Col (Dr.) Joan Sullivan, Surgeon General of the New York Army National Guard, speaks with South African Maj. Gen. Roy Andersen, Chief of Defence Reserves for the South African National Defence Force, during an annual Soldier Readiness Processing Dec. 4, 2010.

New York National Guard photo

Maj. Gen. Roy Andersen, South African National Defence Force Reserves Chief, wanted to learn from a really professional organization, so he brought his staff to visit the New York National Guard Dec. 4-6.

The SANDF and the New York National Guard have had a mutual relationship through the Guard's State Partnership Program since 2005. The program sets up exchanges between the South African military and the New York State National Guard to foster better understanding through a series of bilateral events.

"We are looking to take away the lessons you have learned, so we do not have to relearn them; so we can do things better, and maybe we can identify a few areas where we think we do it better," he said.

The six-officer delegation, which visited sites in the Albany and New York City areas, was particularly interested in learning about the New York Guard's family support and employer support programs.

"We know these are good and they work," Andersen said.

The South African team included Brig. Gen. Susan Debbie Molefe, Director of Defence Reserves; Rear Adm. Ernst Penzhorn, Director of Naval Reserves; Brig. Gen. Tebogo Samuel Madumane, Director of the Air Force Reserves; Brig Gen. (Dr.) Abel Maminze, Acting Director of the South African Military Health Service Reserves; Chaplain (Col.) Masello Mothopeng, Senior Staff Officer Reserve Force Chaplains; and Col. Brian Molefe, Deputy Director of South African Army Reserves.

U.S. Army Africa was represented by Brig. Gen. Isaac G. Osborne Jr., USARAF Deputy Commander, who is also Assistant Adjutant General of the Tennessee Army National Guard.

The visitors were impressed by the proactive nature of the National Guard's health assessment process. Visiting the Guard’s state headquarters while a Soldiers Readiness Check for the Joint Force Headquarters Detachment was under way, the South Africans were impressed with the mobile dental clinic set up to fix Soldiers, problems on the spot, Andersen said.

“There is a lot of energy in the relationship between the New York National Guard and the South African military,” said Maj. Gen. Patrick Murphy, the Adjutant General of New York. Guardsmen from the 106th Rescue Wing have been to South Africa as recently as September to train with their South African counterparts, he said.

Bilateral visits are an important part of the relationship process, said Osborne.

“The SPP program is all about the sharing and teamwork of coming together for the same cause. It gives both parties an opportunity to get to know each other better. This conference improved the relationships between South Africa and the United States military,” said Osborne.

The three-day visit started Dec. 4 with briefings on subjects such as family readiness programs, efforts to keep employers supportive, New York National Guard missions and reintegration programs.

The team visited Stratton Air National Guard Base in Scotia, New York, Dec. 5. The base is home to the 109th Airlift Wing of the New York Air National Guard, the only wing in the U.S. military that flies C-130 transport aircraft equipped with skies that enable landings on snow or ice.

Dec. 6 the South Africans visited the New York National Guard's standing security force in New York City, Joint Task Force Empire Shield. The team inspected the quarters of the 24th Civil Support Team, a unit specially trained to identify chemical, biological and radiological weapons. They also had an opportunity to observe personnel providing security at transportation hubs in Manhattan.

The South Africans were also brought up to speed on the capabilities of New York's Naval Militia, which works with the United States Coast Guard in New York Harbor.

The New York National Guard and South African National Defence Force Reserves face some similar challenges, said Andersen.

Just as New York deploys troops to Iraq and Afghanistan, South African reservists are presently serving in peacekeeping missions in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sudan and Burundi. South African reservists also do border duty along their nation's border with Zimbabwe to control illegal immigration, similar to the way New York National Guard forces have served along the Mexican border.

There are differences, though.

South African reservists must serve two years on active duty, including one complete deployment, before going into reserve status. This can make it tough to recruit, and many of the South African Reserve members do not have jobs. Finding them civilian work is an important mission for his force, said Andersen, who is chairman of several corporate boards in civilian life.

Interestingly, the South African Air Force Reserve includes a special component of members who bring their own aircraft with them when they serve, more like the American Civil Air Patrol than the Air National Guard or Air Force Reserves.

While the New York Army and Air National Guard, with just over 16,000 members, are about the same size as the South African Army, Air Force, and Naval Reserves, the level of responsibility that Andersen and his team have is much greater, Murphy said.

He and his staff don't have to deal with the issues of national policy and politics that Andersen must cope with, he explained.

“The New York National Guard did an outstanding job by providing requested relevant information to the current challenges of the South African military,” Osborne said.

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