As the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, President Jacob Zuma, orders more deployments of military personnel on deadly peacekeeping missions across Africa, the army is battling to deliver the manpower.
With critical equipment the worse for wear and the infantry severely overstretched, the army is being asked to deliver well beyond its capabilities on its present budget. The army's commanders are hoping next week's defence budget review will give them some breathing space.
Army chief Lieutenant-General Vusumuzi Masondo described the military's financial situation as "scary" in Pretoria yesterday, saying the army's R10-billion budget was nowhere near enough.
"You would be frightened to death to know what we really need to operate optimally and to fulfil our increasing mandates."
The SA National Defence Force told the UN earlier this year that it did not have the manpower to deploy additional forces in support of the UN intervention in the war-ravaged Democratic Republic of Congo. The UN was told that, if South Africa were to participate, the 1000 troops already in the DRC with the UN force would have to be transferred to the intervention brigade.
The 1000 South African soldiers, plus 2000 from Malawi and Tanzania, will face about 5000 battle-hardened M23 rebels equipped with heavily armoured vehicles and tanks.
The M23 are renowned fighters. They took vast sections of the country's eastern region after marching past hapless South African troops defending the regional capital, Goma, in November.
Masondo yesterday admitted that the army was worried about sustaining high casualties in the DRC deployment.
"To address the casualties we are expecting we are training hard and ensuring that we prepare sufficiently for the mission.
"The key to this mission is to fight effectively and quickly, and to ensure that we eliminate the threats entirely. This will require vital and much-needed air support," he said.
"I will not lie. It is going to be a serious challenge.
"The M23 have numerous advantages, from knowledge of the terrain to expertise in guerrilla warfare.
"They are going to come at us in lightning strikes and ambushes, and use other guerrilla warfare tactics. They are going to make our task very difficult," Masondo said.
Asked what had been learned from March's bloody battle for the Central African Republic's capital, Bangui, Masondo said: "It is not open for discussion. We are currently compiling reports and analysing the engagement."
Masondo said it was the quality of the soldiers that decided battles.
"Our soldier is the type who does just this."
But funds were a concern.
"We understand the socioeconomic challenges facing the government but the army is under immense strain to fulfil the national and international demands placed on us.
"Such strain can only be sustained for a limited period before mission readiness becomes compromised."
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