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The Venda Defence Force (VDF) was established in September 1982 from the 112 Battalion of the South African Defence Force and the military branch of the Venda National Force which itself had been formed when the Venda homeland became independent from South Africa in September 1979.
The Venda National Force was established with Venda’s independence in 1979 and included defence and other services such as police and prisons. Strange enough, traffic policing was part of this national force, but by 1981 it was transferred to the Department of Justice. The Fire Brigade was however still part of the Venda National Force although there was plans to transfer this to the civilian government.
Development of the VDFedit
Colonel Gabriel Ramushwana was appointed the Chairman of the Council and Minister of Defence and National Intelligence was second in command as well as the Venda Security Police before being transferred to the VDF as Chief of Staff by State President Patrick Mphephu with the aim of his eventual succession as Chief of the VDF.
112 Battalion and One Venda Battalionedit
The VDF itself was formally separated from the National Force on the 27 September 1982 when the SADF’s 112 Battalion from Madimbo, part of the Soutpansberg Military Area, which was outside the Venda territory, was disbanded and re-established to form One Venda Battalion at Manenu. At that stage this battalion consisted of three companies and was to all purposes a light infantry battalion.
SADF 112 battalion emblem
Two Venda Battalionedit
Two Venda Battalion was established around 1985/86 and was initially housed in temporary quarters until 1986/1987.
A bloodless coup occurred on 5 April 1990, the then Colonel Ramushwana was attending a SADF Army Staff Course in Pretoria. Until that date the Chief of the VDF was a seconded SADF officer, Brigadier Steenkamp, with Ramushwana as his Chief of Staff. State President Ravele was the Commander in Chief and was advised by a Security Council.
Aftermathedit
After the coup, Ramushwana became Chief of the VDF as well as the Chairman of the Council of National Unity. A Security Working Committee was established to replace the Security Council. The SEWOCOM consisted of:
Ramushwana, now a Brigadier, as chairman,
the Chief of Staff of the VDF, a Colonel W. Swanepoel,
the Senior Staff Officer intelligence, Lt. Col. Muthambi
the Senior Staff Officer Operations, Lt. Col. Vermeulen
the Police Commissioner, Colonel Phaswana
the Director General of the Venda National Intelligence,
the Advocate-General, Moosa Batlivala and
two other members of the Council of National Unity.
This committee dealt with all security related issues in Venda including the quality of government, since the coup followed widespread allegations of corruption and maladmistration.
With the end of the Apartheid era in 1994 in South Africa, the former defence forces of the Bantustans were incorporated into the newly formed South African National Defence Force.
Equipmentedit
The VDF was equipped for counter-insurgency (COIN) operations. The VDF used:
^ abCilliers, Jakkie (1993). . South African Defence Review (13). Archived from the original on 24 June 2016.
January 01, 1970
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This article relies largely or entirely on a single source Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page Please help improve this article by introducing citations to additional sources Find sources Venda Defence Force news newspapers books scholar JSTOR April 2020 The Venda Defence Force VDF was established in September 1982 from the 112 Battalion of the South African Defence Force and the military branch of the Venda National Force which itself had been formed when the Venda homeland became independent from South Africa in September 1979 Venda Defence ForceFlag of the VDFRoundel of the VDF Air WingFounded1979DisbandedApril 1994Service branchesOne Venda BattalionTwo Venda BattalionAir WingHeadquartersSibasa ThohoyandouLeadershipCommander in ChiefBrigadier General Gabriel RamushwanaPersonnelMilitary age18 49Related articlesHistoryMilitary history of South AfricaRanksMilitary ranks of Venda Contents 1 Venda Defence Force 1 1 Origin 1 1 1 Development of the VDF 1 1 2 112 Battalion and One Venda Battalion 1 1 3 Two Venda Battalion 1 1 4 Air Wing 1 2 Coup 1 3 Aftermath 1 4 Insignia 1 5 Ranks 1 6 Awards 1 7 Disbandment 2 Equipment 3 ReferencesVenda Defence Force editOrigin edit The Venda National Force was established