defenceWeb Written by defenceWeb - Lockdown duty patrols are now conducted under the Op Ligcolo banner. At the height of South Africa’s COVID-19 induced lockdown, the landward force showed its mettle by deploying no less than 33, mostly infantry, companies in a 72 hour period. This fact was used by SA Army Chief, Lieutenant General Lawrence Mbatha, to illustrate the important role of the SA National Defence Force (SANDF), its services and divisions in operations other than war (OOTW) when he addressed the Junior Command and Staff Duties class of 2021 at the Army College last week. “As part of Operation Notlela the deployment saw soldiers and their commanders adhere to the mandate of developing and sustaining the ability to generate sufficient numbers of fully trained, multi-purpose, combat-ready forces to meet South Africa’s defence and security objectives,” Mbatha said.