South African Defence Force

The South African Defence Force, abbreviated SADF, comprised the armed forces of South Africa from 1957 until 1994. It was established by the Defence Act of 1957 and officially succeeded the Union Defence Force shortly before the state became a republic in 1961. In 1994 it was superseded by the South African National Defence Force. The SADF was organised for a dual mission of countering insurgency in all forms and maintaining a conventional arm able to defend the republic's borders. Its general staff covered finance, intelligence, logistics, operations, personnel and planning, and the Medical Service stood beside the Army, Navy and Air Force. Its troops took part in the South African Border War and in the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars.