CHAPTER 20 LEGENDS OF THE SELOUS SCOUTS: HALO TRAINING

Soon after they completed the first static line courses, we were tasked to train a number of Selous Scouts to carry out HALO drops. The trainees had to complete the basic static line course before attempting HALO, and the first soldier to knock on my door was, of course, RSM Muvangere. He was not going to miss this opportunity. By this time, the first freefall jumps were done from 8000 feet AGL and we had found a technique which allowed men to fall with stability. I will not say that the RSM took to freefall like a duck to water, but he completed the course and learned how to track, carry weapons, and a suspended load in a most satisfactory manner.At this time the Basic HALO course had doubled from 20 to 40 jumps and at least 10 were done at night using SAVIAC parachutes. All HALO jumps by now had KAP3 Automatic openers fitted.

 There was a Selous Scout soldier who became very good at HALO. I will identify him only as Corporal Stephen. This man was truly a legend, and  word is, he should have been awarded the Grand Cross of Valour, Rhodesia’s highest award for bravery. He instead received the second highest award, the Silver Cross, for outstanding bravery. I am not certain of the exact circumstances for this award, but in a war which saw countless acts of bravery on an almost routine basis, it must have been impressive and extreme.

Schullie Schullenberg was a large man who played a good game of Rugby for the Rhodesian Army and he was an outstanding bushman who could move through the veldt without being seen or heard. However he had another side to his many skills, He had a great sense of humour and a great skill for drawing wonderful cartoons on the PTS black board. This is one of his many drawings.


 This man and Chris “Schulie” Schullenberg were dropped deep inside enemy territory on numerous occasions, mainly on reconnaissance missions to identify terrorist camps. Dangerous work which earned the respect of the PTS staff.

Chris Schullenberg had already trained as a HALO jumper whilst he served with the SAS. All he had to do was a few freefall jumps to keep up-to-date. Corporal Stephen had not completed a Free Fall but managed to get onto the first Selous Scouts Free Fall Course which he completed without issue.

 On November 9, 1977, I received an Air Task calling for a last light drop in Mozambique, a long way from the border well past the Gorongosa area. Schullie, Stephen and I were to fly down to the Forward Airfield at Grand Reef and use the Fire Force Dakota stationed there.
 Stephen and Schullie arrived in the PTS hangar with very little in the way of kit. Schullie was blackened up and carrying the barest of equipment; usually an AK47 with a couple of ammo magazines taped together, a water bottle, a radio, and not much else. Stephen, who was a black African, carried similar equipment. They looked just as they were supposed to look, like a pair of scruffy terrorists.
Then No. 3 Air supply Platoon wheeled in the HALO box with the stuff these men would need for the next few weeks as they tracked down the enemy base camp or supply dump. Whenever these and other clandestine operations were carried out by both the SAS and the Selous Scouts, the PTS Hangar was cleared and only those with the need to know were inside. It usually happened on weekends because the courses under training had weekends off and the place was usually empty
 I collected the maps, aerial photos, parachutes, my own personal AK47, and the oxygen equipment and collected OC Flying, Wing Commander Randy du Rand, to fly us down to Grand Reef.
 Randy was happy to help out, as it got him out of his office and into an aircraft. Additionally, it gave him a chance to see how the aircrews stuck out in the bush were getting on. As soon as we arrived at Grand Reef, I grabbed the PJI on Fire Force duty and his dispatchers to help move the gear from the Islander to the Dakota, and then briefed him on what we were about to do.
 The drop was going in toward last light and we needed to be over 15,000 feet ASL when we crossed the border. The drop point was an uninhabited area of Mozambique, but in order to get there we had to fly over lots of habitation; hence the minimum altitude of 15,000 feet. Soon we were airborne, on oxygen, and flying into the setting sun. When we reached 15000ft ASL the pilots turned and headed for our first navigation point.

The HALO box was rigged with a KAP3 to open the parachute, so the deployment height could be altered. That was just as well, because as we approached the area we noticed dozens of cooking fires spread over a large area. I called Schullie to the door and showed him what lay below.

 Dropping them into what was obviously an inhabited area was far from ideal.  As a last minute decision, we decided to open the box parachute at 10,000 feet ASL, and for Stephen and Schullie to pull at 11,000 feet and follow it down from there. By this time we were above 17,000 feet ASL and still going up. I quickly reset the box KAP3, checked the run in, found what looked like a clear spot, the stick went out and we proceeded back to FAF8.
 I felt sure that at this height these two men and the box would not be seen from the ground, and only very bad luck would stop them. But they had a long, long way to the ground. A long time dangling below a parachute, helpless against attack.  And it was dark. And cold. All the way down.
 All the way back to FAF8 I waited for the call from Shullie. But nothing came. After we landed, I loaded up my bits and pieces. Still nothing.  I tracked down Randy du Rand, and we took off for New Sarum. Still no news. There was a basic course running and I was needed back at the PTS so I had no choice but to head back.
As we flew home I was going over and over the drop in my head, replaying all possible scenarios. Randy said, “You’re really worried about that drop.”

“Yes,” I answered. “I should have scrubbed it.”  But Schullie wanted to go and I let him. The trouble with these drops was the long wait to find out if the guys were okay or `were, instead, stuck on the end of a spear, or worse.

 Randy was my immediate boss in the Air Force. PTS was part of Flying Wing at New Sarum, and he gave me some sound advice. “It is not the first time you haven’t heard from the guys you dropped and it won’t be the last. Just think of it as a bonus when you do hear. Remember, they may be busy, and if they are in trouble then we will go and get them.”

 It was still reassuring to know somebody else was also thinking about these dangerous operations. I got word the next day. Everything was fine and the drop was good. It had been a long, and stressful wait for this news and the relief was palpable. Sometimes the weight of responsibility was heavy indeed.