Published by 30 Degrees South in 2018, 502 pages. Paperback (N7979)
Brand New Book
From the rear side cover: In 1984, as an eighteen year old schoolleaver, the author was conscripted into a chaotic world of strict order, intense discipline and subtle brain washing, moulding him into a proud, well trained 1SAI Ratel soldier. On the SWA/Namibian/Angolan border patrolling through the bush under heavy rainfall and extreme heat, the platoon formed unbreakable bonds of camaraderie. The sheer fear of lying in nightly ambush positions and burying massacred dead in Angola, added to the insanities of the border war.
While stemming the flow of refugees from war torn Mozambique, three soldiers from Platoon 3 were captured and held as POW's in Maputo in the notorious former Portuguese prison, Machava. Called up as a Citizen Force mechanised soldier in 1988, the author along with some of Platoon 3 joined an armoured battle group hurriedly formed to repel two Cuban armoured brigades threatening to invade SWA/Namibia east of Ruacana. Contents include:
1. From Civvie to 'Roofie' (new recruit)
2. Our new company - Bravo Coy
3. De Brug: preparing for battle
4. A State of Emergency: in Tembisa Township
5. Bloemfontein: last days with I-SAI
6. Middelburg - with 4-SAI
7. Our unknown history South-West African - Angolan border
8. Adjusting to a new setting
9. A long patrol and a dugout on the Yati
10. And the rains came
11. Etosha National Park: Ambushing the enemy
12. Patrols between beacons on the Yati
13. Our very own base camp
14. Actions of stupidity and more rain
15. An unforgettable scene
16. April fools
17. Going home at last
18. Guarding an ammo dump: An overdue pass
19. Mischief in the barracks: Life in the Intelligence house
20. Kostini Base: Kruger National Park
21. Leaderless: A dark shadow of doubt
22. Cause for celebration
23. Refugees: 40 days left to serve
24. Farewell to the Kruger
25. Farewell to National Service
26. Mozambique: A journey through hell
27. Soldiering on 1988
28. Operation Desert Fox
29. On the outside in Oshigambo
30. The frightening truth
31. After the war was over: Revisiting Namibia fifteen years on