Cape Town - A total of 100 serving and retired members of the South African Air Force (SAAF) were awarded Long Loyal Service medals on Thursday.
The event, held at Air Force Base Ysterplaat, saw the Nelson Mandela 40, 30 and 20-year medals awarded to the members who displayed enviable loyalty and were swelling the ranks in the organisation.
Chief of the Air Force Lieutenant-General Wiseman Mbambo said most of the medal recipients had cut their teeth in the SANDF (Air Force in particular) and pledged their loyalty and dedication in serving the Air Force with dignity.
“We have witnessed one of the Defence Force’s most unique and long-standing traditions. Military medals are proudly displayed by soldiers all over the world as symbols of honour, vigour, dedication, professionalism, loyalty, extraordinary achievement and bravery.
“The medals of the SANDF signify tangible, statutory recognition by the state for outstanding achievement. The SAAF is aware that these exceptional achievements do not come without sustained efforts and much sacrifice on the part of both its members and their families. It is however of paramount importance that these efforts are sustained on a daily and ongoing basis,” he said.
Mbambo said the occasion presented an opportunity for South Africans to reflect on how they have progressed on the journey of freedom and democracy and what they have achieved together over the past 27 years.
“We ought to be proud of our men and women in uniform and their journey of change and transformation. Today’s recipients become role-models for others that will follow, but in so doing they cannot afford to relax and let slip the responsibility of continuing to lead by example in following our entrenched core values,” he said.
He said there was a sea of challenges confronting the combat readiness of the Air Force and these were far more complicated than those 27 years ago.
Bossie Bosman, who received his 40-year service medals along-side Charlie Niemand, said the moment was a “high” in his life. Bosman said he was inspired by his love for flying to join the force in 1980.
Niemand said there was a bright future for the youth in the Air Force. Niemand said he developed a lot of skills in the Air Force and was currently utilising them to start businesses since he was retired.
He encouraged those that wanted to join the force to first be disciplined.