THE NICKNAME “THE DIRTY DOZEN”

This nickname was a misnomer since there were only eleven founder members. The story commences with the eleven reporting to the Infantry School on 13 July 1970. Under command of the Infantry School fo

This nickname was a misnomer since there were only eleven founder members. The story commences with the eleven reporting to the Infantry School on 13 July 1970. Under command of the Infantry School for administration and logistics, but under command of Chief of the Army for training and other matters.

Jan Breytenbach embarked on an intensive re-training period where it was not always possible to fit into the regimental routine of the  Infantry School. This became a bone of contention.

Then there was the matter of the dress code. The SADF was still on the British patterned Khaki combat fatigues. (Nutria only became available in 1971). The eleven members had an assortment of combat dress ranging  from Rhodesian, Portuguese, and other combat outfits including para smocks. Returning to the unit after heavy training, the group did not look uniform and  parade ground neat. This became another bone of contention.

This picture of dirty unshaven men, not uniformly dressed reminded some of a film that was released in 1967 called “The Dirty Dozen”. The story line is based on a true similar type operation in WW2. In this film, twelve of the most dangerous  American criminals, six of whom were facing the death penalty, were selected/recruited  and turned into highly skilled commandos for a Top  Secret mission  to eliminate Wehrmacht officers at a château near Rennes, disrupting the German chain of command in northern France ahead of D-Day. Any convicts who survive the mission will receive a pardon. This film tracks the intense training and tensions, and after an incident of insubordination, their shaving and washing kit was taken away, thus creating the  term “The Dirty Dozen”. The film was a huge Box Office success.

When the eleven returned from the field after heavy training, sweaty, in disparate dress and untidy, this resonated with the images in the film “The Dirty Dozen”. The picture of the founder members taken in the Knysna forest  struck a similar chord, and the nickname “Dirty Dozen” was born.

The subsequent transfer to Southern Cape Command for administration and logistics, was a diplomatic solution, that kept the Infantry School’s high standards of professionalism, regimental practice and discipline intact. The Dirty Dozen were free to explore and experiment to  develop new methods. The Dirty dozen actions  gained  momentum, to the greater benefit of establishing a formidable special forces presence.

And the rest is history.

25.8.2025

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