'Operation Savannah

The future:

It was a difficult transition to make back to Civies. The problem was that they could not talk about their experiences due to a secrecy agreement. There were no trauma councilors to make sense of what they had gone though. The South African male of all colours was in a situation they could not control , being at the whim of their government for call ups if white and second class if not. Society reflected these issues with symptoms of increasing lawlessness and aggression. Alchol abuse became common and stress related diseases increased. Women were forced into taking greater control of their lives, as divorce and suicide rates became the highest in the world. The events laid down in the 70s brought much pain, but also enabled South Africa to confound the world with a peaceful conversion to democracy, and today  women enjoy equality and work parity  unknown thoughout Africa. The past left it’s mark with severe violent crime. South Africa enjoys the rare accolade of having the highest murders per capita outside of a war zone.

This section is about the men now in 2001. I thought it would be nice to end the site with hope. There was much  lost,  many regrets, and some really good memories too.

David Gibson: Left the army and joined the Post Office- ironically by doing this he was exempt from army callups. He qualified in 1979 as a Telecommunications Technican. He then joined Eskom and became eligible for army call-ups.

Married Gail in 1978. Has three children, all girls. He lives in Germiston where he is involved in NGOs in his private capacity. Careerwise he is a Senior Network Analyst at Arrivia.kom with his M.C.S.E, MCT and Project management (Rand Afrikaans University).  He did not complete his degree due to annual army demands and an 18 hour a day work load, something he regrets deeply. "I  would never again fight for a government ideal, but believe the army is good for boys, giving much needed discipline and comradieship."

Eion Gibson: Followed the same route as his brother, but married in 1980 to Diana Dugmore and has two girls. Completed his Diploma in Datametrics at Unisa and left Eskom in 1998.  Works for  The Metagroup as a consultant. He is presently considering leaving the country as a result of the crime.

Stephanus Fortunatus Fourie. Left the army, but found it impossible to adjust to civies and he joined The  Rhodesian Armoured Regiment (RhACR) then the Selous Scouts and then the parabats   Married Maryna and has a son and daughter. He lives in Belville, where he runs a financial advisory bussiness  http://home.intekom.com/sfa. In his own words this is "A true
multi disciplined practice far ahead of current trends." He  also served on national bodies, did national corporations strategic planning work, and emits vast quantities of evil smelling gas.

Brian Borchards; studied to become an accountant, married Moira and has four children. He has left South Africa and is presently in Texas.

Blackie Swart, Married and became a fireman.

Ed Stone, married Cheryl and has two children. Last known address was in Kokstad where he owned an auto electrical company.