Sergeant Major of the Army (South Africa)

The Sergeant Major of the South African Army is the most senior Warrant Officer in the South African Army. The post was created in 1967.[1] It is a singular appointment – it is only held by one person at any time. The Sergeant Major of the Army reports to the Chief of the Army and is responsible for maintaining discipline in the Army[2]

Sergeant Major of the South African Army Sersant-Majore van die Suid-Afrikaanse Leër
Current Rank insignia
Incumbent Ncedakele Mtshatsheni since 1 February 2017
South African Army
Reports to	Chief of the Army
Formation	3 October 1967
First holder	WO1 J.A.B. du Preez PMM
Website	Official website

Rank and insignia

Rank

Before 2008 all Sergeant Majors of the Army held the rank of Warrant Officer Class 1, with appointment to the position of Sergeant Major of the Army. In 2008 the SANDF expanded the Warrant Officer ranks and the Sergeant Major of the Army now holds the rank of Senior Chief Warrant Officer.[3]

Insignia

Prior to 2002 the Sergeant Major of the Army had a unique rank insignia, consisting of a Warrant Officer class 1 insignia with the South African Army badge above it.

• 
  Insignia in the SADF (Pre 1994)
• 
  SANDF Rank Insignia WO1 Level 2 embossed badge (Senior Chief Warrant Officer)

After the Warrant Officer rank redesign the Sergeant Major of the Army does not have a unique rank insignia, but rather uses the rank insignia of the rank of Senior Chief Warrant Officer.

List of officeholders

No.	Portrait	Sergeant Major of the Army	Took office	Left office	Time in office	Ref
1		WO1 J.A.B. du Preez PMM	3 October 1967	31 August 1970	2 years, 332 days	[4][5]
2		WO1 O.O. Snyman PMM	1 September 1970	31 December 1978	8 years, 121 days	[4]
3		WO1 G.A. Erasmus PMM	1 January 1979	30 June 1984	5 years, 181 days	[4]
4		WO1 J.J.C. Holiday	1 July 1984	30 June 1987	2 years, 364 days	[5]
5		WO1 Carl FA Röhrbeck	1 July 1987	30 April 1990	2 years, 303 days	[6]
6		WO1 AJJ Hattingh PMD	1 May 1990	30 September 1992	2 years, 152 days	[4]
7		WO1 Piet H Röhrbeck PMM	1 October 1992	31 October 1993	1 year, 30 days	[4]
8		WO1 J.J. "Koos" Moorcroft PMD, VRM, PMM, MMM	1 November 1993	30 May 2001	7 years, 210 days	[4]
9		WO1 EW Sykes PMD	30 May 2001	30 November 2005	4 years, 183 days	[7]
10		WO1 Joseph Tshabalala	1 December 2005	30 March 2007	1 year, 119 days	[8]
11		SCWO Mothusi Kgaladi	1 April 2007	31 August 2011	4 years, 152 days	-
–		CWO Kallie Brendenkamp Acting	1 September 2011	30 March 2012	211 days	[9]
12		SCWO Charles Laubscher PMM	1 April 2012	30 September 2016	4 years, 182 days	[10][11]^:33
13		SCWO Ncedakele Mtshatsheni (born 1968)	1 October 2016	31 January 2017	122 days	[12]
			1 February 2017	Incumbent	3 years, 364 days

See also

• South African military ranks

References

1. Radburn, Arthur (1990). "South African Army Ranks and Insignia". South African Journal of Military Studies. 20 (2): 2.
2. http://www.army.mil.za/structure/structure_detail_level_2.htm
3. http://www.defenceweb.co.za/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=7118:fact-file-comparative-military-and-civil-service-grades-&catid=79:fact-files&Itemid=159
4. Kemp, Neville. unpublished manuscript.
5. "Wel en Wee berig 11 van 2012" (in Afrikaans). Archived from the original on 16 April 2013. Retrieved 22 October 2012.
6. "The SADF: Supplement to the Financial Mail" (PDF). Financial Mail: 25. July 1987.
7. Pienaar, Nelda (January 2006). "From the Editor's Desk" (PDF). SA Soldier. 13 (1): 4. ISSN 1609-5014.
8. "SA Army appoints new Sergeant Major".
9. Makhubela, Cpl Itumeleng (January 2012). "The inaugural of the SA Army leadership" (PDF). SA Soldier. 19 (1): 22. ISSN 1609-5014.
10. defenceWeb (16 May 2012). "New Sergeant Major for Army". defenceweb.co.za. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
11. Rademeyer, Lt Col Annelize (August 2012). "Aiming to uplift Army Warrant Officers and Non-commissioned Officers" (PDF). SA Soldier. 19 (8): 32–33. ISSN 1609-5014.
12. "Mtshatsheni is new SA Army sergeant major". Defenceweb. 2 February 2017. Retrieved 26 September 2017.