these operations in a mobile aggressive role. The combat force operated in most instances far behind enemy lines.

Military operations were conducted successfully under a succession of professional and seasoned military commanders from 1978 to 2005. The unit was never defeated on the battlefield. The commanders and the soldiers of 61 Mechanised Battalion Group was highly trained and extremely adept at fighting fast moving offensive actions on the hoof. The unit became world renowned as it progressively fought and operated under its well known emblem – a fighting dagger and lightning bolts emblazoned on a black shield.

61 Mechanised Battalion Group was disbanded on 18 November 2005 at Lohatlha and then merged with 8 South African Infantry Battalion at Upington. The last serving Commanding Officer was Lieutenant Colonel Etienne Visagie. He was also responsible to close the unit in 2005. Since then former members of the unit have established a veteran’s organisation for 61 Mechanised Battalion Group. These veteran members still honour the memories of the unit and its soldiers and wear the badge with pride to date.

About the Badge and the Motto of “61” — “Mobilitate Vincere”

The fighting dagger on the unit’s black shield aptly symbolizes the elements of skill at arms and courage and valour on the battlefield. 61 Mechanised Battalion Group always new how to achieve its objectives with vigor; sometimes even under perilous conditions and mostly against all odds. A popular quote many times uttered under trying circumstances by its members was: “We fight through the objective, not onto the objective”. These last-mentioned elements are immortalized by the lightning bolts depicted in yellow on the badge. The four bolts surround a fighting dagger in silver and red, with an apex naturally formed at the bottom of the shield.

Holistically viewed the badge forms an attacking symbol. Refer to Figure 1, which illustrates the former and eventual official version of the “61” emblems. A resemblance of this attacking symbol could repeatedly be viewed on a succession of operational planning maps of “61”for more than 27 years. This refers to the tactical map symbol depicting an offensive operation, the advance, attack or forward movement of a military unit. This symbol is usually indicated on a map or the overlay of an operational order. The symbol embodies the principle of lightning war…… “A conflict conducted with lightning speed and force…… a violent surprise offensive by concentrated air and ground forces…… in close coordination and designed to achieve victory in a minimum of time…

The unit motto chosen in 1981 supported the above-mentioned symbology of “61”. This motto was “Mobility Vincere”. This means the “Destruction of the Enemy through Mobility”. The motto was closely linked to an old cavalry saying also considered as an option at the time, namely: “Mobilitate Vigemus”; meaning in “mobility lays our strength”. “Mobility Vincere” were however eventually chosen as the “61” motto due to its stronger and more offensive oriented connotations.

The unit flash evolved from two previous unit flashes that were adopted respectively by Combat Group Juliet in 1978 and the newly formed 61 Mechanised Battalion Group in 1979. The emblem of Combat Group Juliet was depicted by the letter “J” under a lightning bolt and that of 61 Mechanised Battalion Group by a “61’ under a similar lightning bolt.

Commandant Roland de Vries was approached by the South African Defence Force (SADF) Heraldic Division early in 1981 concerning the units’ emblem. He was duly informed that the above-mentioned “61”emblem had not been officially approved by the relevant higher military authorities. Military emblems could only be adopted through expressed written permission. Such approvals had to be signed respectively by Chief of Staff Personnel, Chief of the Army and finally by the unit commander. Dress and heraldic regulations and approvals were diligently kept and controlled by means of official SADF files and registers. This process provided for the legal protection of approved insignia and promoted high standards of armorial practice. According to the military heraldic specialists the number”61” on the emblem was also not acceptable. This came as a blow to the serving members “61’ at the time. They had become quite familiar and comfortable with the design. It was back to the drawing boards and a new design had to be found. This process resulted in the current officially approved emblem of “61”. The lightening bolt was retained for the units’ final emblem that was approved by Chief of the Army in 1981. The official colors of the unit, namely red, yellow and black were retained throughout the unit’s history from 1978 until 2005.

