Africa's Commandos - new book on the RLI

**JMA** · 07-30-2012

As phase two of Op Dingo the ZANLA base at Tembue, 220km inside Mozambique across Lake Cabora Basa was attacked. Rare photos of the Daks (C-47) on the way in, over the target as the air stikes went in and low level across the lake on the way home. Another good day at the office for the air force, the SAS and the RLI.

**JMA** · 07-31-2012

As with tradition Training Officers for recruits were normally ex-sergeant majors commissioned for the purpose given their background and experience in what is needed in terms of the skills required at this level of soldiering. As the war progressed and the manpower demands intensified up to 50% of the RLI comprised conscripted National Servicemen (NS) who had volunteered to serve with the RLI. Those attending recruit training in Training Troop were a mixture of regulars and NS on the same courses. Here is a comment (extract from the book) by the last Training Officer, Major Peter Cooper:

National servicemen

As with most youngsters called up to serve in the army, these were a cross-section of reluctant conscripts and eager Rhodesian school leavers. One thing they all had in common was the tender age of 18 and a lack of military experience. With the pressures on availability of manpower in the Rhodesian war effort these troops were often pushed into operational duty within days of their passing out from training, without time for familiarization or adaptation to operational conditions and many became casualties, sometimes on their first deployment. This became a cause of great concern to those involved in training and the contact report, the individual’s records and the training programme would be examined to see if any cause could be found as to why this should happen. In one case it emerged that a man’s reaction when confronted by a live enemy had been fatally hesitant before firing. A culture of safe weapon handling, instilled during training, had perhaps caused a split-second delay before taking the decision to kill another person, a fatal uncertainty that no amount of quick-kill shooting or pop-up targets on jungle lanes could overcome until the man had become accustomed to such situations. Recruits needed time to ‘learn the ropes’ from the older, more experienced men in their troops, themselves recruits not too long before, and in time they would become familiar with operational conditions. In due course most of the national servicemen became good troopers and junior NCOs, some receiving commendations in the field.

It should be noted that all recruits in the RLI were trickle fed in the operational sub-units which in turn allowed them to be placed with experienced troopies and NCOs on the ratio of no more than one in a 4-man stick.

As a personal note I would add that the hesitation to shoot a human for the first time probably has less to do with inbred safety considerations through training than a natural hesitation to shoot to kill an fellow human being.

**Kiwigrunt** · 07-31-2012

Originally Posted by JMA

As a personal note I would add that the hesitation to shoot a human for the first time probably has less to do with inbred safety considerations through training than a natural hesitation to shoot to kill an fellow human being.

A third disjunct may need to be added to that equation nowadays; fear of legal repercussion. Whether perceived or real (context dependent), it may become that deeply ingrained that it leads to hesitation.

**JMA** · 07-31-2012

Originally Posted by Kiwigrunt

A third disjunct may need to be added to that equation nowadays; fear of legal repercussion. Whether perceived or real (context dependent), it may become that deeply ingrained that it leads to hesitation.

Nowadays certainly ... then no - after the state of emergency was promulgated.

Post #14 above is an extract from a National Serviceman's account of his first contact. It is a credit to the training team in the RLI that when ever reports of KIA/WIA of recently trained troopies were received they did a lot of soul-searching to see if there were associated training problems.

Interestingly in September 1966 - which was before the state of emergency - the RLI had its first contact of the insurgency - on Op Yodel - about which Trevor Desfountain a troop commander at the time has this to say:

Because no state of emergency had yet been promulgated, civil law was followed and the surviving members of the terrorist group were eventually charged with illegal entry into the country and being in possession of weapons of war with the intent of causing acts of treason and/or terrorism. An attorney was appointed to defend them. I was subpoenaed to attend the High Court on a charge of murder. The Attorney-General of Rhodesia was appointed to defend me for and on behalf of the State and I was acquitted on a plea of self-defence.

There you go then, thats the British system for you.

**JMA** · 08-01-2012

This advice seems simple enough, right?

Ok, now this is what could happen if you ignored the advice:

and...

**JMA** · 08-02-2012

... extract from the book:

However, when I think back on my time in the RLI it’s not the training or the contacts with our erstwhile enemy or the parachuting or the patrolling or the hunger or the tiredness or the fear or the elation or the stench of death that comes immediately to mind. No, it’s the unique camaraderie, the esprit de corps, and the often mischievous humour that spring to mind. Someone once described being a combat soldier as 10% pure terror and 90% utter boredom. I think it’s true and I know that when you take an energetic bunch of young men, men who have experienced the excitement of combat and the high of surviving a life-or-death situation, they will find ways to fill that bit of the 90% that isn’t devoted to cleaning weapons, training, eating and sleeping with robust ways to amuse themselves. Here, as with its fighting prowess, the RLI was without peer.