Short Stories and Memories about National Service.

Risks of Driving in Owamboland. Driving on the border was always a risky situation. Over and above the quality of maintenance of some of the vehicles - which were more in for repair than out - one always ran the risk of hitting a local's livestock. Should this happen there was always the demand that payment must be effected. There was no question of who was at fault, the army simply must pay. If no payment was effected then a complaint would be lodged with the OC at 53 BN in Ondangwa or at Sector 10 in Oshakati. Many an animal would simply disappear to ensure there was no evidence. One good thing about the military vehicles was that they were designed in a certain manner to withstand landmines. The underside of the body was in a V-design from front to rear so that should one hit a mine then the effect of the explosion would be deflected sideways. This also helped when one hit an animal at high speed. We experienced this on an occasion in April 1987 while we were in transit from Grootfontein Airport to 53 BN at Ondangwa. As the whole company was in transit we were being transported on the back of KweVoel trucks. These could seat a larger number of troops, and were more effective than the Samil 50s for long run convoys. While on the section of tar road between Tsumeb and Oshivelo gate, the driver was cruising at the usual 80 kms per hour (normal for a convoy) when a cow suddenly stepped up into the road. In this region fences mean nothing and cattle are left free to roam where they wish to graze. The driver had two choices : swerve and risk turning the Kwe over and thereby injuring a large number of troops on the back, or hit the cow and still possibly risk turning the Kwe over on impact. His choice : the latter. All we felt at the back was a bump as he hit the cow, and it felt like the truck hopped as the wheels went over the poor animal. We wondered what had happened as most of us had been snoozing in the afternoon sun. Even with the wind blowing on us as the vehicle moved along it was still hot in the sun, so a snooze was being enjoyed by all. After pulling over a quick inspection was done of the vehicle and the driver ran back to check what had happened to the cow. It was apparently mince meat. There naturally followed a heated debate about payment for the cow, but the local was dismissed after some debate. The vehicle had suffered no damage and we proceeded on to our destination. This proved to be an ominous start to our third and final border trip during National Service.

Copyright © 2001 S. Le Roux AND OpsMedic. All rights reserved.