19 Field Engineer Regiment

19 Field Engineer Regiment is a regiment of the South African Army Engineer Formation. The unit is based in Durban with the HQ being at Old Fort Military Base, Lord's Grounds . As a reserve unit, it has a status roughly equivalent to that of a British Army Reserve or United States Army National Guard unit.

19 Field Engineer Regiment
SANDF 19 Field Engineers Emblem Regiment
Active1970 -
Country South Africa
Allegiance
Branch
TypeMilitary engineering
SizeBattalion
Part ofSouth African Army Engineer Formation
Army Conventional Reserve
Garrison/HQLord's Grounds, Durban 29°51′1.7454″S 31°1′22.08″E
Nickname(s)19 Field
Motto(s)First in, Last out
ColorsGuardsman Red and Oxford Blue[1]
Engagements
Commanders
Current
commander		Lt Col N.A. Bushula
Insignia
Collar BadgeBursting grenade with nine flames
Beret ColourOxford blue
Engineers Company Emblems
Engineers Beret Bar circa 1992

The role of the Engineers is to maintain mobility and serviceability of own forces and counter mobility of enemy forces. Tasks include bridging, water purification, obstacles, demolition, infrastructure repair and development.

History

Origin

19 Field Engineer Regiment was established as a Squadron in 1970 directly under Natal Command and was the first Engineer Squadron to be formed in Durban since the Second World War.[2]

Border War

The squadron and later the Regiment was called up for a number of border duty camps during the 1970s and 1980s.

Post 1994

During the 1994 election, the unit was called up and deployed in the Eshowe area under command of the Durban Light Infantry.

In 1995 and 1996 the unit participated in training camps in Lohatla.

With the formation of the 'type' formations, including the South African Army Engineer Formation (SAAEF), in 1999, the regiment shifted from the territorial command structure to that of the SAAEF.[3] During 2000 to 2005 a new strategy was put in place and for the first time the unit started to train its own recruited members in Basic Engineer Corps training and Junior Leader training.

One of the highlights during this time was the construction of a permanent 8 bay Single-Double Bailey bridge in the Manguzi area, near the Mozambique border to improve local security.

By 2006 the unit mandate changed. The first detachments of unit members were deployed to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), as part of the United Nations (MONUC) and AU Peace Support operations. Up until October 2014, the Regiment has undertaken six deployments to the DRC.[4]

The Regiment supplied one member to be part of the United Nations Force Intervention Brigade. Lt John Dovey[5] deployed in the post of Combat Demolitions Team Leader as part of the Engineer troop attached to the 6 SAI Battalion.[6]

The motto of the Engineer Corps is “Ubique” which means, Everywhere. The motto of the Regiment is First in, Last out.

Insignia

The unit's insignia is based in the roman numerals XIX (19) from its name.[7]

SADF era 19 Field Engineer Regiment insignia

Leadership
19 Field Eng Regt Leadership
From Honorary Colonels To
1991 Col Derek I. Moe SM MMM JCD Incumbent
From Commanding Officers To
1970 Major G. Hogan 1974
1975 Major J. Eager 1978
1979 Comdt H. Nurcombe-Thorne JCD 1988
1986 Captain Miles le Roux (Pro Tem) 1989
1989 Lt Col Andre Potgieter JCD 1994
1994 Lt Col P.M. Summers 1996
1996 Lt Col Peter E. Boulle MMM RD 30 September 2001
1 October 2001 Lt Col "Tex" Westgate MMM JCD 5 March 2007
6 March 2007 Lt Col Brian Dore November 2014
November 2014 Lt Col N.A. Bushula Incumbent
From Regimental Sergeants Major To
1974 WO1 J. Elbourne 1976
1977 WO1 M.S. Edwards JCD 1990
1990 WO1 M.S. Streeter SM JCD 1998
1998 MWO James "Jimmy" Alberts JCD 2014
2014 Staff Sgt N Sibiya (Acting) Incumbent

References
  1. Englebrecht, Leon (9 February 2010). "Fact file: The SA Engineering Corps". DefenceWeb.co.za. DefenceWeb. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
  2. "19 Field Engineer Regiment" (PDF). www.rfdiv.mil.za. Reserve Force Division. Archived from the original (pdf) on 20 October 2014. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
  3. "Engineer Formation Structure". South African Army. SANDF. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
  4. Campbell, Keith (21 April 2006). "SA army engineers support peacekeeping in Africa". engineeringnews.co.za. Engineering News. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
  5. "19 Field Facebook Page".
  6. Hofstatter, Stephan; Oatway, James (22 August 2014). "South Africa at war in the DRC - The inside story". Times Live. Sunday Times. Retrieved 22 September 2014.
  7. "Ingeniers (Genie) - Engineers". sadf.info. Retrieved 20 October 2014.


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