Photo By Petty Officer 2nd Class Madysson Ritter | From left to right, South African Military Health Service Dentist, Maj. W.A. Mustafa...... read more read more
45 New York Army National Guard Soldiers will spend the next two weeks working on an exercise with their State Partnership Program in South Africa.
The South African National Defense (SANDF) will participate with the National Guard Soldiers in an exercise called Shared Accord, a critical element of a series of military-to-military activities to demonstrate the strong partnership between the US and regional African partners.
Shared Accord is a bi-annual joint training exercise led by U.S. Southern European Task Force, Africa (SETAF-AF) established to conduct cooperation and interoperability and strengthen partnerships between the US and African countries.
This year's iteration is hosted in South Africa and focuses on Medical Readiness and Field Training exercises.
Soldiers from the US Army Reserves and the Active Duty Army will also participate in the exercise with the New York Army National Guard.
The Soldiers participating in the exercise will provide primary health care, dental and veterinary services in several areas, including Richards Bay and Empangeni in the uMhlathuze Municipality, as well as in Mtubatuba.
"The New York Army National Guard, the Reserves, and the US Army are extremely excited to reinvigorate our partnership now that the COVID pandemic has subsided. Our Soldiers thoroughly enjoy partnering, learning, and training with all our brothers and sisters of the South African National Defense Force, “said Col. Christopher Cronin, New York Army National Guard member and the Deputy Director of the Exercise.
Even more rewarding is the special opportunity during this iteration of Shared Accord to partner with the SANDF to provide vital health education and treatment, Cronin added.
The 2022 exercise of Shared Accord is the fourth, with previous iterations in 2011, 2013, and 2017. Apart from the 2017 exercise at the Army Combat Training Centre in the Northern Cape, the Eastern Cape hosted the other two, with a humanitarian and healthcare focus on rural, local communities. A planned 2020 Shared Accord fell victim to the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic.
"The aim of the exercise Shared Accord 2022 is to improve bilateral military inter-operability, to conduct maritime force protection operations against conventional and asymmetric threats at sea and in harbors, conduct air support operations to peace support operations for landward forces, and to exercise the provision of medical assistance and humanitarian relief to own forces and the local population," a spokesperson for the SANDF said.
Since 2003 New York Army and Air National Guard members have participated in South African air shows and military competitions and presented at South African military schools and leadership forums. South Africans, in turn, have visited New York Air National Guard bases and New York Army National Guard training events to share their knowledge and take on everything.
The State Partnership Program began after the fall of the Soviet Union in the early 90s. The Department of Defense partnered former Soviet countries with National Guard states to develop relationships and focus on the interoperability of each other's military. Since then, the state partnerships have grown exponentially, with 85 partnerships with 92 nations around the globe.
| Date Taken: | 07.13.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 07.13.2022 13:27 |
| Story ID: | 424896 |
| Location: | ZA |
| Web Views: | 239 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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