Bogus Recces

Up to 25% of South Africa's former Special Forces are working in already in Iraq. So strong is the high salaraies, that the SA Special Forces League gets weekly queries from employers checking CV claims. Less than 5% are genuine claims, as South Africans claim to have been Recces. The skills learnt during South Africa's bush war have led to former South African soldiers being in high demand as bodyguards and protection officers for companies working in the world's trouble spots. Highly trained former operators can earn up to R100 000 a month providing security in Iraq. According to the SA Special Forces League, until January 2003, fewer than 900 men had ever qualified as Special Forces operators. Of these 200 are dead, around 30 are in their late sixties and early seventies, and around 20 are seriously and permanently physically disabled as a result of their service. While many impostors make claims of service in the bush war, official records show that, of over 100 000 applicants, only 480 men qualified as Recces by the end of the conflict.