page_title: Regiment de la Rey
section_title: Operation Packer
hierarchical_section_title: Regiment de la Rey / The Border War / Operation Packer
context_page_description: Regiment de la Rey is an infantry battalion of the South African Army. As a reserve force unit, it has a status roughly equivalent to that of a British Army Reserve or United States Army National Guard unit.
context_section_description: Operation Hooper, in which the main participants were Permanent Force and National Service members, officially ended on 13 March 1988. A Citizen Force call up provided fresh troops into the SADF-UNITA force which had been tasked to drive People's Armed Forces for the Liberation of Angola (FAPLA) forces from Cuito Cuanavale. This injection of fresh troops allowed Operation Hooper to move seamlessly into Operation Packer. The objective of the operation was to drive the combined FAPLA/Cuban force back across the Cuito River to the west bank.
  The primary assault force which was to 'drive the enemy' out of Tumpo consisted of 13 Olifant tanks with crews from Regiment President Steyn, a squadron of Ratel 90's from Regiment Mooirivier (RMR), a mechanised infantry battalion from Regiment de la Rey and from Regiment Groot Karoo, three companies from 32 Battalion, three UNITA regular battalions and two semi-regular UNITA battalions plus a number of other components.
caption: Ratel 90 with Ratel 20 on the right, busy with an exercise in Lohatla in 2003
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