ADDRESS AT FEBRUARY 2008 AIR FORCE DAY PARADE

It gives me great pleasure to welcome all present here today to this Air Force Day parade.

The first day of February is a special date for the SAAF, and you, our guests, are very special people. We are happy to have you here to join with us in celebrating the anniversary of the founding of the South African Air Force.

Traditionally, and appropriately, acknowledgement of the achievements of Air Force bases, squadrons and units is made at an Air Force Day parade. It has been both an honour and a privilege for me to present the various prestige awards to those who won them through excellence, commitment and dedication during 2007. To those who gave of their best but did not emerge as winners this year, allow me to say: Well tried, but let this occasion inspire you to strive just that little harder next year.

My sincere congratulations, and those of the Air Force Command Council also, go to all concerned, not forgetting the back-room personnel whose consistent, loyal, routine contributions made the achievement of these awards by their respective units possible. Excellent units make excellent bases, and excellent bases make an excellent Air Force. A special word of congratulations goes to AFB Yplt, which was the prestige unit of the SAAF for the second year running.

Invariably, the marking of an anniversary brings, together with the celebration, an element of reflection on the highs and lows of the past year. The year 2007 was not without its challenges, but it was also a period of substantial achievement in many respects.

OPERATIONS

During the past year the SAAF participated fully in the peace-support initiatives of the Government, and approximately 1 900 hours were flown between January and December 2007 in support of deployment in Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Sudan; in assisting the election process in the Comoros and in Lesotho; and in supporting military training in the Central African Republic. The aircraft we used were the Boeing 707, the BK117, the C47TP, the C130 and the Oryx.

At home, the SAAF flew in joint maritime exercises with the South African Navy and the United States Navy. The Air Force also participated in Exercise Young Eagle, an SA Army airborne capability exercise at De Brug, near Bloemfontein, and in Exercise Seboka, an SA Army brigade exercise held at Lohatla.

Humanitarian operations featured very prominently in the flying achievements of the SAAF during the year 2007. In support of flood victims in Mozambique, the Air Force rescued 943 people marooned by the flood waters and transported 650 tons of food in aid of their survival. During heavy rains and floods in the Southern Cape during November 2007, 152 people were rescued by the helicopters of 15 Squadron. Some 53 sorties were flown in casualty or medical evacuations. Search-and-Rescue flights accounted for 38 sorties and the rescue of 99 people. Veld and bush fires were particularly devastating during 2007 - areas such as Makhado, Nelspruit, Sabi and Worcestor being seriously affected. The Air Force emptied some 757 Bambi buckets (1 892 500 litres) of water on these fires. Furthermore, the SAAF and the SA Police Service Air Wing collaborated in the dramatic rescue of 75 people at night and under extremely unfavourable weather conditions from a fire in the Seaboard Hotel in Durban. Eurocopter presented a prestige award to 15 Squadron and the SAPS Air Wing by way of recognition of this exceptional achievement.

In the meantime, internal operations carried on as usual, with the Air Force collaborating with the SA Police in crime prevention and in border protection. Coastline reconnaissance entailed 33 sorties, during which more than 1 000 vessels were logged and many infringements reported.

In its endeavours to promote the image of the Air Force within the national community and to take aviation to the people, the SAAF also participated in a number of air shows, community festivals, fly-pasts and other events during the year 2007.

TRAINING

During the period April to December 2007, and through exceptional commitment on the part of all concerned, the Air Force was able to fly approximately 86% of its allocated hours, almost 11 000 of these being training. There was participation in four maritime training exercises, side by side with Nato, the US Navy and the RAF, as well as in an Electronic Warfare camp and in an Air Defence exercise aimed at the 2010 Soccer World Cup event. One Wings Parade was held in 2007, with 24 SAAF student pilots, eight Air Force Reserve Squadron members, five navigators, one test engineer and one air photographer receiving their SAAF wings. In these core musterings, 62,5% of the recipients were black and 22,5% female.

The Air Force Reserve is an integral part of the SAAF and it was therefore fitting that there were members of the Air Force Reserve Squadrons who received their SAAF wings at this Wings Parade. The additional resources that the AF Reserve Squadrons bring to the SAAF are invaluable, and besides trained aircrew these resources include aircraft ranging from small two-seater aircraft to executive jets. Several black pilots who had left the Regular Force have since joined the AFR Squadrons and now make a valuable contribution there.

SPORT

Physical and mental fitness are essential attributes of a leader and the Air Force offers its members many opportunities to develop in this regard. Not the least of these is participation in SANDF sport, which in turn promotes self-discipline, teamwork, leadership and the will to win.

Three men and one woman from the Air Force were awarded national colours during 2007, while another 53 members achieved provincial colours. Furthermore, members of the SAAF were included in various teams that represented the SANDF in international events.

