African voices in the South African military training context: exploring the possible impact of national culture on African trainee’s achievement motivation

Abstract

The South African Special Forces operators group consists of highly able individuals from different cultural, philosophical and ideological backgrounds. The cost to train candidates during the grueling Special Forces Training Cycle is significant, yet the percentage of candidates who complete training to become Qualified Special Forces Operators remains disappointing in spite of comprehensive research and action taken to improve training success rates. Because success in any challenging life situation and particularly during Special Forces training is dependent on various factors with the significance of cognitive and physical attributes having been confirmed by numerous studies, the emotional and spiritual attributes associated with overcoming obstacles, particularly from an African perspective, deserve further investigation. Through an exploration of the African life philosophy of Ubuntu, this Qualitative exploration investigates the relevance of the Ubuntu philosophy and other epistemological issues at play during Special Forces training. This paper is an attempt to culturally sensitize the reader to investigate the spiritual and emotional elements interconnected to Special Forces candidates’ cultural heritage.