Never be caught out! (Part 2)
Gary (nicknamed “brilletjies” by his buddies in the SADF due to the excessively thick lenses through which he peered), had received training in intelligence gathering. He was deployed in Northern South West Africa along the Kavango River during 1982. As a young officer based in Rundu, he was involved in the rather mundane work of picking up useful snippets of intelligence in the course of his dealings with the Kwangali people in whose language he had become proficient. The early ‘80s were heady times for young men deployed along the border with Angola. Two major audacious operations into Angola were both sources of excitement and anxiety for those involved. Gary, though based in Rundu, was sent on both of these operations. His task was to sweep the scenes after any “contact” (exchange of gunfire) to identify and collect useful nuggets of information. These he would collate and feed to his superiors back in the “States” (as South Africa was colloquially referred to by the troops). These stints exposed him to the reality and horror of war and left an indelible mark on his psyche. This was to remain with him long after his military service.
Seared into Gary’s mind as he progressed through his life as a civilian after his National Service, was not only what he had witnessed in the Bush War, but that which he experienced as an unwitting victim of circumstance whilst a student not long after returning to South Africa. That experience was triggered by a bomb explosion on the 20th May 1983 and reinforced on the 14th June 1986 when soft targets were attacked by the armed wing of the ANC in its struggle against the South African government of that time. He miraculously survived both of these recklessly executed acts aimed at effecting regime change. Questionable methods gained traction and legitimacy in the dubious quest for a “greater good.” Gary witnessed the aftermath of both the Pretoria Church Street bombing and the Magoos blast in Durban. A twist of fate had placed him in the areas targeted, but a random quirk of his precise location in these areas, determined that he survived both with only slight injuries to his stocky frame, but was left with deep emotional scars.
By the time that the National Intelligence Service approached him clandestinely in 1984, Gary had already begun to process his experiences in the Bush War and had run the gauntlet of the Pretoria Bombing as a civilian. As a Rhodes University student visiting Pretoria for a few days in May 1983 he fell victim to a car bomb.
He was not immediately sold on the idea of becoming involved in this murky world of surreptitious intelligence gathering and essentially a commission to spy on his fellow students. His most recent experience weighed heavily on his mind, too, as he identified on both sides of the ideological divide a callous disregard for the sanctity of life. His views and position on the political dilemma were, to say the least, discombobulated and it pained him to be confronted with the choices being presented to him. It was abundantly clear that there were combatants on both sides of the great divide who, regardless of the merits of their cause, didn’t come out of it all smelling like roses. There were more than just a few hands dripping with innocent blood.
The conundrum Gary faced before he acquiesced, was subjected to much thought. He finally agreed after determining secretly in his own mind that he would manipulate the content of his “inraps” (intelligence reports) in a manner that would cause the least harm. The mission he would conduct would be contingent on him infiltrating the realm of liberal student politics and, possibly, the organisations that lurked behind the student groups that were undermining “the system”. They were throwing their weight behind efforts to make South Africa’s townships utterly ungovernable. In the process he would apply his consummate manipulative skill to play that side of the divide with equal dexterity. In the deep recesses of Gary’s intellect, he began to chart a path which would be both dangerous, should he be caught out, and cunningly retard the worst excesses of the warmongers in both camps. He knew the risks of becoming a double agent. Indeed, the enforcers of the “regime” and of the “liberation” movements were only trifled with at one’s peril. They harboured no qualms about terminating the lives of those who crossed them.
What informed his decision to double-cross the South African NIS? Two incidents in Angola when he acted as an intelligence sweeper during the operations known as “Super” and “Meebos” filled him with horror. The Recces (elite reconnaissance troops) were usually the vanguard – at the forefront of operational intelligence and paving the way for the campaign. They did their “thing” in a very different way to the “snuffeltiffies.” The “snuffeltiffies” usually joined the bulk of the troops advancing into the way prepared on the strength of that which the Recces had unearthed. He, like other officers, removed insignia indicating rank (so as not to become prime targets) and boarded the armoured troop carriers, both large and small, to take them deep into the Angolan bush. Gary would not be directing operations in any way, but was there to determine what to gather and capture for the purpose of future operational planning in the offices of the high command structures.