Unfortunately, owing to increasing financial constraints, the Air Force will be obliged to review its spectrum of sports to identify those codes that it can afford to promote in future. Participation in sport must, however, be part of the way of life in the Air Force.

AVIATION SAFETY

One of the most important goals set for all members of the Air Force has been to achieve a zero major accident rate by the end of the year 2007. Good initial progress was made towards the achievement of this goal and by the close of the 2006/07 financial year, with approximately 34 400 hours having been flown, no Class A or B aircraft accidents had occurred during the preceding 12 months. However, what is known as the "cyclic phenomenon" was lurking in the background and a serious helicopter accident occurred late in the year 2007. This was followed by a fatal Astra accident early this year, and our sincere sympathy goes to the family of the late Lt Col Chris Meiring. We know, however, that discipline and integrity in all we do and in every aspect of the work of the SAAF, coupled with active resistance to complacency, will help to keep the accident spike in these cycles brief and of low magnitude. I therefore urge all concerned to accept this challenge and to play their part in ensuring an acceptable aviation safety record in the Air Force.

SAEM
During the presentation of the prestige awards some of our guests may have wondered by what criteria the competitors were ranked. Since 1999 the South African Excellence Model (SAEM) has been used to achieve a reliable assessment of the respective, sustained excellence levels of the units, bases and directorates. In this process the SAAF does not focus rigidly on perfection, but rather on continuing excellence in the way of doing things. In the words of Charles Reade: Sow an act and you reap a habit. Sow a habit and you reap a character. Sow a character and you reap a destiny. Excellence must become a way of life in the Air Force.

Kaufman reminds us that they who do not create the future they want, must endure the future they get. In pursuing its goal of air power excellence and looking forward to what the focus areas of the year 2008 should be, the Air Force has identified six strategic focus areas for particular attention in the months that lie ahead. These are command and control, operational readiness, support optimisation, HR optimisation, affordability and, last but not least, accountability at all levels.

The members of the SAAF are among its greatest assets, and there exists a need for us to concentrate on the rejuvenation of training and the instillation of an ethic or culture of learning. Where necessary, the accent must fall on basic skills such as communication, computer skills and the advancement of a military culture. Encompassing all of this is the task of career planning. Each member of the Air Force must feel the reassurance that there is a planned career for him or her in the SAAF.

CHALLENGES

Anniversaries are not only occasions for taking stock; they are also opportunities for looking forward. While we should be realistic and recognise the significance of the challenges that lie ahead, let us remember that with the correct attitude and commitment these challenges can be managed.

The SAAF has continued to experience a major outflow of skilled personnel. This is also happening throughout the aviation industries in South Africa. Leaders in the aviation business must get together to address the threat of losing personnel to the Middle and Far East, in particular.

The Air Force budget remains our biggest challenge. Inflation in the environment in which the Air Force operates exceeds, in real terms, 15% per annum, while increases in the annual budget allocation have been less than 5%. The aviation environment is particularly exposed to higher labour rates, heavy reliance on imported high-technology equipment and high consumption of expensive commodities such as aviation fuel. For the Air Force the cost of aviation fuel, which comprises 10% of the operating budget, has risen by 95% during the last six years. The cost of ownership of the Strategic Defence Packages exceeds that of the systems they are replacing, and with no budget enhancement the new aircraft cannot, therefore, be flown at the planned utilisation rates, thereby rendering full utilisation of their superior operational capabilities difficult. More stringent economies in areas that do not contribute directly to the operational capabilities of the SAAF will therefore have to be considered.

It is a well-known fact that the Public Sector cannot compete with the Private Sector in so far as remuneration packages for skilled personnel are concerned. This is clearly seen in the previously mentioned drain of expertise and skills from the Air Force to the Private Sector during 2007, when 82% of those who left were NCOs, significantly more than half of these being from technical musterings. The Air Force cannot accept an erosion of its skilled personnel of this magnitude, and during 2008 positive steps will have to be conceived and implemented to counter it.

Yet another challenge to be faced during the coming year is the required support to AAD 2008, the African Aerospace and Defence Exhibition, in company with Armscor, the South African Aerospace, Maritime and Defence Association, and the South African Commercial Aviation Association. This exhibition is a biennial showcase for the commercial and military aviation, aerospace and defence industries, not only of African countries, but other countries as well. It is also a premier meeting place for civilian air transport operators from all over Africa. I have every confidence that, as in past years, every Air Force member involved in this occasion will spare no effort to uphold the image of the SAAF.

I look forward with great enthusiasm to the exciting developments that are scheduled for the year 2008. The evolution of the SAAF into a tactical, deployable force is bound to continue significantly and progress will undoubtedly be made with regard to further involvement in the SADC region. I believe that we will make great strides forward in our search for excellence. I urge you all to make sure that you are part of it.

I thank you.