Lo ka-Viljoen wayebambe isikhundla esiphezulu kwakhona kumkhosi wamaJoni e-SADF owawuthabatha inxaxheba kumsebenzi owawubizwa ngokuba yi""Operation Savannah wango1975. Ukwaziwa kakhulu ngezicwangciso zakhe awazenzayo ngohlaselo lokuqala olwenziwa ngolunya nolubizwa ngokuba yi""major airborne assault hlaselo olo lwalubizwa ngokuba yi""Cassinga. Kaloku olu hlaselo kwakuliphulo lokuhlasela abaqhankqalazi bombutho i-SWAPO. Emkhulu enjalo ngokwesikhundla sakhe emsebenzini, lo kaViljoen wayekho kudushe lomlo, apho wanikezela ngento eyayibizwa ngokuba yi""swashbuckling"", iinkokheli ezazimi kumgca wokuqala front-line leadership which won him the respect of many fellow Afrikaners.[5]