The design of 61 Mechanised Battalion Groups’ military emblem and other insignia were vested in the afore-mentioned concise history and its military role as a first-line conventional fighting unit. The unit formed the essential combat element of South Africa’s and South West Africa’s’ mobile conventional forces. The unit was tasked and eventually destined to conduct lightening pre-emptive strikes against SWAPO concentrations outside the borders of South West Africa. It was also responsible to conduct offensive military operations against any conventional force threatening the integrity of South West Africa. It included fighting any enemy forces interfering with external operations conducted against SWAPO outside South West Africa’s borders. Additional ordered commitments of 61 Mechanised Battalion Group included counter insurgency operations in any part of SWA. This role embraced counter offensives against SWAPO incursions to the deep South of SWA. These were threats linked to the farminng communities located south of the so called Red-Line. This area in SWA was commonly referred to at the time as the Tsumeb-Otavi-Grootfontein death triangle. It was the anual target of SWAPO’s Special Unit. Their deep incursions were conducted in the rainy season in April like clock-work. This operational zone lay South of Ovamboland in the military erea designated as Sector 10. The Military Head Quarters for Sector 10 was located at Oshakati.

The “61 Meg Balkie” — Strike Fast, Strike Deep

The troops commonly and with somewhat marked nostalgia referred to the “61” Operational Identification Emblem as the “61 Meg Balkie”. To them it implied the ability to “srike fast, and to strike deep”. This theme developed the true essence of what was at the time accepted as the units’ operational doctrine. General Jannie Geldenhuys was probagating in those days high mobility manoeuvres, employment of extreme fire power and a deep strike and night fighting capability for units such as “61”. These operational concepts suited the temperament of “61” literally and figuratively down to the ground. The expertise aquired by “61” through those operational years to successfully move and manoeuver at night is embodied by the black shield of the unit emblem.

The “61” Operational Identification Emblem was highly appraised and appreciated by the members of 61 Mechanised Battalion Group. This was especially true to the young National Servicemen serving “61” during those trying, but highly envigorating and operationally exciting active years. In a sense the emblem was a tangible tribute to the National Servicemen and an acknowledgement for selfeless service to “61”, South Africa and SWA at the time. This was typically operational service rendered by them under extremely dire and dangerous operational circumstances. Permanent Force Members, who served side-by-side with them at “61”, viewed and respected them as young men with mettle, character and courage. This in fact is what the Operational Identification Emblem was all about. It was not so easy for the National Servicemen at the time to qualify for other official military awards and medals, such as for their Permanent Force colleagues. This was due to shorter periods of military service, required by the National Service System in South Africa and SWA, which was prevelant at the time.

The “61” Operational Identification Symbol was designed in 1981 by Commandant Roland de Vries. The insignia is indicated in Figure 2. It was primarily a means to appraise and give recognition to members who served the unit with loyalty, courage and dignity during operations. It was a method used in a combination with others — for example sush as effective and vigorous training, planned sport and recreation — to boost the “Esprit de Corps” of the unit. Suitable names were also selected and painted on the Ratels and other combat and support vehicles. These measures were instituted to further enhance unit morale and cohesion and to develop a high sense of equipment awareness, serviceability and care. These simple practices mentioned had an amazing effect on the units’ high level of continued combat readiness and the maintenance of high morale.

The Operational Identification Emblem of “61” was an adaptation of a “Ranger Proficiency Badge” attained by young Captain Roland de Vries for special warfare training that he underwent in Taiwan in 1973. This badge, similar to the one later used by “61” however, was coloured in blue and yellow. Commandant Roland de Vries in 1981, as the newly appointed Officer Commanding of 61 Mechanised Battalion Group, viewed the Taiwanese Ranger Insignia as extremely suitable for the purpose of a similar operational identification emblem for “61”. The said identification emblem was thus adopted for “61” in 1981 and presented in the striking yellow, black and red official colours of “61”.

The design of the metal badge was in Chrome and Enamel. It was a rectangular bar (upright) in yellow with a black dagger embellished in silver and three red lightning flashes angled diagonally across the blade. The operational badge worn on combat
fatigues were made in material in black on a thatch beige rectangular bar (upright) with a black dagger and three black lightning flashes angled diagonally across the blade. The award to members were reflected in Unit Orders and the criteria simply were that: Members had to serve in “61” for a specific period; participated in an operation or helped to ensure success in an operation in which the unit participated; have no criminal record. The awards were normally handed out to recipients on an official “61” parade. The emblem was worn on the right side of the chest slightly above the uniform pocket. It was difficult to attain official and hehaldic approval for the badge in 1981 and 1982. The unit members therefore wore the insignia unofficially with pride on their uniforms throughout those years. Many a time Commandant Roland de Vries was reprimanded for members wearing the insignia demi-officially at home or other locations outside the unit-lines. The first Identification Insignia were awarded to members who participated in Operation Carrot in SWA in April 1981. This included member of the South African Air Force, SWA Territorial Forces, including the Part-Time Area Force Units, the SWA Police and many others who served with “61” during Operation Carrot. These members all wore the emblem with pride and appreciation, summarily ignoring the non-official status of the emblem. The level and intensitry of reprimands towards “61” by higher militry officials continued unabatedly — but to no avail. Unit members steadfastly continued to wear the said insignia in the true objecive oriented and somewhat daring spitit of“61”.

