Recce, noun

/ˈreki/
Forms:
Also Reccie.
Origin:
Abbreviation of reconnaissance, from the name of the unit.
Military, colloquial
The Reconnaissance Commando Unit, the First Parachute Battalion of the South African Defence Force; a member of this unit; in the plural, this unit or its members collectively. Also attributive.
1981 Pretoria News 26 Nov. 1It is also believed the mercenary force included several members of the South African Recce Commandos.
1987 Personality 30 Sept. 13Most people associate the Recces with a tough, hard, un-feeling bunch of soldiers, but Louis was a feeling person.
1987 G. Evans in Weekly Mail 20 Nov. 7This period came to an abrupt end on May 21 1985 when SADF ‘Recce’ Captain Wynand du Toit and his team were captured at the Cabinda oil installation.
1989 H. Hamann in Scope 10 Mar. 56They are the silent warriors.., with an arm that can reach into any part of Africa and strike at any foe...They survive by subterfuge and secrecy...They are SADF’s legendary Reconnaissance Commandos. The Recces.
1989 Sunday Times 19 Nov. 2Col. Breytenbach served in the SADF with 1 Parachute Battalion, better known as the Reccies.
1991 R. Landman in Style Nov. 82Ndomeni was the ex-reccie who left the country and told the story of how he was kidnapped and tortured and forced to join the reccies.
1991 J. Pauw In Heart of Whore 174The ‘recces’ can be described as South Africa’s Special Air Services — highly trained specialists in unconventional warfare.
1991 J. Pauw In Heart of Whore 261Can we ever trust the politicians who devised and justified the ‘total onslaught’ ideology, the generals who unleashed crack ‘recce’ regiments on hapless populations and governments in Southern Africa.
1993 Africa S. & E. May 13All had apparently earlier quit the South African Defence Force, from regiments like 32, ‘Recce’ and other so-called special forces.
The Reconnaissance Commando Unit, the First Parachute Battalion of the South African Defence Force; a member of this unit; in the plural, this unit or its members collectively. Also attributive.
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