The Permanent Force was an integral part of both the South African Defence Force and the South West Africa Territorial Force and other British Commonwealth militaries. It consisted of all the full-time volunteers, volunteers of auxiliaries and national servicemen.
South Africa
The Defence Act (No. 13) of 1912 established a Union Defence Force (UDF) that included a Permanent Force (or standing army) of career soldiers, an Active Citizen Force (ACF) of temporary conscripts and volunteers as well as a Cadet organization.
References
Permanent Force Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA