Exercise Shared Accord 2022 is a Joint and Multinational Peace Support Operation and
Humanitarian Relief Exercise with the US Army Southern European Task Force, Africa
(SETAF-AF) of the United States (US) Armed Forces, took place over a period 05 -30 July
2022 in and around Richards Bay in KwaZulu-Natal. This came about as a result of bilateral
Defence Force Committee discussions that originated in 2009, and was approved by the
Military Command Council (MCC) in 2010.

The exercise was followed by a capability demonstrations including High Altitude
Low Opening (HALO) techniques by paratroopers, US and RSA Medivac, Chemical Spillage
procedures by SANDF and the disaster management, and demonstrations.

Exercise Shared Accord was the fourth exercise of this
nature to be planned and executed in South Africa, with previous exercises that took place in
2011, 2013 and 2017. The last exercise was conducted in Northern Cape at the SA Army
Combat Training Centre (CTC) Lohatlha, and the following scheduled exercise was to be
executed in 2020, but due to outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, all exercises were
suspended in March of that year.

The Aim of Exercise Shared Accord 2022 was to improve bilateral military inter-operability in Air
Support Operations and Peace Support Operations (PSO) for landward forces, and to
exercise the provision of medical assistance and humanitarian relief to own forces and the
local population. The South African Medical Heath Service (SAMHS) together with the New
York Army National Guard personnel from US Armed Forces have been in the forefront with
the community outreach programme in providing medical services, like primary health care,
dental, veterinary and ophthalmic services to residents in a number of local rural clinics
around uMhlathuze Local Municipality and uMfolozi local Municipality to name a few.

Pictures by Hein Beukes