The Chief of the South African Navy, Vice Admiral Johannes Refiloe Modimu, gave his State of the Navy address on Monday. He is seen here on Salisbury Island while observing a navy training exercise. Photo: Ian Carbutt

On the 200th anniversary of the battle of Trafalgar, one of the most decisive naval battles in history, the chief of the South African Navy, Vice Admiral Refiloe Mudimu, was having dinner aboard Lord Nelson’s flagship HMS Victory.

“I stood next to the spot where Nelson fell and where he eventually died. I realised that we sailors all share one thing ­ love of the sea,” said Mudimu, who draws inspiration from Nelson’s break-away naval tactics at Trafalgar.

“I am not a civilian, I am a soldier. I learnt what it means and what it takes to be in a battle,” he says.

Described by colleagues as a visionary and a strategist par excellence, Mudimu recently attended an International Sea Power Symposium in the United States. A month earlier he attended the African Sea Power Symposium. On the second last day, all 74 international navies divided into eight groups. Borrowing from the African paradigm, Mudimu wowed international sea dogs with a new take on the co-operative role of African navies.

“The role of the navy has never been big on the SADC agenda. That is why we have a permanent responsibility to keep raising these issues. People are starting to see sense coming out of Africa,” he says. But navies are still not receiving their deserved SADC attention, Mudimu warns.

“The navies of Africa do not have enough global organisational exposure. At a SADC level we have identified that we need to push the agenda of the navy to enjoy the same level of recognition as land forces. Landlocked countries recognise that their economy also depends on the sea and on South Africa.”

Mudimu (51) received military training in Angola, East Germany and the then USSR, successfully completing a commander’s course in 1976. He has held the rank of vice admiral and Chief of the Navy since March 2005.

“Not enough schoolchildren know there are careers in the Navy. We want young people to see there are worthwhile career opportunities,” he says.

With acknowledgements to Craig Bishop and The Natal Witness.