Speaking at a Day of Reconciliation ceremony at the Thaba Tshwane military base, Zuma told a packed hall that South Africa needs "absolute loyalty, discipline, commitment, reliability and dependability from our defence force".
"Anyone who finds these attributes too difficult to adhere to, should not be in the defence force at all," he said to loud applause.
Zuma said soldiers were "not ordinary civil servants who are guided by the Public Service Act".
They required "special attention", which the government was working on.
Earlier rain forced the cancellation of the annual Reconciliation Day military parade and South African Air Force fly-by that was to have been held at Thaba Tshwane. Numerous official guests and a large media contingent had gathered around the flooded parade ground, only to be told that because of the weather the event had been cancelled.
Guests and journalists were ushered into a large hall where Zuma spoke, quipping that the cancellation of the parade was not an indication that the SANDF could not function in wet weather.
Last August, a group of soldiers defied a court order not to march to the Union Buildings over a salary dispute. When they arrived at the buildings, which house the president's and executive's Pretoria offices, people were seen scaling the fences and a police vehicle was set alight.
Defence Minister Lindiwe Sisulu promised stern action and sent provisional termination notices to about 1 000 soldiers.
On December 1, the North Gauteng High Court granted an order to soldiers' union Sandu declaring the procedure adopted by the defence force, in terms of which the soldiers were issued with the notices, unlawful and unconstitutional.
Referring to the Day of Reconciliation, Zuma said it had been used previously to divide communities, but should now be a day of unity.
"The fact that we served on different sides during the liberation war is history we can never change. However, we can change the present and the future."
While the government had set up a department to deal with veterans' affairs, he urged other government departments and the private sector to become more involved with veterans, he said.
http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/Soldiers-need-to-be-loyal-reliable-Zuma-20101216