Rapid Response commander retires after 40 years of service
“I am proud of how I was able to serve but now the time has come to slow down and enjoy time with my wife.”
In 1982, Colonel Egbert van Zyl stepped into formation at the South African Police Service’s training college in Pretoria, with a fire burning in his chest, willing, able and ready to serve his country.
Sitting in his office at the Benoni Flying Squad (BFS) headquarters, the Provincial Commander of the Gauteng Rapid Response Services will be serving his final days as a member of the SAPS, as he prepares to retire on December 30 following four decades of service.
Still proudly donning his K9-unit insignia he recounts the many positions he has held throughout his career.
“Following my training at the police college, I was ordered to stay on for an additional cycle as an instructor and was then placed at the Benoni Police Station,” he said.
“During my service there in 1983, I started my K9-handling course and was transferred to the K9-unit a year later.
“It was unheard of for a cadet to be adsorbed into a specialist unit in less than 24-months of placement, but I believe that my superiors must have recognised some valuable characteristics in me, which they deemed necessary for the unit.”
At the unit, a working dog named Bismarck was assigned to Van Zyl.
The pair soon became inseparable and served together for eight-years.
“When Bismarck was diagnosed with cancer with vets recommending euthanasia, I was devastated,” he said.
“I was inconsolable but I had to let my best friend go.”
By 1998, Van Zyl was promoted to commander of the unit stating that the six years he spent as team manager for the unit’s South African Working Dogs Open Stakes tournament was the highlight of his career.
In 2003 he was redeployed as the unit commander of BFS and in 2011 he was prompted to Gauteng Flying Squad coordinator.
Six years later he stepped into his current role.
Looking back on his highly decorated career Van Zyl says that his unwavering passion to serve and protect has hopefully planted seeds of diligence which will continue to flourish long after his departure from the service.
The Rynfield resident looks forward to settling into a quieter life with his wife, on the coast of the Western Cape, in Mosselbaai.
“I am not counting the days until my retirement, as I still have a duty to uphold,” he said.
“My wish for my unit members as well as the SAPS members as a whole is that they maintain the highest level of discipline when serving the community.
“There are many officers who are committed to the badge and strive to go beyond the call of duty and their efforts should be acknowledged.”
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