School of Artillery best unit in the SA Army

On 8 December 2017, the School of Artillery was hailed as the best army unit in South Africa.

The awards ceremony took place at the annual SA Army gala dinner at the Heartfelt Arena in Pretoria and marked the end of the year when the SA Army celebrates its annual achievements and milestones. During this event, the SA Army achievers are honoured with trophies and awards.

The School of Artillery’s accolade was based on its governance, record-keeping and the prevention of abuse, fraud and corruption practices (in order to fully comply with and obtain clean AGSA audits and to curb violations of performance information), budget management, revenue collection, human resources and procurement.

The School of Artillery has always believed in setting the trend and doing the best in all they do.

‘It’s all about teamwork, mentorship and the way we think because we believe that we are a national asset to the community and also to South Africa,’ says Col Dawid Schoonwinkel, the officer commanding at the School of Artillery.

‘We made a decision that we want to be the best and we have always measured ourselves against that.’
Col. Schoonwinkel has been at the School of Artillery since April 2008 and, in these ten years, the School of Artillery has proven, time and again, that they are the best.

In 2015 and 2016, they won the SA Army Youth Drill Competition.

In 2016, they also won a Department of Defence Environmental Award with their anti-rhino poaching campaign with the enormous Parabot that was exhibited in Potchefstroom that year. In 2010 and 2015, they also won the Chief of Army Fitness Award Certificate.

Receiving their latest award was a proud moment for Col. Schoonwinkel and the unit members who have worked tirelessly to make this possible.

To the School of Artillery, community involvement is very important. They are involved in the Varsity Cup, they have established a creche in Ikageng and they also support 10 under-privileged families in the community. ‘We strive to make a difference in our community,’ Col Schoonwinkel said.