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More Than Half Of South Africa's Army 'May Have HIV'
Independent (UK) ^ | 7-15-2002 | Jean Le May

Posted on 07/15/2002 3:03:56 PM PDT by blam

More than half of South Africa's army 'may have HIV'

By Jean Le May in Johannesburg
15 July 2002

The South African Defence Minister has been asked to take urgent action in response to the disclosure by his department that more than half the country's 76,000 soldiers are medically unfit and that the national defence force is in "serious crisis".

The revelations, made at a two-day military briefing to a South African parliamentary committee, came as several independent reports indicated that up to 60 per cent of soldiers could be HIV-positive.

The committee's chairman, Thandi Modise, said that the Defence Minister, Mosioua Lekota, had been asked to take "immediate remedial action to stop further deterioration".

The army, navy and air force made presentations at the briefing, which was also attended by reservists. Mr Lekota was asked to draw up a plan of action within three months.

The briefing, given at Saldanha military base to the committee, which oversees the defence department, revealed the following:

* The South African National Defence Force could deploy only one operational brigade of 3,000, out of 76,000 soldiers.

* It was impossible to deploy 19 regular army companies and 23 reserve platoons because of a lack of funds.

* Training had virtually come to a halt.

* Almost all courses had stopped, leading to boredom and demoralisation.

* Army reservists had not been deployed on training exercises for nearly four years, so morale was "at rock bottom".

* Equipment was in a deplorable state, with only four out of 168 Olifant tanks and eight out of 242 Rooikat armoured cars operational.

* Lack of funds had caused a shortage of fuel. In the air force, funds had been allocated for 2,400 flying hours instead of the 7,200 requested, and pilots were resigning in their droves. A member of the portfolio committee said: "The air force usually runs out of aviation fuel every September."

* The reduction of the armed forces from 104,000 in 1994 to the present 76,000 had involved massive cash payouts. Hendrik Schmidt, another committee member, said this had turned the defence force into "an armed welfare department".

* The defence force was top-heavy, with a ratio of one general for every 293 men, compared with a general for every 2,000 men in the US army.

* More than 52 per cent of the defence force budget was spent on personnel costs and only 0.5 per cent on new equipment.

The national defence force is also blighted by Aids. The army has estimated that the incidence of HIV is between 17 and 23 per cent, but commentators say that there is no reliable figure because soldiers are tested only when operationally deployed.

The portfolio committee was told that seven out of every 10 deaths in the armed forces were Aids-related.

Philip van Schalkwyk, the opposition Democratic Alliance spokesman on intelligence and military veterans and a former brigadier general with the army, said: "The army is not giving us the real situation." He said that, from his experience, he would not be surprised if as many as 60 per cent of the armed forces were found to be HIV-positive.

A medical specialist at one of the country's military hospitals said six out of 10 soldiers tested HIV-positive after being admitted to hospital. The doctor, who declined to be named, said the allegation that 60 per cent of soldiers were HIV-positive was feasible.

The defence department did not say why so many soldiers were medically unfit and army officials declined to elaborate.

The only explanation offered to the portfolio committee was that many of the riflemen and infantrymen were between 32 and 36 years old, which was, by army standards, regarded as too old for deployment on active service.


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: africa; africawatch; army; hiv; south
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1 posted on 07/15/2002 3:03:56 PM PDT by blam
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To: Clive
Ping.
2 posted on 07/15/2002 3:04:25 PM PDT by blam
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To: blam
Funny....I seem to recall the SADF was a real kick-butt organization....wonder what changed?
3 posted on 07/15/2002 3:10:02 PM PDT by quebecois
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To: quebecois
Mandela took over.

