View source for Edward McGill Alexander

{{short description|South African Army officer}}
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{{BLP sources|date=November 2014}}
{{Like resume|date=December 2023}}
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{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2018}}
{{Use South African English|date=February 2018}}
{{Infobox military person
| honorific_prefix  = Brigadier general
| name              = Edward McGill Alexander
| honorific_suffix  =  {{MilAward PostNom|SM|MMM|ORB5|SAStC|size=100%|sep=none}} 
| native_name       =
| native_name_lang  =
| image         = 
| image_size    =
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| birth_date    = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1947|03|31}}
| death_date    = <!-- {{Death date and age|df=yes|YYYY|MM|DD|YYYY|MM|DD}} death date first, then birth date -->
| birth_place   = [[Boksburg]], [[Union of South Africa|South Africa]]
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| placeofburial_coordinates = <!-- {{Coord|LAT|LONG|display=inline,title}} -->
| nickname      =
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| allegiance    = {{ZAF}}
| branch        = {{army|South Africa}}
| serviceyears  ={{plainlist|
* 1967{{ndash}}1975 ({{abbr|CF|Citizen Force}})
* 1975{{ndash}}2007 ({{abbr|PF|Permanent Force}})
* 2007{{ndash}}2014 ({{abbr|RF|Reserve Force}})
}}
| rank          = Brigadier general
| servicenumber = <!-- Do not use data from primary sources such as service records. -->
| unit          =
| commands      = {{plainlist|
* [[44 Parachute Brigade (South Africa)|44 Parachute Brigade]]
}}
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| awards        = {{MilAward Stack|size=x12px|SM|MMM|PP|SAM|GSM|Tshumelo|Unitas|MTD40|GoodServiceG|GoodServiceS|GoodServiceB|ORB5|SPAMSM|}} SADC PSO
| memorials     =
| spouse        = {{Marriage|Anne|1972}}<ref name=cladachauthor /><ref name=cladachinterview>{{cite web|title=Hostage in Taipei: A true story of forgiveness and hope|url=http://cladach.com/Hostage-In-Taipei.html|website=cladach.com|access-date=14 November 2014}}</ref><!-- Add spouse if reliably sourced -->
| relations     =
| laterwork     = [[Reserve Force Council]]
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}}
'''Edward George McGill Alexander''' {{postnominals|country=ZAR|SM|MMM|ORB|SAStC}} (born 31 March 1947) is a former [[South African Army]] officer. Alexander has participated in airborne exercises and conferences with the [[British Army]], and has jumped with and been awarded parachute wings by the Chilean, British and ROC (Taiwan) Armies.  He has written many articles on military topics,<ref>{{cite book|last1=Alexander|first1=Brigadier McGill|editor1-last=Dennis|editor1-first=Peter|editor2-last=Grey|editor2-first=Jeffrey|title=AN ART IN ITSELF THE THEORY AND CONDUCT OF SMALL WARS AND INSURGENCIES|date=2006|publisher=Australian History Military Publications (AHMP)|isbn=1-876439-04-1|pages=88–117|url=http://www.mccdc.marines.mil/Portals/172/Docs/SWCIWID/COIN/Counterinsurgency%20Theory/An%20Art%20In%20Itself%20The%20Theory%20And%20Conduct%20Of%20Small%20Wars%20And%20Insurgencies%20%E2%80%93%20US%20Army%20(2006).pdf|accessdate=14 November 2014|chapter=The Liberation Struggle in Southern Africa: Airborne Tactics in an Insurgency War|archive-date=29 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161229072104/http://www.mccdc.marines.mil/Portals/172/Docs/SWCIWID/COIN/Counterinsurgency%20Theory/An%20Art%20In%20Itself%20The%20Theory%20And%20Conduct%20Of%20Small%20Wars%20And%20Insurgencies%20%E2%80%93%20US%20Army%20%282006%29.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> some of which have been published internationally, including one by the US Army.<ref name=RDF>{{cite web|last1=Alexander|first1=McGill|author-link1=Edward McGill Alexander|title=An African Rapid-deployment Force for Peace Operations on the African Continent|url=http://fmso.leavenworth.army.mil/documents/alexpape/alexpape.htm|website=Leavenworth|publisher=Foreign Military Studies Office Publications|access-date=14 November 2014|date=July 1995|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141128125759/http://fmso.leavenworth.army.mil/documents/alexpape/alexpape.htm|archive-date=28 November 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref>  He has also authored or co-authored three books. Alexander delivered the 2006 ''Turner Lecture'' at the SA Military Academy and in the same year delivered a paper at a ''Military History Conference on Small Wars and Insurgencies'' in [[Canberra]], [[Australia]].  Besides the {{abbr|BMil|Batchelor in Military Science}} degree from the University of Stellenbosch, he holds an Honours BA, an MA<ref name=CassingaRaid>{{cite book|last1=McGill Alexander|first1=Edward|author-link1=Edward McGill Alexander|title=The Cassinga Raid|date=July 2003|url=http://uir.unisa.ac.za/bitstream/handle/10500/1475/00dissertation.pdf?sequence=4}}</ref> and a PhD in history from the [[University of South Africa]].

==Early life==
McGill Alexander was born on 31 March 1947 in [[Boksburg]].<ref name="Els">{{cite book | title=We Conquer from Above | publisher=PelsA Books | author=Els, Paul J | year=2010 | pages=261}}</ref>  He grew up on farms in the [[Free State (province)|Free State]] and [[Rhodesia]], went to boarding school and matriculated from the [[Potchefstroom High School for Boys]] in 1965.

==Early military career==
He trained guide-dogs for the blind for 18 months before volunteering for military service and underwent basic training with [[1 South African Infantry Battalion|1 SA Infantry Battalion]] in [[Oudtshoorn]] in 1967.  He then volunteered for the paratroops and was awarded his parachute wings at [[Bloemfontein|Tempe]], [[Bloemfontein]] in February 1968.  He served as a rifleman in B-Company, [[1 Parachute Battalion]] and after completing his training he continued his service in the Citizen Force with 1 Parachute Battalion.  He was promoted to corporal and served as a section leader.

Later, he was recommended for officer's training and was commissioned as a 2nd lieutenant in the newly established [[2 Parachute Battalion]] in July 1972.  Having completed the platoon commanders and company {{abbrlink|2IC|Second in Command}} courses at the [[Infantry School]], Oudtshoorn, he served in those capacities in 2 Parachute Battalion. During this time,  in his civilian capacity, he ran outdoor pursuit courses for the [[South African Exploration Society]].  In 1975 he joined the Permanent Force and was appointed as an Officer Instructor at [[1 Parachute Battalion]] with the rank of lieutenant, again serving as a company second-in-command.

Sent to the [[South African Military Academy|Military Academy]] in [[Saldanha, Western Cape|Saldanha]], Lt Alexander graduated with a {{abbr|BMil|Bachelor of Military Science}} degree from [[Stellenbosch University]] in 1978, serving operationally with 2 Parachute Battalion as a platoon commander in [[Namibia]] during the university recess.  He returned to [[1 Parachute Battalion]], where he served for several years in various posts, including as adjutant, company commander (principally of his old company, B-Company), SO2 Training and Training Wing 2IC.  During this time he was promoted to captain in 1979 and to major in 1982.

==Operations==
He participated in operations in [[Angola]] and [[Namibia]] and in 1980 he was awarded the [[Military Merit Medal (South Africa)|Military Merit Medal]] for his role in leading a successful helicopter assault on [[Chitado]] in [[Angola]].

He participated in operations with [[61 Mechanised Infantry Battalion Group]] in Angola and Namibia and also briefly commanded Battle Group Phantom, a temporarily constituted grouping, during counter-insurgency operations in Namibia.

==Military courses==
Between his operational and training duties he qualified as a [[parachute dispatcher]], a [[parachute instructor]] and a tactical [[free-fall]] parachutist.

Foreign training included completing a [[pathfinder (military)|pathfinder]] course with the Israeli paratroops in 1980, and a [[Special Forces]] course with the [[Chilean Army Commandos]] in 1981.  For the latter he had to first learn Spanish.

He underwent the requisite courses at the Infantry School in Oudtshoorn, including [[counter-insurgency]], [[battalion mortars]], [[battalion anti-tank]] and company as well as battalion battle-handling. In addition, he attended the ''Combat Team'' and ''Battle Group'' courses at the [[Army Battle School (South Africa)]] in [[Lohatlha]], which included Intelligence Courses at the [[Intelligence School]] in [[Kimberley, Northern Cape|Kimberley]], an Advanced [[Counter-insurgency]] Course at the [[Danie Theron Combat School]] in Kimberley and Personnel and Logistics Courses in [[Pretoria]].  During exercises at Lohatlha he commanded a mechanised battle group.

