South African Army

The South African Army is the army of the South African National Defence Force, which is the military of South Africa.

South African Army
Active	1912 – present (from law creating the Union Defence Force)
Country	South Africa
Type	Army
Size	39,445 (Active) 12,300 (In Reserve)
Part of	South African National Defence Force
Headquarters	Pretoria, Gauteng
Engagements	World War I World War II Border War Central African Republic conflict
Commanders
Minister of Defence and Veteran Affairs	Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula
Chief of the Army	Lt Gen Vusumuzi Masondo
Deputy CARMY	Maj Gen L Rudman
Sergeant Major of the Army	Senior Chief Warrant Officer Charles Laubscher

The South African military traditions evolved from the frontier warfare fought by the commando forces, because the Afrikaners did not trust standing armies. After the Union of South Africa was formed in 1910, General Jan Smuts, South Africa's first Minister of Defence, placed a high priority on creating a unified military from the four separate armies of the provinces. This led to the creation of the Union Defence Force (UDF).

The modern day South African Army is made up of professional soldiers of all races. The South African Army has been with peacekeeping operations with the United Nations and the African Union in countries such as Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.