Talk:32 Battalion (South Africa)

NPOV
I get a couple of things from this article:


 * 1: Battalion 32 was a mighty and wonderful combat machine, the likes of which will never be seen again.


 * 2: They were betrayed and treated shamefully.

In other words, this article is severely NPOV, and reads like a tribute to Battalion 32.

ManicParroT (talk) 01:08, 8 March 2008 (UTC)


 * Agreed, have done something about the first paragraph. Babakathy (talk) 08:33, 27 November 2008 (UTC)
 * and the rest.Babakathy (talk) 10:05, 27 November 2008 (UTC)


 * It isn't biased at all. It is true that the members were betrayed by the politicians - a common fate of good soldiers.JohnC (talk) 07:07, 17 February 2009 (UTC)

Coup participants were arrested in Zimbabwe - how does it follow that they didn't know where they were going? If I am arrested on my way to the grocers, does it follow that I don't - or may not -know where I am going?JohnC (talk) 07:07, 17 February 2009 (UTC)

In the interests of trying to define what the NPOV should be, I would like to make these four points:

1) 32 Battalion were militarily extremely effective, certainly an elite force. (I was there, I saw them in action.) This is, neutrally, a fact.

2) 32 Batallion probably contravened international conventions on the conduct of war in their methods. I have not actually checked which conventions might apply, as this is just a discussion page, but wearing enemy uniforms in combat seems to be something that is probably a no-no. To say the least.

3) 32 Battalion was used 'immorally' (value judgement, I know, but it's a useful shortcut to what I mean) by an oppressive minority government both in action against that government's enemies and held as a threat against their own citizens.

4) The members of 32 Battalion were certainly betrayed and mistreated by the outgoing National Party government and the new ANC government. They were, at least, not responsible for the political use made of them in 3) above, which placed them in opposition to most South Africans.

I believe the above is a fair and neutral summary of the general line which this article should take; please do comment. David FLXD (talk) 14:54, 21 March 2011 (UTC)


 * I would suggest that it is neither fair not accurate to state that the battalion was "used 'immorally' (value judgement, I know, but it's a useful shortcut to what I mean) by an oppressive minority government both in action against that government's enemies and held as a threat against their own citizens." It was a military force, used by a highly professional armed forces in entirely military operations. That sounds pretty moral to me. As for the government being oppressive, that is your opinion. The suggestion that it was used against "that government's enemies and held as a threat against their own citizens" is an entirely false claim. It was never used politically either in SWA or in RSA115.188.155.200 (talk) 03:15, 27 December 2015 (UTC)

Glory to the Solders
Boys will did what we were required to do,... all glory too you

Maj AS.Muller (MMM) 75371849 —Preceding unsigned comment added by 41.19.4.153 (talk) 21:21, 16 March 2010 (UTC)

More detailed information about operations and equipment
There is nothing about the Battalion's modus operandi - eg the fact that the frontline platoons ordinarily wore SWAPO uniforms and carried AK47s, or the arrangement by which these platoons were screened from the rest of the then SADF for obvious reasons. There is nothing indicating the specific bases which were used by 32 Battalion: Omauni (main operational base), Buffalo Base in the Caprivi Strip (home base for the Battalion enlisted men), Elundu (signals and supply only; shared with other SADF units). Should something of this not be included? David FLXD (talk) 14:57, 1 March 2011 (UTC)

What about including the Truth and Reconsiliation Commisions findings about 32 Bat. members?
I have a friend who was a 32 Battalion member, he has told me that a lot of the unit's members would not openly talk about being a part of the unit, for fear of repercussions from the T.R.C. Could anybody do some digging and maybe add the T.R.C.'s hearings against 32 members to this article? 41.146.58.248 (talk) 12:28, 4 June 2011 (UTC)J.Slater


 * These soldiers like any others in high commissions would never reveal it.
 * Are there any survivors and where?
 * I believe Mozambican soldiers were also integrated. 95.93.176.156 (talk) 11:17, 20 April 2023 (UTC)

32 Bn HQ location
The last line under History in the 32Bn article refers:

"Although the main bulk of the battalion was based at Buffalo on the banks of the Okavango, the HQ was in Rundu, 200 km to the east" [citation needed]

I was stationed in Rundu from October 1984 to December 1985 and can confirm that 32 battalion's HQ was in Rundu during this period. By the way, one reason it was called Buffalo battalion was the badge on their camoflage beret was the head of an African Buffalo, face on. Tjc1961 (talk) 09:26, 6 December 2011 (UTC)

Knowledge of destination of coup
It is not logical to say that "Because they were arrested in Zimbabwe, it is not clear whether any of those arrested had full knowledge of their final destination or the alleged coup d'état". There is not association between the two parts of the sentence. They could have been arrested on the Moon, that does not suggest that they did or did not know the final destination.115.188.155.200 (talk) 03:10, 27 December 2015 (UTC)

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Rihan Rupping- loss of a great warrior
This brave valiant man passed away on the 04/10/2016. R.I.P dear friend — Preceding unsigned comment added by 196.201.233.51 (talk) 10:00, 10 October 2016 (UTC)

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Very little mention of controversial actions
A quick google search for "32 battalion war crimes" gets TONNES of results including first person accounts and reports by high profile outlets by the likes of Vice, but as far as I can see the only mention of any untoward behaviour in this entire article is one line mentioning Phola Park that leaves out, for instance, that members of the unit were accused of a number of rapes during the incident in addition to shooting civilians. 118.210.209.65 (talk) 15:53, 18 September 2022 (UTC)