defenceWeb Written by defenceWeb - Kobus Marais. Last week’s black-out at the Dunnottar military base – the second in six months – is not an unusual occurrence at SA National Defence Force (SANDF) bases and facilities, according to Kobus Marais. “Having no power at military facilities and installations is not on. They should be treated as national strategic facilities and should never be without power,” the Democratic Alliance (DA) shadow minister of defence and military veterans told defenceWeb. Now in his second stint as the major opposition party’s defence and military veterans watchdog, Marais accepts he is a go-to for complaints about matters ranging from personnel through to the condition of equipment and lack of services, including electricity and water. In this regard he was on the contact list of SA National Defence Union (Sandu) national secretary Pikkie Greeff when the lights again went out at the east Gauteng base.