It was very exciting stalking the bush hunting down SWAPO. The adrenaline were pumping and it was really a man’s world. Any moment we could walk into a large group of Freedom fighters and all hell will break loose, with us having a slight advantage with better equipment, night sights and the Casspirs looming nearby at about ten kilometres distance just waiting for us to signal for their support. But far enough so that the freedom fighters could not hear their engines running. We would try and move as silently as we could. Send in a couple of Owambo guys to the resident huts to try and convince the locals that we were SWAPO. The funny thing is that the local people could pick up European people’s eyes. So we had to wear glasses when approaching the huts to hide our eyes. I enjoyed this very much and would roam the area for hours on end but eventually had to go back to one of the basis to go and get some rest for work the next day. I experienced that most Koevoet members did not enjoy night patrols as much as I did and many complained about working at night as well as day time as the traditional Koevoet habit was. But to me this was very special and throughout my career at Koevoet I did it as often as I could and as I specialised in doing it even resorted to only three members with me on these outings. I would take two permanent Owambo soldiers and an ex freedom fighter and really try to merge into the way freedom fighters would do it. We were roaming the border with Angola now for the fourth day when we eventually picked up info of a large group in the area according to the informers last week. But I knew it was a tall story. These guys were close by. Unfortunately we got no more confirmations, could not lift any tracks and one of my four Casspirs broke down and I had to get spare parts to get it fixed from Oshakati about two hundred kilometres away. I knew these freedom fighters were just around the next corner boxed into some cluster of trees and would move out that night over the border because they knew we knew about their presence because of our movement and circling of the area. So I had one change to ambush them that night on one of the infiltration roots as they ran for the border. Because of my presence and movement I knew there is only one place they could cross the asphalt road where there is a bridge over the water channel. Have a last drink there at the bush pub and run for the boarder. So that is where I will be roaming tonight. I called our radio command station At Ruancana, Z6 to ask for permission to put up an ambush right there that night. But first I needed to get spare parts to fix my Casspir and sent them back to go and protect the Police Basis. Needless to say the spares got late, we only fixed the Casspir after dark and then we had to run to get to the Police basis and could not set up the ambush. The next day when I got to the crossing of the would have been ambush they have passed right there and forty clear pair of tracks were there to follow all the way to the border. The border was frozen so we could not go over and hunt them down. I could pull the hair out of my head. I was sick for days on end. How could I miss an opportunity like that that comes once in a life time! I mean this is why I was there with Koevoet. This was a dream that was supposed to come true and I missed the opportunity.
96