COMMAND CHANGE FOR JOINT OPS DIVISION
A display by four paratroopers kicked off the programme on Wednesday afternoon at the change of command ceremony of the Joint Operations Division (JOD) of the SA National Defence Force at Thaba Tshwane south of Pretoria.
Lieutenant General Sipho Binda took command of the JOD from Lieutenant General Godfrey Ngwenya who is chief of the SANDF designate.
Ngwenya will assume his new post on June 1, as will Binda.
The division is responsible for the deployment of SANDF personnel.
"I became parent to a toddler when I took over the division from my predecessor in January 2001," said Ngwenya.
He thanked those who had "nurtured the infant from its birth" in August 1997 and described his term in office as a unique learning curve.
Ngwenya said the division had grown quickly to effectively respond to national and international military and humanitarian operations.
Ngwenya handed command of the division to Binda, requesting he perform his duties with honour, dignity and courage and asked division members to welcome Binda.
He presented Binda with the symbol of office, a metre-long black and gold sword.
Binda started his military career in 1977, when he joined the ANC's armed wing Umkhonto we Sizwe.
He served as commander of the African Union Peace Force in Burundi in 2003.
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25 Mai 2005 à 12:56 dans
- zsandf (anglais)