In November 1981 61 Mechanised Battalion Group participated in Operation Daisy. The unit struck deep into Angola to disrupt SWAPO command and control structures. The Chief of the Army, Lieutenant General Jannie Geldenhuys, accompanied “61” during the initial phases of this operation. For his operational involvement with “61” General Jannie Geldenhuys was awarded the “61 Meg Balkie” at a parade he attended at Omuthiya. This historical event for “61” took place just after the operation ended in December 1982. General Jannie Geldenhuys gave “61” the permission forthwith to wear the insignia and he undertook to support the unit to attain official approval for the insignia. This was achieved in 1983. An excited Commandant Gertjie van Zyl, then commanding “61”, phoned Colonel Roland de Vries at the Army Battle School at Lohatlha, informing him that “the objective” had been achieved. The Operational Identification Badge of “61”could now be worn officially.

The wearing of the Operational Identification Emblem was suspended in 2007 after the disbandment of “61” in 2005. This decision was promulgated in terms of SA Army Order: Chief Army Corporate Services 317/07 and was dated 27 July 2007.

Sub-Unit Badges — Promoting Ownership and “Esprit de Corps”

61 Mechanised Battalion Group adopted a range of sub—unit shoulder flashes and emblems with the idea of promoting ownership, cohesion and “Esprit de Corps’ at company and squadron level. These said sub-unit flashes were worn on the alternative sleeve of a “61” members’ shirt with the shoulder flash of 61 Mechanised Battalion Group worn on the other sleeve. In some instances the emblems were also displayed on their vehicles. The troops of “61” were extremely proud of their respective emblems. Some examples of these Sub-unit insignia are illustrated in Figure 3.

Sub-unit emblems were approved at unit level by the officer commanding and his senior command and staff team. Sub-unit commanders such as Captain Jan Malan, Captain Koos Liebenberg, Major Joe Weyers, Captain Bernie Pols, Major Giel Reinecke, Captain Hannes van der Merwe Captain Cassie Schoeman, Captain CP du Toit, Major Jakes Jacobs and many others played an important role in designing and marshalling these emblems at “61” in 1981 and the following years.

Closure – A tribute to “61”, its History and all its Members

61 Mechanised Battalion Group owns a memorial needle that honours those who had died in battle. It is a striking memorial displaying the original emblem of “61”. At the base of the memorial are the names of the fallen respectfully carved into grey granite stone that originated from Karabib in South West Africa (South West Africa is now called Namibia). The names of the fallen are recorded under the specific emblem of “61”, with the appropriate dates and names of the operations, which was relevant at the time. The memorial was brought diligently with the unit wherever it was based through its 27 years of active service. This was respectively either at Omuthiya, Walvis Bay or eventually Lohatlha, where the unit was disbanded on 18 November 2005. The final resting place of the 61 Mechanised Memorial Needle is now at the Diphong Museum of Military History, where it was unveiled on 12 June 2010. The museum was previously known as the South African Museum of Military History in Saxonwold, Johannesburg. The date of the unveiling ceremony coincided with the Anniversary of Operation Sceptic (Smokeshell), which took place in June 1980.

It is trusted that the above-mentioned short story of 61 Mechanised Battalion Groups’ badges and insignia will become part of this once proud units’ immensely interesting and amazing history. It was a unit widely respected for its demonstrated commitment and loyalty to service in South Africa and South West Africa. This said recognition and appraisal was equally relevant for the units’ continued maintenance of high combat readiness standards, effective training, high morale and operational prowess under dangerous operational conditions throughout its service. These last-mentioned characteristics are forever immortalized in “61” and South Africa’s military history also by means of the units’ military memorial and its official military badges and insignia.

61 Mechanised Battalion Group will forever be remembered in the annals of history as a unit that played one of the most significant roles in South Africa’s modern military history — but, not only for the sake of history, but also as a tribute to those who fought and served with distinction under the units’ military emblems and other insignia.

Today and tomorrow, ever triggered and strengthened by the insignia of “61”, the memories live on.