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Exercise ATLASUR IX – capability demonstration
in Hout Bay Harbour
Article and photos by CPO Doreen Oosthuizen
Enquiries: 021 787 4697 |
The Brazilian, Uruguayan
and Argentinean Naval vessels arrived on 24 September
2012 in Simon’s Town for EXERCISE ATLASUR IX. The
foreign ships brought along their Special Forces
elements. The ship’s companies spend three days training
in simulators in Simon’s Town, whilst the Special Forces
trained in their designated area. The ships sailed last
week for the Agulhus area and conducted a conventional
warfare phase with a submarine and aircraft. While the
ships were exercising at sea, the Special Forces
insertions and reconnaissance phase took place in Hout
Bay.
A SAN Super Lynx commence with the sea air rescue
The public witnessed a
simulated exercise on 06 October 2012 close to Mariners
Warf in Hout Bay. Rear Adm (JG) W.H.O. Teuteberg
addressed the media prior to the start of the exercise:
“It is not a demonstration, but a real time exercise.
The SANDF has the opportunity to play with 3 first class
armed forces from South America to benchmark ourselves
with them and to learn from them, not only their naval
forces but their special forces as well. The SANDF was
working closely with the Hout Bay community, the
neighbourhood watch and the SAPS during the simulated
exercise.”
On the same day at 0400 local
time, the combined Special Forces simulated the invasion
of the Republic of Hout Bay. The forces scattered
between sea and land was divided between a Red force
(Argentina and Uruguay) and Blue force (South Africa and
Brazil). The Red and Blue forces both had air, military
health services, Special Forces and Maritime Reaction
Squadron elements within them.
The scenario was used that
the Royal family was on holiday in Hout Bay. The Red
force not only had to stop the Blue force from
extracting the Royal family but had to attain the Royal
family for themselves. The one Royal family member was a
substance addict, and was wondering in the streets of
Hout Bay looking for some drugs. The combined Special
Forces located him and had to extract him. A Blue
force’s ‘Secret service member’ attempted to extract the
Royal family member but was unsuccessful. The ‘Secret
service member’ was captured by the Red Forces members
and pushed off the quay and forced deeper into the sea
when they fired at him (using paintball guns). Moments
later an air sea rescue was conducted using the SA Navy
Super Lynx helicopter to hoist the badly injured and
shivering ‘Secret service member’ to safety. In the
meanwhile, the drug addict from the Royal family was
kidnapped by another group of the Red forces and
transferred to the Offshore Patrol Vessel, SAS UMZIMKULU.
The Special Forces conducted a hard extraction
airlifting the Royal family member from SAS UMZIMKULU
using an ORYX. A HAWK did an air strike for the Blue
Forces at Ysterplaat before passing through Hout bay for
a reconnaissance run. On Chapman’s peak an Anti-Air
Warfare and Anti-Surface missile MOCKUP was set up,
which the Blue forces had to take out before entering
Hout Bay harbour. The SAS Queen Modjadji 1 joined the
Blue forces at sea to take out the Red forces at sea.
EXERCISE ATLASUR IX ends on 09 October.
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