Mrs J E Morkel, daughter of General De la Rey, became the first honorary colonel of the regiment.
After objections and strenuous efforts it resumed its original designation as Regiment De la Rey on 1 September 1966.
Operation Hooper, in which the main participants were Permanent Force and National Service members, officially ended on 13 March 1988.
The objective of the operation was to drive the combined FAPLA/Cuban force back across the Cuito River to the west bank.
[5] 2 South African Infantry Battalion, situated in Zeerust, deployed to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) from October 2005 to May 2006.
In August 2019, 52 Reserve Force units had their names changed to reflect the diverse military history of South Africa.