==Further training and posts==
In 1983, Alexander was selected to undergo [[Senior Command and Staff]] Training at the [[Spanish Army Staff College]] in [[Madrid]], and spent two years there with his family, studying {{abbrlink|NATO|North Atlantic Treaty Organization}} doctrine and procedures.  He graduated from the college as ''Diplomado de Estado Mayor'' ({{abbrlink|DEM|Diplomado de Estado Mayor}}). On his return he was promoted to commandant (lieutenant-colonel) and appointed as a member of the Directing Staff at the [[SA Army College]].  In 1986 he became the [[SO1 Operations]] at [[44 Parachute Brigade (South Africa)|44 Parachute Brigade]], in which capacity he initiated battalion group-sized airborne exercises and was awarded the [[Southern Cross Medal (1975)|Southern Cross Medal]] for his efforts and for developing an airborne anti-tank system. He took over as acting Brigade Commander in 1988, and was formally appointed as Officer Commanding [[44 Parachute Brigade (South Africa)|44 Parachute Brigade]] in 1989 with the rank of colonel.

Alexander was tasked to cross-train the Parachute Brigade for amphibious operations and participated in four amphibious exercises, three of them as the ''Commander Army Landing Forces'' ({{abbr|CALF|Commander Army Landing Forces}}).  He also planned and conducted seven parachute and helicopter-borne exercises of battalion group to brigade size.  He was ordered to carry out the last airborne operation of the war in Namibia when a parachute battalion group had to be air-landed in April 1989 in the Kaokoveld of Namibia. Alexander also initiated the use of paratroops in an airborne role during urban counter-insurgency operations in South Africa, participating with [[3 Parachute Battalion]] in a drop into [[Soweto]] in 1991.

In 1992 Alexander was instructed to move the brigade from [[Murrayhill]] outside Pretoria to Tempe in Bloemfontein and was then appointed as Officer Commanding [[Group 18 HQ]] in Johannesburg.  Here he was responsible for keeping the peace between opposing political factions in the township of Alexandra, where what amounted to a civil war was raging between the [[African National Congress|ANC]] and the [[Inkatha Freedom Party|IFP]].  His old company, B-Company, [[1 Parachute Battalion]], was one of the sub-units placed under his operational command to accomplish this task.

From 1993 to 1995 Alexander was the ''Chief Instructor Staff Duties'' ({{abbr|CISD|Chief Instructor Staff Duties}}) at the [[SA Army College]], where he ran the Army's [[Senior Command and Staff Duties]] Courses.  In 1995 he attended the [[Joint Staff Course]] (now known as the {{abbrlink|ENSP|Executive National Security Programme}}, or Executive National Security Programme) at the [[SA Defence College]]. During this course (the highest level course presented by the [[South African National Defence Force|SANDF]]) he was awarded the trophy for the best research paper on strategy. That same year, he and his wife attended a course on International Diplomacy at the Intelligence College.

From 1996 to 1997 Alexander served as the last SA Armed Forces Attaché in [[Taiwan]].  He and his family were [[Alexander family hostage crisis|taken hostage]] during their last few weeks in this post,<ref name="TaipeiTimes20010218">{{cite news|url=http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/archives/2001/02/18/74248|first=David|last=Frazier|title=A brush with evil|accessdate=23 July 2012|newspaper=Taipei Times|date=18 February 2001}}</ref> and both Alexander and his eldest daughter were shot and wounded during a failed rescue attempt.

Alexander was next posted to [[Far North Command]] in [[Pietersburg]] (now [[Polokwane]]) as the ''SSO Operations'' in 1998. Here he was responsible for planning and coordinating control of South Africa's northern borders, preventing the influx of illegal immigrants and undesirable elements. Also in 1998, he was detached and appointed as the Commander of the ''Richmond Task Group'' in KwaZulu-Natal, where he had to establish and maintain the peace between the ANC and the [[United Democratic Movement|UDM]] during violent clashes between the two groups in the Midlands of that province.

In April 1999, he was promoted to brigadier-general (his last promotion) and appointed Chief of Staff of the new ''Regional Joint Task Force'' ({{abbr|RJTF|Regional Joint Task Force}}) ''South'' in the Eastern Cape.  During this term Alexander and several other general officers survived a helicopter crash in the [[Drakensberg]] Mountains.

In 2001 he was appointed by the Chief of Joint Operations to report to him on the operational readiness of airborne forces in the SANDF. In 2002 he took over as General Officer Commanding {{abbr|RJTF|Regional Joint Task Force}} South, but in 2003 Alexander was tasked to close down all the {{abbr|RJTF|Regional Joint Task Force}}s.

In 2004 he became the SANDF's ''Director of Joint Doctrine Development'', but was replaced in terms of the [[Affirmative Action]] policy in 2005.  From then until his retirement two years later Alexander did not have a post, but ran [[Project CLEOPATRA]], which was concerned with the resuscitation of the SANDF's airborne capability.  He also chaired the committee compiling the SANDF's Peace Support Operations ({{abbr|PSO|Peace Support Operations}}) Doctrine and was sent to [[Sudan]] to investigate a {{abbr|PSO|Peace Support Operations}} deployment.

