Mangaung Regiment

The Mangaung Regiment (formerly Regiment Bloemspruit) is a reserve infantry regiment of the South African Army.

In 1964, Regiment Bloemspruit with its HQ in Bloemfontein, was established on 1 January as the first Citizen Force Infantry Regiment in the then Orange Free State. The total strength of the Regiment at that stage was 15 members. The then Minister of Defence and later State President, the late Mr J.J. (Jim) Fouché, was actively involved in the establishment of the Regiment.

The Regimental Colour was presented to the regiment by the then State President Mr J.J. Fouché

On 29 January 1981, the Freedom of the City was conferred on the regiment by the City Council of Bloemfontein, which the unit exercised for the first time on 6 March 1982. The regiment served in the South African Border War in the 1970s and 1980s.

On 1 April 1997, Regiment Louw Wepener (Bethlehem), Regiment De Wet (Kroonstad) and Regiment Dan Pienaar (Bloemfontein) were absorbed into Regiment Bloemspruit.

Today the Regiment is still active and well with a total strength of more than 500 members. The motto of the Regiment is "Wakker en Trou", meaning Alert and Loyal. A traditional toast, only to be introduced at very special occasions and a traditional way of greeting (only between members of the Regiment) were introduced in 1994.

In 2006, Regiment Bloemspruit was deployed internally at Madimbo in the Limpopo Province as well as in the Eastern Cape with the swine fever outbreak. During April to June of the same year, and January and February 2008 Regiment Bloemspruit participated in ATR/ACR (Army Territorial Reserve to Army Conventional Reserve) Conversion Training with Kimberly Regiment. The regiment presented the penultimate ATR/ACR Conversion Course during January/February 2009.

2009 saw, Bravo Company (B-Coy) under command of Maj Dawid Vos, be attached to 121 SA Infantry Battalion and successfully deployed on a Peace Keeping Mission to the Darfur Region of Sudan from October 2009 to May 2010.