The Joint Operations Division was established on 1 August 1997 during a major reorganisation of the armed forces.

Following the re-organisation, each arm of service had to provide properly trained and equipped forces to Joint Operations.

Joint Operations would then deploy these forces as necessary and revert to their parent service following the mission.

The exception is the Special Forces Brigade, which is directly under the command of the Chief of the SANDF[3] and is permanently allocated to Joint Operations.

For example, Regional Joint Task Force North (RJTFN) is situated in Pietersburg, commanded by a major-general.