Rhodesia waged a long and bitter counter-insurgency campaign against two rival insurgent armies, the Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army (ZANLA) and the Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA), from 1965 to 1980. From the beginning of the war, the Rhodesian Air Force was perturbed by the likelihood of insurgent saboteurs disrupting fuel depots, forward airfields, and other installations vital to its operational capabilities. In 1971, the Rhodesian Air Force Security Training Unit (STU) was established for base security duties. The STU was trained and equipped by the South African government, which provided it with radios, small arms and ammunition, and basic weapons instruction. Requests for new equipment were made through a liaison officer attached to the Rhodesian Special Branch, who overheard an airman demand, perhaps in jest, "a dozen armoured cars please" when he asked the STU if there was anything else he could procure for them. This was interpreted and approved as an official request, and by the end of year twelve Eland-60s had been delivered by rail to the STU. The deployment of these armoured cars subsequently became an integral part of the unit's doctrine.