My citizen force unit was also doing camps at port Elizabeth we as a mainly English speaking unit we were quite miffed at how the Saps who we were supporting were too violent doing unnecessary stuff which didn't solve anything 😊
Great interview! John, we have known each other for over 20 years (hard to believe) through social media. Going back to the ArmyTalk days. It was great to hear your story. I learned more about you in these 3 hours than in the whole last 20-plus years! Cheers! Troy
@@JohnDovey we used a SA company to uplift us ex Baghdad to Numinayah and return. I think I recognise you John but I’m not sure. We got hit a few times (few lol) going into Bdad - 2 KIA 4 WIA😢 Best John
As a former SADF trooper that served from 74-85 i have to say you explained things in SA at that time very well and brought back memories thanks brother
All good. Hopefully me getting the opportunity to use this platform will allow what I said to resonate with those of us who were there, and in a small way help to counter the bs that's been said about it. Vasbyt, Lekker nou.
Yeah i meant to add hope alles gaan so goed soos dit kan met jou deesdae en vasbyt al hoe meer the English Afrikaans story before conscription was a thing ,but once we were in the military we soon learned saamwerk cheers boet @@JohnDovey
@@stuartcampbell3861Ja, ek's 'n soutpiel sonder skaam, maar my Afrkaans is vlot genoeg. Baie van my makkers dan en nou is egte Boere, maar jy kannie twyfel dat daar was verskei issues wat ons mekaar laat moerig gemaak het.. ;-)
Yeah same here Jo'Burg soutie ,but as you Natal ous used to say the Vaalies crazy times, TIA, always a sting in the tail for the unwary and the mighty who assume they can change the beat of Africa instead of learning to dance to that beat,but life goes on no matter what. @@JohnDovey
What John describes about the violence in KZN prior to 27 April 1994 was a real thing. The violence in Pietermaritzburg and Richmond was my last 60 day camp in the SADF.
Oh and one more thing, the Super Hyper Vigilant thing, I left the army 2005 last unit was Light Horse Regiment, I am in the Medical field now based in CT in a very how can we say very fast paced action daily in which you have to be Hyper Super Vigilant at all time so I still have PTSD 😂😂, and one colleague is ex SF Doctor
John if I remember correctly on the bar counter was a hollowed out stone covered with a towel I think, I was one of the suckers that lifted the towel and had to slurp a beer out of it needles to say I got Vrot that night with guys
So refreshing to hear after all these years. Wow. Yip. I was approached for officers course by the company OC after thinking I would take the 'chill' route. They got it spot on..best times of my life! Great guys..and girls! All colours. Nam was a great experience.
Oh John... couldn't resist a second comment 1. Mary Metcalf would love an upgrade to British PM from South African local MP 🤣 2. Your magical bird photo is not your shooting skills, it's the absolutely insane AF and animal tracking the new R5 has. As a safari guide, it has blown my mind. Keep it going, it's so therapeutic and there is a world of technical stuff to learn.
LOL. 1. Yeah I screwed that up. It was Mary Robinson (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Robinson) 2. Nope. That wasn't AF tracking. My AF was set to people and didn't even pick up the bird. 3. Yes, the AF tracking is insanely good. I'm deep diving into the manual at the mjoment. I'm blown away at how much there is. I was going to try to go "M" but turns out Rv is absolutely mind-blowingly fantastic.
Johnny, I must inform you that there are numerous factors you're unaware of regarding the Army's strategic placement. Extensive internal intelligence gathering and verification took place to disrupt certain plans. The Army's presence effectively thwarted attempts to inflict significant damage on Port Elizabeth's vehicle production facilities, a crucial export hub. Frequently, the Army supplemented Police operations.