==Retirement==
{{BLP unreferenced section|date=December 2023}}
On his retirement from the Regular Force in 2007, Alexander joined the Reserve Force and was thereafter frequently called up to continue chairing Project CLEOPATRA, to evaluate airborne exercises, to commentate at airborne demonstrations and to chair the writing of the SADF's Airborne Operations Doctrine. He served for 18 months on the Reserve Force Council. For three years he did contract work with Chute Systems. He chairs the Management Board of Hannah's Arms, a Port Elizabeth Non-Profit Organisation.

Alexander and his wife Anne returned to Port Elizabeth where he commenced working on his PhD degree in history which was awarded by the University of South Africa (Unisa) in 2016.

==Personal life==
He has been married to Anne since 1972 and they have three daughters, four granddaughters and three grandsons. Alexander's interests include writing, military history (he is an active member of the South African Military History Society, Eastern Cape Branch), photography, camping and 4x4 off-road excursions, hiking, travelling and acting as Chief Range Officer for the annual [[South African Bisley Target Rifle Championships]]. He has twice been Chief Range Officer for the World Championships.  He is also a keen Scottish Country Dancing enthusiast when he gets the opportunity and he is involved in maintaining a contact network with his old school friends from [[Potchefstroom]].  He is a committed Christian and is active in his local church. He and his wife are directly involved in the care of abandoned, abused and neglected babies.<ref name=cladachauthor>{{cite web|title=McGill Alexander - Author of: Hostage in Taipei|url=http://www.cladach.com/Alexander.html|website=cladach.com|accessdate=14 November 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150311000921/http://www.cladach.com/Alexander.html|archive-date=11 March 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Awards==
Alexander has received the following awards during his career:

===Medals and decorations===
* {{MilAward Desc|SM|75px}}
* {{MilAward Desc|MMM|75px}}
* {{MilAward Desc|PP|75px}}
* {{MilAward Desc|SAM|75px}}
* {{MilAward Desc|GSM|75px}}
* {{MilAward Desc|Tshumelo|75px}}
* {{MilAward Desc|Unitas|75px}}
* {{MilAward Desc|MTD40|75px}}
* {{MilAward Desc|GoodServiceG|75px}}
* {{MilAward Desc|GoodServiceS|75px}}
* {{MilAward Desc|GoodServiceB|75px}}
* {{MilAward Desc|ORB5|75px}}
* {{MilAward Desc|SPAMSM|75px}}
* SADC Peace Support Operations Medal (2009)

===Proficiency Awards===
* Chilean Army Commando Ribbon
* Spanish Army DEM badge
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Proficiency badges
|- style="vertical-align:top;"
| {{Badge Display|ParaFreeInstructor|x80px}}
| {{Badge Display|Pathfinder|x100px}}
|- style="vertical-align:top;"
| {{Badge Display|Mech61|x80px}}
| {{Badge Display|BRVS|x100px}}
|}

==Publications==
{{refbegin|indent=yes}}
* {{cite book|last1=McGill Alexander|first1=Edward|authorlink1=Edward McGill Alexander|title=The Cassinga Raid (MA Thesis)|date=July 2003|url=http://uir.unisa.ac.za/bitstream/handle/10500/1475/00dissertation.pdf?sequence=4}}
* {{cite book|first1=McGill|last1=Alexander|authorlink1=Edward McGill Alexander|title=Hostage in Taipei: A True Story of Forgiveness and Hope|place=[[Greeley, Colorado]]|publisher=Cladach Publishing|year=2000|oclc=46972204}}
{{refend}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-mil}}
{{s-bef | before = Col D. J. Moore }}
{{s-ttl | title = Officer Commanding [[44 Parachute Brigade (South Africa)|44 Parachute Brigade]] | years = 1 April 1989{{ndash}}31 January 1992}}
{{s-aft | after = Col [[Les Rudman|L. Rudman]]}}

{{s-bef | before = Col [[Pieter O. Verbeek]] }}
{{s-ttl | title = Chief Instructor Staff Duties SA Army College| years = 1993{{ndash}}1995}}
{{s-aft | after = Col [[J.P. Malan]]}}

{{s-end}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alexander, Edward McGill}}
[[Category:1947 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Military attachés]]
[[Category:People from Boksburg]]
[[Category:South African Army generals]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Order of the Cloud and Banner]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Gauteng]]