with Venda s independence in 1979 and included defence and other services such as police and prisons Strange enough traffic policing was part of this national force but by 1981 it was transferred to the Department of Justice The Fire Brigade was however still part of the Venda National Force although there was plans to transfer this to the civilian government Development of the VDF edit Colonel Gabriel Ramushwana was appointed the Chairman of the Council and Minister of Defence and National Intelligence was second in command as well as the Venda Security Police before being transferred to the VDF as Chief of Staff by State President Patrick Mphephu with the aim of his eventual succession as Chief of the VDF 112 Battalion and One Venda Battalion edit The VDF itself was formally separated from the National Force on the 27 September 1982 when the SADF s 112 Battalion from Madimbo part of the Soutpansberg Military Area which was outside the Venda territory was disbanded and re established to form One Venda Battalion at Manenu At that stage this battalion consisted of three companies and was to all purposes a light infantry battalion nbsp SADF 112 battalion emblem Two Venda Battalion edit Two Venda Battalion was established around 1985 86 and was initially housed in temporary quarters until 1986 1987 Air Wing edit nbsp Cessna Citation II in VDF service The VDF also consisted of a small air wing consisting of light helicopters MBB Kawasaki BK 117 and Aerospatiale Alouette III and fixed wings CASA C 212 Aviocar and Cessna Citation II Coup edit Main article 1990 Venda coup d etat A bloodless coup occurred on 5 April 1990 the then Colonel Ramushwana was attending a SADF Army Staff Course in Pretoria Until that date the Chief of the VDF was a seconded SADF officer Brigadier Steenkamp with Ramushwana as his Chief of Staff State President Ravele was the Commander in Chief and was advised by a Security Council Aftermath edit After the coup Ramushwana became Chief of the VDF as well as the Chairman of the Council of National Unity A Security Working Committee was established to replace the Security Council The SEWOCOM consisted of Ramushwana now a Brigadier as chairman the Chief of Staff of the VDF a Colonel W Swanepoel the Senior Staff Officer intelligence Lt Col Muthambi the Senior Staff Officer Operations Lt Col Vermeulen the Police Commissioner Colonel Phaswana the Director General of the Venda National Intelligence the Advocate General Moosa Batlivala and two other members of the Council of National Unity This committee dealt with all security related issues in Venda including the quality of government since the coup followed widespread allegations of corruption and maladmistration Insignia edit nbsp Venda Defence Force insignia Ranks edit Main article Comparative military ranks of apartheid states in southern Africa Officer ranks Rank group General flag officers Senior officers Junior officers Officer cadet nbsp Venda Ground Forces 1 vte nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp Brigadier Colonel Lieutenant colonel Major Captain Lieutenant Second lieutenant Other ranks Rank group Senior NCOs Junior NCOs Enlisted nbsp Venda Ground Forces 1 vte nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp No insignia Chief warrant officer Warrant officer Staff sergeant Sergeant Corporal Lance corporal Private Awards edit nbsp Gallantry Cross Gold nbsp Gallantry Cross Silver nbsp Distinguished Service Medal Gold nbsp Distinguished Service Medal Silver nbsp General Service Medal Venda nbsp Independence Medal Venda nbsp Long Service Medal Gold nbsp Long Service Medal Silver nbsp Long Service Medal Bronze nbsp Venda Defence Force Medal Disbandment edit With the end of the Apartheid era in 1994 in South Africa the former defence forces of the Bantustans were incorporated into the newly formed South African National Defence Force Equipment editThe VDF was equipped for counter insurgency COIN operations The VDF used R4 R5 assault rifles 5 56 mm Light Machine Gun 7 62 mm Medium Machine Gun 40 mm Multiple Grenade Launcher 60 mm and 81 mm mortars 12 7 mm Browning Heavy Machine Gun Vehicles included Mambas Buffels Samil 20 seven ton Isuzu trucks and 4x4 vehiclesReferences edit a b Cilliers Jakkie 1993 An Overview of the Armed Forces of the TBVC Countries South African Defence Review 13 Archived from the original on 24 June 2016 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Venda Defence Force amp oldid 1181173538, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
