 In 1976, instead of accepting an invitation to train new Special Task Force members, De Kock reported to the Police College for an officers' course and was promoted from warrant officer to lieutenant.In May 1978, De Kock was transferred to South West Africa and joined the security branch in Oshikati.In 1979, he co-founded Koevoet, an SAP counter insurgency unit tasked with combating the People's Liberation Army of Namibia (PLAN) during the South African Border War.