I never understood how someone could handlethe transition from old SADF to the SANDF....now I do understand...the regiment serves the Government of the day, whilst the soldier serves the regiment. Cool, thanks, boet......Note...Rooibaard also refers to a potent strain of weed from Swaziland....just saying...Also; the REVO lectures we got were secondary to the lived experiences we all had regarding our relatives coming from Zim and Angola etc, absolutely true. We knew what was coming if we didn't fight it. It amazes me how true the words of Die Korporaal and Die Kaptein turned out to be as far as SA is concerned. Their timelines were off but the results were nonetheless very, very accurate. I now live in Portugal.....dreaming at night a few times a week now for the first time since 1987......interesting that at the25 years after mark I went deeply deep into yoga and meditation, psychedelic journeys etc.......ex 3 SAI...I still dont leave the house in shoes I can't run or fight in and still bone my boots....my kit is still pretty skerp...I won't sit where I can't see the door, my EDC knife is still razor sharp....just saying. Pretty interesting......super interesting interview, thanks fellas....
@55:30 Sgt Maj (WO1) Jake's "Rooibaard" Oosthuizen - a legendary leader. I first met him at Rundu, in the Kavango region of Namibia (then South West Afrika) in the mid '80's. The was the Sgt Maj of the Sector 20. The second time was in 2007 when as part of the Signals Formation HQ contingent briefing the departing SANDF group joining the UN peacekeeping force in the Sudan. I suddenly saw the red-bearded figure charging at me, shouting "Majoor, wat die fok maak jy hier? _ (Major, what the fuck are you doing here?). A short, five minute, memorable reunion followed. A fiery man who understood his soldiers. 👊🏻⚔️🔥
In the SADF in 1981 in one of the border battalions SWATF we had a staff SGT who was dressing down a corporal from Natal who was English , the Staff told him he was kak sleg in Afrikaans meaning ( shit usless) and then the staff asked him has anybody else told him he is shit useless his reply to the staff was " yes staff my father told me that" . Well the wind was totaly knocked out of the staff sergeant.
Not sure if you've considered this or if it might be too much for the guests but it may be beneficial to have the guests record the audio separately on their end so that you can mix it in later before you post the video. audio would be be better. love the show!
Fir me a Sandf vet coming back after 13 months on the border was how loud and noisy everything was you were very quiet and stealthy for a long time the noise was deafening it took me weeks to adjust but I had to earn money so I arranged a interview through a friend in Cape Town so I went in my parade stepouts looking very smart needless to say the liberals looked on me like I was dirt yet I had just spent two years serving my country I was overqualified fir that lob but sorry no suit no paycheck😅😅😅😅😅
With the Afrikaans elitist mindset in the army, however, as I spent a year in northern hotel, Mozambique, my OC was Afrikaans my Natal command. Oh, she was also Afrikaans and they both got me to sign on for another year, and I kept my position up there because I was doing a good job in military police and there’s a scout and observer. Also helped out when they did Ricky selection in that area for to Ricky selections. That was a hoot.
There's no way I would do that for that long with or any length of of time if I did not at Les get full medical. That's crazy not to have medical benefits after you retire. Even in the reserves you put your body through hell.
@ 45 min. The UDF story is a bit Squirrley many of South Africa future leaders were running the UDF like Ramaphosa. I lived in PE from 1980 to 1996. Lots off Siam well and black on black power struggle.
@@JohnDovey Well, he is almost correct: South Africa won the war in Angola, the white Afrikaner nationalist / white-supremacist regime (aka the National Party / Boers) lost. How so? Well, South Africa gained her independence from settler-colonial apartheid rule and achieved liberty, similar to the United States on July 4 1776. This was due to the defeat that the white supremacist Weermag suffered, when they for the first time in their history were confronted with an equally matched military opponent, the Allied Angolan-Cuban defense force. Most of the Boer Weermag's prior operational "successes" evolved around shooting unarmed protesters in townships, raiding civilian neighbourhoods in places like Maseru and Lusaka with military forces and mowing down mothers and their babies or massacring entire refugee camps as they did in Cassinga.
