Flying School might move from Langebaan

The following is a very rough translation form the Afrikaans daily Die Burger:

Erika Gibson

An acute shortage of money may forced the Air Force to move the flight school from Langebaan in the Western Cape to Hoedspruit in Limpopo.

The community of Langebaan has been abuzz for the past two weeks about the possibility of the move, although such a decision has yet to be approved by Lindiwe Sisulu, Minister of Defense.

There is also the possibility that the Langebaan base may be used for the training of the military's so-called youth service in the future.

The basic training of youths associated with literacy training is currently done on a small scale at Saldanha.

Siphiwe Dlamini, chief spokesman of the army, however, said the Air Force is conducting a critical evaluation of its current bases.

The continued existence must be brought in line with the Air Force's mandate. One possibility is the combination of reduced bases or units.

According Helmoed-Römer Heitman, a military expert, there are currently three air force bases in the Western Cape, while Hoedspruit and Louis Trichardt were the only bases north of Pretoria.

"Limpopo was built near the country's northern border for tactical considerations. It at one stage housed three operational units.

"It would therefore be useful to the flight training to move there, because it is closer to the base at Louis Trichardt will be where the basic fighter training is done.

"It makes more sense to renovate unused facilities (as in Hoedspruit) than to, for example, build houses in Bloemfontein if the school were to move there."

Dlamini said the rumors about the shift spread like wildfire after a discussion with the staff of the flight school about the possible relocation.

The instructors were asked to indicate whether they would prefer to move to Bloemspruit or Hoedspruit.

According to Dlamini, any decisions about changes would not be made unilaterally.

Children's schools, spouses who held professional positions and social factors would be considered.

"One must keep in mind that the military is essentially a flexible organization and its people realize they will be transferred at certain stages," said Dlamini.

There are approximately 750 staff members at the Langebaanweg base, some of which are scheduled to stay should the defence force use it for other purposes.