Defense Force members in SADC war games

NAMIBIAN Defence Force (NDF) members are part of 800 soldiers from the Southern African Development Community (SADC)’s special forces participating in a five-week long warfare simulation exercise in the desert around Walvis Bay.

It is the first desert simulation, code-named Operation Welwitschia, since the annual war exercises were launched in 1997 with the establishment of the Sadc Regional Multi-dimensional Peace Support Operations Capability.

The participating defence forces drawn from Namibia, South Africa, Angola, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi and Lesotho will be directed by Namibia’s special forces commander, colonel Martin Shikomba.

NDF chief lieutenant general Epafras Ndaitwah told the soldiers during the official launch of the exercise at Rooikop Army Base near Walvis Bay yesterday that they must prepare for unpredictable weather.

“Be sure you will have to endure unpredictable cold, mist, dust, wind and heat. It is an ever-changing environment where you may have to face all seasons during a single day,” Ndaitwah told the soldiers.

Every year the host nation proposes a theme unique to that country’s environment, which in this case is Namibia’s desert landscapes unlike any in the region.

The aim of the exercise is to train participants in tactics, techniques and procedures applicable in desert areas and under hot conditions and improve SADC special forces’ readiness. Added to this, the exercise will also improve command and control during planning, preparation and execution as well as the co-ordination of the region’s special forces’ operation during anti-piracy within the coastal area.

The simulation comes before Sadc defence force commanders are expected to participate in a regional defence meeting in Windhoek soon and will be followed by the Sadc Heads of State Summit.

While this exercise is taking place, Ndaitwah reminded the participants that there were currently members of the region such as Tanzania and Namibian soldiers, “battling enemies of peace and stability in the jungles of the DRC”.

“This is a clear sign that the region has a mission of bringing and maintaining peace and stability on the continent. This is a mission we cannot postpone if we are able to execute it,” he said.

For the next five weeks, different scenarios will be staged in the surroundings and will also involve heavy artillery and live ammunition used on ‘dummies’. It will also involve operations from the seaborne, air and land divisions. Explosions may be heard and flares seen over the desert during the next 35 days. Civilians are warned not to come near the exercise areas.

Ndaitwah urged the soldiers to avoid costly damage to the environmentally sensitive and protected Dorob National Park and the Namib Naukluft Park where the exercise will take place.