@@ikehayes9252 you're demonstrably wrong on everything you say. I understand it's difficult for idealogues to understand factual arguments, so I won't try.
@@JohnDovey If I was "demonstrably" wrong, it should be an easy task for you to prove your point and actually demonstrate the substance of your claims. So, what exactly is wrong?
Thanks John. You made me proud to be South African, proud to be a Natal boy. Your passion and integrity shines through.
Humble and humorous. John should be a counselor/therapist because I found more compassion in him than anybody at the VA.
Thank you. I take that as a compliment of the highest order.
My citizen force unit was also doing camps at port Elizabeth we as a mainly English speaking unit we were quite miffed at how the Saps who we were supporting were too violent doing unnecessary stuff which didn't solve anything 😊
Great interview! John, we have known each other for over 20 years (hard to believe) through social media. Going back to the ArmyTalk days. It was great to hear your story. I learned more about you in these 3 hours than in the whole last 20-plus years! Cheers! Troy
Glad to see Dovey here.. worked with him in Iraq as contractor! Great dude ! Have a good one Dovey!!
-Aggie
Thanks Brother.
@@JohnDovey we used a SA company to uplift us ex Baghdad to Numinayah and return. I think I recognise you John but I’m not sure.
We got hit a few times (few lol) going into Bdad - 2 KIA 4 WIA😢
Best John
SA and Rhodesia Bush war vets always have the best stories
Very well conveyed John.. A lot of us carry and hide emotion's and deny the consequences.
Keep well and safe. Angus
Appreciated
As a former SADF trooper that served from 74-85 i have to say you explained things in SA at that time very well and brought back memories thanks brother
All good. Hopefully me getting the opportunity to use this platform will allow what I said to resonate with those of us who were there, and in a small way help to counter the bs that's been said about it.
Vasbyt, Lekker nou.
Yeah i meant to add hope alles gaan so goed soos dit kan met jou deesdae en vasbyt al hoe meer the English Afrikaans story before conscription was a thing ,but once we were in the military we soon learned saamwerk cheers boet @@JohnDovey
@@stuartcampbell3861Ja, ek's 'n soutpiel sonder skaam, maar my Afrkaans is vlot genoeg. Baie van my makkers dan en nou is egte Boere, maar jy kannie twyfel dat daar was verskei issues wat ons mekaar laat moerig gemaak het.. ;-)
Yeah same here Jo'Burg soutie ,but as you Natal ous used to say the Vaalies crazy times, TIA, always a sting in the tail for the unwary and the mighty who assume they can change the beat of Africa instead of learning to dance to that beat,but life goes on no matter what. @@JohnDovey
Love it! Glad to hear some conventional talk for once!
Great interview, never heard about some of these issues.
Excellent, really enjoyed the conversation. Thanks John.
Doen nog! :)
Great show guys, please try to get a 32 Battalion vet on the show!
What John describes about the violence in KZN prior to 27 April 1994 was a real thing. The violence in Pietermaritzburg and Richmond was my last 60 day camp in the SADF.
What unit bud?
Oh and one more thing, the Super Hyper Vigilant thing, I left the army 2005 last unit was Light Horse Regiment, I am in the Medical field now based in CT in a very how can we say very fast paced action daily in which you have to be Hyper Super Vigilant at all time so I still have PTSD 😂😂, and one colleague is ex SF Doctor
@@JohnDovey I was with RNN Regimentt Northern Natal. We were based in Newcastle. The unit was closed down. we do have a Faccebook page.
John if I remember correctly on the bar counter was a hollowed out stone covered with a towel I think, I was one of the suckers that lifted the towel and had to slurp a beer out of it needles to say I got Vrot that night with guys
Or am I thinking of the bar at the carbineers , geez seems like a lifetime go
Rocking that cz-58 in the thumbnail 😮
LOL. Well spotted. Great weapon in terms of accuracy, but I hated the complexity of the working parts.
