Philemon Jerry Masisi

Brigadier-General Philemon Jerry Masisi, (born 26 December 1958) is a South African military commander. He joined Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK), the military wing of the African National Congress, and served in multiple roles while fighting against the South African government in the 1980s. He transferred to the South African National Defence Force when MK was incorporated into it in 1998, and has served as a Defence Attaché in Paris, France from 2005 to 2008 before being the commanding officer of the 8 Medical Battalion Group, from 2008-2011. He was responsible for the operation that assisted hospitals with medical assistance during the 2010 health sector strike. He was subsequently promoted to Brigadier General, assuming the position of Director Military Health Human Resources.
==Military career==
Masisi attended primary school in Soweto and relocated to Rustenburg in 1974, to attend high school. He eventually completed his high school in Lesotho in 1981. Other academic qualifications include an Honours Degree in Sociology and Anthropology from the University of Maiduguri, a Masters Degree in Conflict, Peace and Security from the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre and a PhD Session Certificate in Diplomacy from Centre d'Etudes Diplomatiques et Stratégiques (CEDS). Masisi joined the African National Congress (ANC), in the late 1970s. In the 1980s he served as an MK political commissar during the liberation struggle against the South African government. He reported directly to the then MK Chief of Staff, Chris Hani. He obtained his military training in Angola and additionally received special rural commando training in Ethiopia, alongside a detachment of SWAPO guerillas. He served as a political instructor, focusing on the Marxism-Leninism philosophy He became the Chairman of the Regional Political Committee (RPC) of the ANC in Angola in the mid 1980s.
in 1991, he left Angola to study in Nigeria
In 1997, Masisi returned to South Africa and joined the South African National Defence Force in 1998. Although his proposed rank of integration was Brigadier General, as he had fulfilled all criteria to integrate with the rank, he integrated with the rank of Colonel. From 1999 to 2004, he served in multiple senior positions in the South African Military Health Service (SAMHS), serving as Senior Staff Officer Strategy from 1999 to 2000, Senior Staff Officer Career Management from 2001 to 2004 and briefly served as Director Military Health Human Resources in acting capacity.
In 2003, he completed the Executive National Security Programme (ENSP), which was a preparation for external deployment.
In 2005, he was appointed as the Adjutant Defence Attaché to the South African Embassy in Paris. During his tenure, he attended many AFRICOM conferences and greatly improved military relations, with regards to military and military health services between France and South Africa. 
When his tour of duty ended in 2008, he was appointed as the Commander of the 8 Medical Battalion Group, a unit that specialises in military health operations, and closely linked with the 7 Medical Battalion Group. In 2010, Masisi was promoted to the substantive rank of Brigadier General, in the post of Director Military Health Human Resources, a post that oversees the career management of the entire strength of the SAMHS . In 2014, he was transferred to the Inspectorate Division of the Department of Defence (DOD) and served as the leader of Project Mounting, which probes into auditing irregularities within the DOD. He retired in 2016.
==Honours and awards==
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== References ==
Category:1958 births
Category:South African military officers
Category:University of Maiduguri alumni
Category:Bachelor's degrees
Category:Master's degrees
Category:Doctoral degrees
Category:Sociology
Category:Anthropology