U.S. service members and South African National Defence Force (SANDF) soldiers came together July 22, 2011 to mark the opening of Exercise Shared Accord 2011 with a brief ceremony.

Shared Accord is a bilateral military training and civil assistance mission held annually throughout Africa. This year's evolution represents the first joint U.S.-South African military exercise of significant size held in more than a decade and the largest to date.

"We're making a bit of history here," South African Navy Rear Admiral Hanno Teuteberg, commander of Exercise Shared Accord, told the American and South African troops.

Approximately 700 U.S. service members, composed mainly of members of the Marine Corps Reserve along with a number of Guard and Reserve soldiers, sailors and airmen, have joined more than 1,400 SANDF troops for the event. Over the next week, the forces will engage in live-fire exercises at a training center in Grahamstown and civil assistance programs across the Eastern Cape before the exercise concludes early next month.

"I look forward to sharing and learning from each other," U.S. Marine Colonel Sam Strotman, the task force commander, told the formations, adding that both nations "value individual freedom and equality."

Scheduled are medical, dental and veterinary service programs as well as the refurbishing of a South African animal shelter.

"We can show that we don't just do combat," said Teuteberg, referring to the humanitarian services. "We also look after our people."