Koos Stadler - Recce: Small Team Missions Behind Enemy Lines

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RECCE

RECCE

SMALL TEAM MISSIONS

BEHIND ENEMY LINES

KOOS STADLER

Published in Great Britain and

the United States of America in 2016 by

CASEMATE PUBLISHERS

10 Hythe Bridge Street, Oxford OX1 2EW, UK

and

1950 Lawrence Road, Havertown, PA 19083, USA

Koos Stadler 2015

Published by agreement with NB Publishers, a division of Media24 Boeke (Pty) Ltd. Originally published by Tafelberg, an imprint of NB Publishers, Cape Town, South Africa in 2015

Hardback Edition: 978-161200-404-4

Digital Edition: 978-161200-695-6

Kindle Edition: 978-161200-695-6

A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission from the publisher in writing.

For a complete list of Casemate titles, please contact:

CASEMATE PUBLISHERS (UK)

Telephone (01865) 241249

Fax (01865) 794449

Email:

www.casematepublishers.co.uk

CASEMATE PUBLISHERS (US)

Telephone (610) 853-9131

Fax (610) 853-9146

Email:

www.casematepublishing.com

Dedicated to my father, Koos,
who kindled the spirit of adventure in me,
and my dearest wife, Karien,
who had no option but to scale every cliff with me.

Contents

Authors note

I HAVE WRITTEN this book to share something of the world I lived in for more than ten years of my twenty-four-year Special Forces career the little-known world of the Small Team operator. For those ten years I specialised in reconnaissance. I breathed, ate and slept reconnaissance. The experience I gained with the recce wing of 31 Battalion from November 1978 to December 1981 shaped my character and prepared me for life at 5 Reconnaissance Regiment, where I served as a Small Team operator from 1984 to 1989. My subsequent career, both in Special Forces and beyond, was based on the strict code of conduct and principles embedded during that period.

Over the years, the art of reconnaissance became a passion. After being exposed to the intricacies of tactical reconnaissance at 31 Battalions recce wing in the Caprivi, I did Special Forces selection and finally fulfilled my dream of joining Small Teams, the strategic reconnaissance capability of the then Reconnaissance Regiments, commonly known as the Recces. There are many misconceptions and often crazy, fabricated stories out there about Special Forces. Few people perhaps know that there were different Recce units, each with a dedicated field of specialisation. Even fewer people are aware of the existence of the highly specialised Small Teams and the extraordinary role they played in the Border War (19661989).

This book was written over more than two decades. To paint as accurate a picture as possible, I had to rely on notes made over the years, on my memory, on the recollections of my colleagues and on limited documentation. By telling my story I hope to shed some light on the concept as well as the capabilities of the specialist reconnaissance teams of the South African Special Forces. However, I do not attempt to provide a comprehensive history of Small Teams or a detailed account of the stages through which the capability developed.

Since this is a personal account, I can only credit those individuals with whom I deployed. While it isnt possible to mention the names of all the operators who formed part of the specialist reconnaissance fraternity, I wish to acknowledge the pioneers of Small Teams in South Africa, individuals like Koos Moorcroft, Jack Greeff, Tony Vieira and Sam Fourie, and operators like Homen de Gouveia and Justin Vermaak, who did excellent work while with 1 Reconnaissance Regiment. If I omit from my story the names of Special Forces operators who participated in reconnaissance missions during their careers, it is simply because I did not have the privilege of working with them.

More importantly, since there has always been some rivalry between Small Teams and the regular Special Forces commandos, I wish to state that I never doubted their abilities. Neither do I dispute their superior fighting skills nor their excellence in combat. On the contrary, I have been impressed by the level of professionalism of numerous Special Forces soldiers.

Finally, I am happy to share the joys and sorrows I experienced with my comrades, and I proudly recall the unique code of conduct that we lived by, as well as the close bond and mutual respect we shared in both 31 Battalions recce wing and 54 Commando.

KOOS STADLER

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

ALO	air liaison officer
CO	candidate officer
CSI	Chief of Staff Intelligence
DR	dead reckoning
DZ	drop zone
E&E	escape and evasion
ECCM	electronic counter-counter-measures
ECM	electronic counter-measures
EMLC	electrical, mechanical, agricultural and chemical engineering consultants
FAPLA	Foras Armadas Populares de Libertao Angola (Peoples Armed Forces for the Liberation of Angola)
FNLA	Frente Nacional de Libertao Angola (National Front for the Liberation of Angola)
HAG	helicopter administrative area
HF	high frequency
LP	listening post
LZ	landing zone
MK	Umkhonto we Sizwe
MPLA	Movimento Popular de Libertao de Angola (Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola0
NCO	non-commissioned officer
OAU	Organization of African Unity
OC	officer commanding
OP	observation post
PLAN	Peoples Liberation Army of Namibia
PT	physical training
RPG	rocket-propelled grenade
RSM	regimental sergeant major
RV	rendezvous
SADF	South African Defence Force
SAM	surface-to-air missile
SOPs	standard operating procedures
SWAPO	South West Africa Peoples Organisation
TB	temporary base
UN	United Nations
UNITA	Unio Nacional para a Independncia Total de Angola (Union for the Total Independence of Angola)

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