Happy Veteran's Day gentlemen!
Thank you for the awesome videos 😎❤🇿🇦
So refreshing to hear after all these years. Wow. Yip. I was approached for officers course by the company OC after thinking I would take the 'chill' route. They got it spot on..best times of my life! Great guys..and girls! All colours. Nam was a great experience.
Happiest of Veterans days
Oh John... couldn't resist a second comment
1. Mary Metcalf would love an upgrade to British PM from South African local MP 🤣
2. Your magical bird photo is not your shooting skills, it's the absolutely insane AF and animal tracking the new R5 has. As a safari guide, it has blown my mind.
Keep it going, it's so therapeutic and there is a world of technical stuff to learn.
LOL.
1. Yeah I screwed that up. It was Mary Robinson (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Robinson)
2. Nope. That wasn't AF tracking. My AF was set to people and didn't even pick up the bird.
3. Yes, the AF tracking is insanely good. I'm deep diving into the manual at the mjoment. I'm blown away at how much there is. I was going to try to go "M" but turns out Rv is absolutely mind-blowingly fantastic.
At around 28.40 reference to Afrikaans term "Houding" translated actually refers to ones whole presentation as a soldier including uniform and beret
Johnny, I must inform you that there are numerous factors you're unaware of regarding the Army's strategic placement. Extensive internal intelligence gathering and verification took place to disrupt certain plans. The Army's presence effectively thwarted attempts to inflict significant damage on Port Elizabeth's vehicle production facilities, a crucial export hub. Frequently, the Army supplemented Police operations.
I never understood how someone could handlethe transition from old SADF to the SANDF....now I do understand...the regiment serves the Government of the day, whilst the soldier serves the regiment. Cool, thanks, boet......Note...Rooibaard also refers to a potent strain of weed from Swaziland....just saying...Also; the REVO lectures we got were secondary to the lived experiences we all had regarding our relatives coming from Zim and Angola etc, absolutely true. We knew what was coming if we didn't fight it. It amazes me how true the words of Die Korporaal and Die Kaptein turned out to be as far as SA is concerned. Their timelines were off but the results were nonetheless very, very accurate. I now live in Portugal.....dreaming at night a few times a week now for the first time since 1987......interesting that at the25 years after mark I went deeply deep into yoga and meditation, psychedelic journeys etc.......ex 3 SAI...I still dont leave the house in shoes I can't run or fight in and still bone my boots....my kit is still pretty skerp...I won't sit where I can't see the door, my EDC knife is still razor sharp....just saying. Pretty interesting......super interesting interview, thanks fellas....
Hahahahaha!!! Checking the dude’s legs if it was properly shaved 🤣😆🤣. Oh how he must have regretted that stunt….
@55:30 Sgt Maj (WO1) Jake's "Rooibaard" Oosthuizen - a legendary leader. I first met him at Rundu, in the Kavango region of Namibia (then South West Afrika) in the mid '80's. The was the Sgt Maj of the Sector 20. The second time was in 2007 when as part of the Signals Formation HQ contingent briefing the departing SANDF group joining the UN peacekeeping force in the Sudan. I suddenly saw the red-bearded figure charging at me, shouting "Majoor, wat die fok maak jy hier? _ (Major, what the fuck are you doing here?).
A short, five minute, memorable reunion followed. A fiery man who understood his soldiers. 👊🏻⚔️🔥
When you mentioned B . FOWLER . Then you must be solid .. and DIDIES..Mooi bly.
In the SADF in 1981 in one of the border battalions SWATF we had a staff SGT who was dressing down a corporal from Natal who was English , the Staff told him he was kak sleg in Afrikaans meaning ( shit usless) and then the staff asked him has anybody else told him he is shit useless his reply to the staff was " yes staff my father told me that" . Well the wind was totaly knocked out of the staff sergeant.
Nabimbia hey?
