The South African Army is the army of South Africa, first formed after the Union of South Africa was created in 1910. The current commander of the South African Army is Lt. General Solly Shoke.
The South African military evolved within the tradition of frontier warfare fought by commando forces, reinforced by the Afrikaners' historical distrust of large standing armies. It then fought as part of the wider British effort in World War II, but afterwards was cut off from its long-standing Commonwealth ties with the introduction of apartheid in South Africa after 1948. The apartheid policy led to friction with neighbouring states that helped to spark the border wars in South West Africa, now Namibia, from 1966. The role of the Army was fundamentally changed by the upheavals of the early 1990s and after 1994 the Army became part of the new South African National Defence Force. It is now becoming increasingly involved in peacekeeping efforts in southern Africa, often as part of wider African Union operations.
Read more about South African Army: History, Personnel, Plans
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