The primary role of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) is the preservation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of South Africa against an external military threat. Africa is at the centre of South African policy, and the growth and success of the South African economy are further inherently dependent on enduring peace, stability, economic development and deepened democracy on the continent (Department of Defence 2015: 3, 7). It is increasingly apparent that the United Nations cannot address every potential and actual conflict troubling the world. African governments bear the primary responsibility for dealing with and responding to the various conflicts on the continent; it makes sense to increase African participation in activities such as peacekeeping on the continent. The strategies, force designs, force preparation and force structure elements must be sufficiently flexible to ensure that African defence forces remain capable, not only of executing their constitutional duties to protect themselves from acts of external aggression during conventional military operations, but that they must also be designed, prepared and fitted with the capability of seamless integration with regional and continental security architectures during Peace and Security Operations (PSO) and humanitarian assistance operations. The SANDF should take up available appointments to the African Union (AU) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC); otherwise, the SANDF will essentially act as observers to defence diplomacy processes on the continent and will have limited capacity to shape and influence the African battlespace and security environment (Olivier 2015: 321).