🎉Thank you Guy's 🎉😊
@hsan1166 Hey Humberto, fantastic to hear from you brother.
houding... as in shape of beret... means its got character
A better translation for houding is bearing
Where in MT we’re you?
Hey mate, you know where to put it.
Afrikaans is the heavenly language only we and the angels understand.
More like a devils.
viva savimbi !
And Nambimbia!
Not sure if you've considered this or if it might be too much for the guests but it may be beneficial to have the guests record the audio separately on their end so that you can mix it in later before you post the video. audio would be be better. love the show!
The videos are live. We don’t post them.
So sad that nobody gives a damm anymore. The "grensvegter" hero is no more, nobody even cares, nor do they even want to listen.
Forgotten soldiers.
Fir me a Sandf vet coming back after 13 months on the border was how loud and noisy everything was you were very quiet and stealthy for a long time the noise was deafening it took me weeks to adjust but I had to earn money so I arranged a interview through a friend in Cape Town so I went in my parade stepouts looking very smart needless to say the liberals looked on me like I was dirt yet I had just spent two years serving my country I was overqualified fir that lob but sorry no suit no paycheck😅😅😅😅😅
The smells were also overwhelming to me
Call back the past. SADF in Jan 76-Dec 77. Mostly Moz border. As Engelsman I agree
With the Afrikaans elitist mindset in the army, however, as I spent a year in northern hotel, Mozambique, my OC was Afrikaans my Natal command. Oh, she was also Afrikaans and they both got me to sign on for another year, and I kept my position up there because I was doing a good job in military police and there’s a scout and observer. Also helped out when they did Ricky selection in that area for to Ricky selections. That was a hoot.
Just for info, you can't shoot somone in SA unless there a threat to life. Ie you can't shoot somone in defence of Property.
I seem to recall things rather different Mr Dovey, interesting tales 😂
There's no way I would do that for that long with or any length of of time if I did not at Les get full medical. That's crazy not to have medical benefits after you retire. Even in the reserves you put your body through hell.
SADF. The real army. SANDF a joke
That's why they handed over the country, neh ?
Lol the guy who had to special shave at basic
Weird pick for Veterans Day as an interviewee...but thumbs up as always in your investigative skills!
2:00:03. It's kept silent because he's from special forces.they're silent professionals.
Viva 61 mech.
@ 45 min. The UDF story is a bit Squirrley many of South Africa future leaders were running the UDF like Ramaphosa. I lived in PE from 1980 to 1996. Lots off Siam well and black on black power struggle.
50/50 Afrikaans English. the 50 years of English has come and gone, its now the 50 years of Afrikaans
Interestingly it's exactly the opposite way around
Kyk Noord en Vok voort!! 😂😂Lekker!!
He can say whatever he wants but the fact is South Africa lost the war in Angola.
😂
@@JohnDovey Well, he is almost correct: South Africa won the war in Angola, the white Afrikaner nationalist / white-supremacist regime (aka the National Party / Boers) lost.
How so? Well, South Africa gained her independence from settler-colonial apartheid rule and achieved liberty, similar to the United States on July 4 1776.
This was due to the defeat that the white supremacist Weermag suffered, when they for the first time in their history were confronted with an equally matched military opponent, the Allied Angolan-Cuban defense force. Most of the Boer Weermag's prior operational "successes" evolved around shooting unarmed protesters in townships, raiding civilian neighbourhoods in places like Maseru and Lusaka with military forces and mowing down mothers and their babies or massacring entire refugee camps as they did in Cassinga.
@@ikehayes9252 you're demonstrably wrong on everything you say. I understand it's difficult for idealogues to understand factual arguments, so I won't try.
@@JohnDovey If I was "demonstrably" wrong, it should be an easy task for you to prove your point and actually demonstrate the substance of your claims. So, what exactly is wrong?
Won the war lost the country
Are you becoming a hairdresser?😂😂