40 days and klaar out time

Min Dae Manne

For all the ou manne that returned from the border, it was a hard change back to being a civvie as none of the returning troops could talk about their tours to Angola or wherever due to a secrecy agreement. This to be honest was crap as most of us did compare our experiences, losses and exploits.....

We packed up all our shit including some mementoes collected in Angola, for some this was Tokarevs or even deactivated or spent munitions. a lot of these mementoes were thrown under trucks on the runway curtain at Ondangwa when the MP's arrived to carry out searches.

On arrival back in Bethlehem for the last 40 days of my 2 year's national service, we were given some trauma counciling to make sense of what we had gone though and to ensure the civvies would be safe with us back in amongst them. This was done in a few sessions of discussing our tour with a head doctor from main base. Once you were cleared as being sane and ready for civilian life, and not the dreaded bossies. We were pretty much left to enjoy the remaining days with little influence from the army. I was actually caught going awol out of 21 to visit a girl friend in town - not a nice experience when you have like a week to go. For the rest of the time we stood guard and we were sort of just monitored until our clearing out parade - what a day this was.

Some years later an envelope arrived and inside was the Pro Patria Medal ( ProNutro), the General Service Medal and the Southern Africa medal all issued for actions in and outside South Africa. A bit pissed that no parade was arranged for presenting this, some sort of after thought - oh, we better give him something for his time and effort. I guess my friends who spilt blood and did not make it back received theirs posthumously. I wonder how many have been re-patriated back to their motherland, South Africa by the SANDF.

The average South African ex-servicemen was found to be in another situation after returning home, being at the mercy of the SADF and the government for a one month call-up for a camp every year.

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