On board an Eland-90, a robust and maneuverable little armoured vehicle, he and one of the commanding officers entered the fray. When all hell broke loose as contact was struck, Gary was able to survey much of the exchange of gunfire and rocket launching into enemy territory. The Elands were equipped with a 90mm gun which punched above its weight, being able to take out the Cuban T-34-85 tanks with a well placed strike. FAPLA (Angolan armed forces) relied to a large extent on their Cuban benefactors and counterparts, but tended not to offer the most illustrious performance on the battlefield. Gary was a short distance behind other Elands and SADF troops when a FAPLA temporary base was happened upon. FAPLA troops had been rather lazy when preparing this particular TB (temporary base) and had dug shallow defensive tranches from which they took up firing positions. Disregarding orders, one of the Eland drivers took advantage of that situation and popped the left side wheels into the shallow trench, sped through it, and left crushed and severely mutilated FAPLA soldiers in his wake. Seeing the carnage, despite most actions being legitimate in the heat of battle, Gary was not impressed. He was nauseated at the sight of these enemy troops being squashed like bugs. One’s head, not protected by a “staaldak” (steel helmet), was mounted by the left front wheel – a sight that left Gary projectile vomiting his hastily eaten morning breakfast. Not a pretty sight, but one which was burnt into his memory as if with a branding iron. He never did follow up whether the commander had reprimanded or sanctioned the driver in any way, but it filled him with disgust – it somehow didn’t seem like a legitimate and honourable encounter in a skirmish.
Another incident he did not witness, but had to collect “intel” in the aftermath. A little Angolan village reputedly harbouring SWAPO and FAPLA soldiers, was decimated with Valkiri 127mm “Vorster Orrel” rockets and grenades. When the guns fell silent, Gary entered the village and in some of the huts he found the charred remains of women and children. Although he understood the nature and brutality of war, he struggled to get his head around the concept of young children being caught in such crossfire. The nagging thought that haunted him was: Could better “intel” not have prevented such carnage? Was this irresponsible behaviour for operational expediency, or was it simply a dastardly deed perpetrated with scant regard for human life – indeed, had he witnessed a war crime?
Gary continued to serve and perform his own role diligently until demobilization and his return to South Africa. He returned, though, with a determination to play a role in ending carnage such as he had witnessed.
Seemingly out of harm’s way, back in the “states” he would become a victim of another bloody event which, given the extent of the carnage and the indiscriminate manner in which innocent civilians were caught in its wake, could only be described as an act of terror on a grand scale.
As a Rhodes freshman, Gary found himself in Pretoria on a short break from his academic books. It was the 20th May 1983, and he was in Church street, waiting at a pedestrian crossing near Poynton’s Building. It was rush hour and office workers were emerging from the building which housed, among other institutions, the South African Air Force Headquarters. A car bomb exploded and blew 21 people to smithereens, including the 2 MK (ANC Armed Wing) bombers and scores of civilians. 219 were injured, among whom Gary. He, in his dazed state, rendered assistance to some of the victims, and the remains of the dead lay scattered around him. It was a bitter blow to him. He had now witnessed the depths to which people could sink in the name of ideology, or what they defend as legitimate targets, paying no heed to the peril visited on innocent bystanders who just try to eke out an existence and get on with their lives peacefully.
This confluence of events weighed heavily on the young Gary. One more incident a few years later in Durban tested him further. The things he witnessed and the experiences he lived through in the 1980s informed his decision to engage in a daunting personal mission to spy, manipulate and mislead as a double agent. PTSD (post traumatic stress) was a field of psychological study in its infancy at the time, but that made it no less real for a young man about to embark on a career as an adult in a crazy world.
[Next week this piece of fiction will be taken further – a web of intrigue will be spun with the Cold War as background]
©Paul M Haupt
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