The South African Air Force needs to improve the quality of its new recruits, Major General Mandla Mangethe, the force’s new chief of Air Command, said on Wednesday.
”We need more young people wanting to join the air force so that we can have quality recruits, especially at the sharp end of the force where we need pilots and fighter pilots,” he said.
He was speaking after a parade where he took over control of the Air Command from Major General Frans Labuschagne, becoming the first black officer in the position.
Mangethe, who was a pilot in the Ethiopian Air Force during his time with Umkhonto We Sizwe, and later with the South African Air Force’s 41 and 44 transport squadrons, said he was looking forward to his new position.
”It means a lot; there are a lot of things that need to be done. It is a great challenge,” he said.
Mangethe will officially take up his new position on January 1 next year. He is currently the chief director of air policy and plans.
The Air Command is the implementation wing of the air force preparing combat-ready forces. Its commanding officer is also in control of all the country’s air force bases, stations and units. — Sapa