Everything went to hell after that.
4 posted on 07/15/2002 3:29:44 PM PDT by El Sordo
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To: El Sordo
Seems like their best tactic would be to bleed o the enemy
5 posted on 07/15/2002 3:38:06 PM PDT by Kozak
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To: blam
Jesus, that's pretty grim. I mean we can laugh about it, but whoa! Imagine if 60% of our military was suddenly no longer medically fit to fight. Lucky for them nobody is likely to invade them.
6 posted on 07/15/2002 3:44:38 PM PDT by Prodigal Son
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Comment #7 Removed by Moderator

To: the_right_way
Oh aye, I'm aware of that, but for some reason the military is such a basic thing- you don't have one, you'll eventually get overrun (if you've got anything worth having that is). I couldn't imagine our country being left defenseless by a disease.

It just struck me in that instant that I had never thought about the myriad little (and big) ways that AIDS is affecting Southern Africa. I mean, you always think about the numbers they throw out, 25% infected, x millions will die..., one in three children- whatever and you digest these numbers but I never thought about African militaries and how AIDS would impact them. It's so Middle Ages you know? Plague wiping out a people to the point where they could no longer protect themselves from invasion.

That's an interesting and compelling dynamic to consider and I will have to give that one some head scratching and pondering before I know what to make of it.

8 posted on 07/15/2002 4:22:07 PM PDT by Prodigal Son
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To: blam
I remember when the South African Army was the most feared, most respected fighting force on the African continent.
9 posted on 07/15/2002 4:25:45 PM PDT by Lazamataz
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To: Lazamataz
"I remember when the South African Army was the most feared, most respected fighting force on the African continent."

Yup, me too...and they had nukes.

10 posted on 07/15/2002 4:33:16 PM PDT by blam
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To: quebecois
I seem to recall the SADF was a real kick-butt organization...wonder what changed?

I guess the "k" in "kick" got changed to an "L".

Obviously, soldiers in the advanced stages of HIV aren't much good as fighters--they're more dangerous as biohazards. In the early stages, these soldiers become especially dangerous if rape is a common victory practice.

11 posted on 07/15/2002 4:37:22 PM PDT by Pearls Before Swine
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To: blam
Yup, me too...and they had nukes.

Thank God they had the foresight to dimantle their nuclear weapons program before the reigns of power were handed over to the ANC.

12 posted on 07/15/2002 4:40:24 PM PDT by Drew68
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To: Drew68
The way it looks, the ANC may all be dead before too long. The only people left will be the Afrikaaners.
13 posted on 07/15/2002 4:43:47 PM PDT by AppyPappy
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To: AppyPappy
The only people left will be the Afrikaaners.

This wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing.

14 posted on 07/15/2002 4:46:24 PM PDT by Drew68
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To: blam
This is scarey.
15 posted on 07/15/2002 4:50:11 PM PDT by Jorge
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To: AppyPappy
RE:Post #13

You have got that right. Give it 10-20 years and the balance of power may change. However, I'm a realist. The ANC is desparate to remain in power forever. Look for them to call on their white comrades in Russia for help.

16 posted on 07/15/2002 4:50:26 PM PDT by CWRWinger
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To: blam
Dang at the rate they are going, looks like the SADF will be "an army of one." Sorry couldn't resist. B-) B-P. Seriously, I figure once the ANC got in charge, things would go downhill. B-(
17 posted on 07/15/2002 4:51:53 PM PDT by Nowhere Man
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To: CWRWinger
Why would Russia, no longer communist, no longer devoted to the overthrow of Western hegemony in the world...

have any interest in helping these incompetents? The only possible interested parties would be China and India, which would very much like to have a new, vast continent full of natural resources to exploit, savage peoples to exterminate.

For China, Africa is now what the Americas were to Spain, England, France etc. in the sixteenth century.

18 posted on 07/15/2002 4:54:26 PM PDT by crystalk
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To: crystalk
no longer communist

IMO, Russia never stopped being communist. They ran out of money and lost contol of their satellites, but not their desire to support other communist regimes. Comunists have a plan and are determined to stick with it. They will try to stay in power at all costs.

19 posted on 07/15/2002 5:11:16 PM PDT by CWRWinger
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To: blam
I'd hate to need a battlefield transfusion.
20 posted on 07/15/2002 5:19:53 PM PDT by Paleo Conservative
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