Namibian troops to form part of SADC force

THE Namibia Defence Force (NDF) will make soldiers available to serve in the standby force of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), which will be inaugurated at the coming summit in Zambia this month, a top officer has said.

Major General Denga Ndaitwah, who is the Chief of Staff for Operations in the NDF, said the Namibian contingent would be the size of a military company (about 75 to 200 soldiers). “Namibia has pledged a company while the Police force has also made their own arrangement to send some officers to form part of the regional standby force,” Ndaitwah told NDF members at the weekend.”The SADC standby force, which will comprise a brigade, will include military, police and civilian components.”The Major General spoke to 60 NDF troops before their departure on Saturday to Lusaka, Zambia, where they will participate in a military parade of all SADC armies on August 17 to mark the launching of the standby force.A weeklong rehearsal for the parade will be done before the event, which coincides with the annual summit of SADC heads of state, which starts August 15.A brigade can be a minimum of 1 500 and up to 3 200 soldiers.The regional standby force was supposed to be established a year ago, but several delays and logistical problems prevented this.Another problem encountered was a lack of money.Not all SADC member states that pledged to make soldiers available paid the fees needed to finance the military and police contingents.”Namibia has pledged a company while the Police force has also made their own arrangement to send some officers to form part of the regional standby force,” Ndaitwah told NDF members at the weekend.”The SADC standby force, which will comprise a brigade, will include military, police and civilian components.”The Major General spoke to 60 NDF troops before their departure on Saturday to Lusaka, Zambia, where they will participate in a military parade of all SADC armies on August 17 to mark the launching of the standby force.A weeklong rehearsal for the parade will be done before the event, which coincides with the annual summit of SADC heads of state, which starts August 15.A brigade can be a minimum of 1 500 and up to 3 200 soldiers.The regional standby force was supposed to be established a year ago, but several delays and logistical problems prevented this.Another problem encountered was a lack of money.Not all SADC member states that pledged to make soldiers available paid the fees needed to finance the military and police contingents.