6 South African Infantry Battalion

6 South African Infantry Battalion
Active	1 January 1962
Country	South Africa
Allegiance	Republic of South Africa  Republic of South Africa
Branch	South African Army  South African Army
Type	Air assault infantry
Size	Battalion
Part of	South African Army Infantry Formation
Garrison/HQ	Grahamstown, Eastern Cape
Motto(s)	Aliis Melius
Engagements	South African Border War Part of South African Army Operations Operation Protea Operation Daisy Peacekeeping Part of United Nations Force Intervention Brigade Commanders Lt Col Altin John Gysman Operations Kibati Triple Towers Niyabiyondo
Commanders
Current commander	Lt Col Altin John Gysman
Insignia
Company level Inisgnia
SA Motorised Infantry beret bar circa 1992	SA Motorised Infantry beret bar

6 South African Infantry Battalion is an air assault infantry unit of the South African Army.

History

6 SAI was established on January 1, 1962 at Grahamstown, Eastern Cape.^[1]

Bush War/ Namibia

The battalion became operational in 1970.^[1] 6 SAI took part in Operation Protea and Operation Daisy in Angola.^[1]

Post 1994

The battalion has since become an air assault infantry unit specifically trained to deploy via helicopters.^[1] The battalion was deployed again in April 2013 to the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo as part of the United Nations Force Intervention Brigade.^{[2][3][4][5][6][7]} On the 28 August 2014, after their return from the Democratic Republic of Congo, the battalion was honoured with a Freedom of the City parade through Grahamstown.^[8]

List of Commanders

6 SA Infantry Battalion Leadership

From	Commanding Officers	To
n.d.	Lt Col Altin J Gysman	Present
From	Regimental Sergeants Major	To
n.d.	MWO "Cassie" Coetzee	Present

Insignia

Previous Dress Insignia

6 SAI beret badge  6 SAI Nutria shoulder flash with Eastern Province Command Bar  6 SAI Nutria shoulder flash with Group 7 Command Bar  6 SAI stable belt

Current Dress Insignia

SANDF Infantry wide shoulder flash  Air Assault badge

Gallery

Air Assault Infantry SANDF with Oryx  6 SAI deploying from Oryx

Notes and references

1. Engelbrecht, Leon (2 March 2010). "Fact file: 6 SA Infantry Battalion". Defenceweb.co.za. DefenceWeb. Retrieved 25 September 2014.
2. "5 South African Infantry Battalion Deploys to DRC". African Defence. African Defence. 14 May 2014. Retrieved 25 September 2014.
3. Olivier, Darren (29 August 2013). "The FIB Goes To War". African Defence Review. African Defence Review. Retrieved 25 September 2014. At 07h50 yesterday morning, the Force Intervention Brigade (FIB) of the United Nations peacekeeping force in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO) fired the opening shots of the first ever direct attack on rebel forces in UN peacekeeping history.
4. Stupart, Richard. "The Last Days of M23". AfricanDefence.net. AfricanDefence.net. Retrieved 25 September 2014. It was an assault that few DRC cynics thought possible. Last week, with the assistance of the United Nations’s newly established Force Intervention Brigade, troops from the FARDC drove the M23 rebel faction to the Ugandan border and forced what has been effectively their total and unconditional surrender.
5. Olivier, Darren (30 October 2013). "How M23 was rolled back". AfricanDefence.net. African Defence Review. Retrieved 25 September 2014.
6. Olivier, Darren (1 May 2014). "Casualties in APCLS attack on MONUSCO/FARDC positions". Africandefence.net. African Defence Review. Retrieved 24 September 2014. The SANDF soldiers … stood their ground and defended their position with great courage and determination.
7. Hofstatter, Stephan; Oatway, James (22 August 2014). "South Africa at war in the DRC - The inside story". Times Live. Sunday Times. Retrieved 22 September 2014.
8. "6SAI honoured in Grahamstown parade". Daily Dispatch. 29 August 2014. Retrieved 3 October 2014.