Warriors For African Wildlife (WFAW) partnered with the Southern African Wildlife College in 2021 when they were looking to gain back a sense of mission-driven purpose to heal unseen wounds and find renewed trust in each other, and in themselves at the highest level. And what better way to do this than in the African bush learning and imparting the skills they had learnt along the way.
Since the introduction to the College made by the Ivan Carter Wildlife Conservation Alliance, Founder and President of WFAW, Brad J Craven and his team have brought five groups of Veterans to the College and have trained 10 U.S. Military Veterans across various training courses at the College. During their training, they have also imparted a number of skills to the College’s instructors and trainees making for a very fertile ongoing relationship with the SAWC.
As part of their learning and growth, these U.S. Military Veterans have immersed themselves in local culture by completing a basic cultural course. The course starts with two days of responsible community outreach to understand cultural differences as well as different cultures within South Africa.
It’s all about teaching and learning when it comes to WFAW. In wanting to immerse themselves in the bush, and in Africa; these U.S. Military Veterans after their two-day responsible community outreach course go through a five-day course with the College’s Responsible Resource Management department and Field Guide trainers, Pieter Nel and Scott Yammin, which comprises both theory and practice. Here they learn about the dangers presented in the bush including the smaller creatures such as snakes, spiders and scorpions.
The Veterans then go on to learn about dangerous game and their behaviour. This includes knowing how to age different species, how age affects behaviour and how different circumstances can affect how animal’s react. While absorbing all this out in the bush, the Veterans also go through animal tracking and signs looking at spoor and dung.
Their training also includes how to responsibly avoid dangerous game when on foot and what to do if coming face to face with dangerous game. A truly immersive experience which is enjoyed by both the teacher and learner especially when coming across elephant, buffalo and lion whilst out in the College’s training area. As part of the practical training, and in the event of having no other choice, from a safety perspective they then go through basic and advanced .375 .458 bolt action simulated charges by dangerous game on the shooting range.
This WFAW training is conducted under the direct supervision of the SAWC’s senior instructor, Excelent Macabe. This course provides for an incredible experience and truly teaches these U.S. Veterans how to operate safely and effectively on foot in the African bush.
During the time spent at the College, these U.S Veterans undergo a balanced combination of training including theory, practical enactment and field-based exercises. As part of the training conducted, WFAW attends a custom Basic Field Ranger course where they get exposed to man tracking and sign theory. Here they go out on a two-night training patrol where they set up a temporary base for security watches before doing a patrol back to College. During the patrol, they are also exposed to reconnaissance missions, patrol formations, waylay operations, contact drills, crime scene analysis, and arrest procedures.
Following this training, the participants can elect to do an advanced field ranger and counter-poaching training at the SAWC or with other organisations. Said Founder and President of WFAW, Brad J. Craven, “Apart from the training I have done with other Anti-Poaching Units, I have been part of three Basic and two Advanced Field Ranger training courses at the College which have been immensely rewarding for all involved both for the SAWC and WFAW.”
“WFAW is one of the few foreign operative Veteran’s organisations that is listening and learning from African Wildlife Conservation experts, anti-poaching experts, and community leaders; taking courses from these experts then working to make a difference in African wildlife conservation and in the communities they engage with as part of the relationships being forged, respected, and developed,” Brad added. Since 2021, Brad and his team including Veteran/WFAW Board Member Victor McNeal, Veteran/WFAW Board Member Aaron Cook, and WFAW Board member Sam Marks have in turn helped impart a number of skills they have acquired to the College’s instructors, basic Field Ranger, and Advanced Field Ranger trainees making for a very fertile ongoing relationship.
The idea behind the partnership is a symbiotic relationship representing both learning and healing to these Military Veterans whilst also imparting applied skills to our Ranger teams.
As such, WFAW recently had another incredibly fruitful trip to the College in September 2024. This time, in collaboration with the College, Brad and Aaron worked on and taught a comprehensive three-day firearms theory course in support of training being conducted for the College’s KAZA students from Zambia, Namibia and Zimbabwe.
Brad and Aaron also spent a day with the College’s Field Ranger training instructors in refresher training. The instructors have also grown immensely in confidence in themselves and each other having been exposed to various combat techniques as a result of this training intervention by the College supported by WFAW.
WFAW’s big hearts shine through having donated much-needed basic and advanced field ranger training equipment to the College over the years. This includes ranger training combat boots for unemployed students completing their basic field ranger training, together with night vision binoculars, medical kits and other much-needed equipment for the ranger training unit.
WFAW has also funded the relocation of two elephant bulls from an overpopulated reserve just north of Johannesburg to the southern Kalahari where there had not been healthy elephant populations in over 40 years. As part of their commitment to help counter poaching, they have also funded the dehorning of five white rhinos which buys these targeted animals time during the current poaching scourge. In addition, WFAW has funded a number of community needs.
WFAW looks forward to continuing to grow its relationship with the SAWC to continue to make truly meaningful, sustainable, and lasting differences on all fronts of African holistic wildlife conservation.
Good day
My passion for Wildlife is unmatched.
I woul like to study nature conservation.
THank you Keysdon, please contact registrar@sawc.org.za to enquire and register for any courses. Thank you.