All the subsequent Pathfinders groups followed the similar training schedule as the first three groups in regime and quality. In November 1983 John van Aswegen moved to 44 Parachute Brigade and became the new Commanding Officer of the newly formed 44 Parachute Brigade Pathfinder Company.  98 members successfully completed course during their National service, of which 62 members attended citizen call-up camps. A further 86 members did training camps or Brigade exercises and 67 members participated in operations in the SWA/Angola Operations Area. As at December 1989 the company strength stood at 86 members. The Pathfinders were a relative small group of soldiers. By comparison, the Reconnaissance Regiment from the formation of 1 Recce Commando at Oudtshoorn in 1972, to end of the Angolan/Bush war (1989) has over 450 qualified Recce operators; an average of 26 to 27 operators a year, while there were only 98 qualified Pathfinders from 1978 up to 1989, an average of 9 Pathfinders per year. Pathfinders were also the only Special Forces troops in the SADF that mostly comprised national service members with only their officers being Permanent Force members. In comparison, the Recce Regiments and 32 Battalion members were required to join the Permanent Force (5 years) or at least in short-term duty (3 years). The fact that the Pathfinders were National Servicemen worked in certain instances against them. The leader group in 1 Parachute Battalion and 44 Parachute Brigade (comprising mostly career soldiers), followed the age old tradition of the British Army with their very strict rank and chain of command with limited understanding of Special Forces work. Their application of the warfare doctrine “shock and awe” was in contrast to special operations which revolved around clandestine and reconnaissance operation. The small, close-knit elite unit function worked best when run in an egalitarian manner. The differentiator being that a strong chain of command existed well in such a unit however with no one working hard at wielding power. In most instances the Pathfinder with the most experience assumes command for that specific operation which sometimes superseded the command of a Colonels or Sergeant Majors. This being totally out of the norm of a regular army. In units like the Recce Commando’s and 32 Battalion the ethos of Special Forces were well understood and practiced by the leader group. In contrast the Pathfinders were an isolated group in the Parachute battalion, as their war doctrine and command ethos differed radically from that of the normal Paratrooper Companies.