Amphibious Landing Tests Mettle of U.S., South African Marines, Navy

Just 30 hours after this coastal South African city was the site of an airport seizure by South African and U.S. Army forces, Marines and naval forces from those nations conducted an amphibious landing at its port facility. Role players acted as opposition forces defending the port. "The mission tonight was to conduct an amphibious assault in support of an airborne operation that happened to the north, so the U.S. Marines were coming ashore, along with some elements of the [South African] Navy and the Marine Rescue Service," said Lt. Col. Kevin Saatkamp of U.S. Army Africa. "This is a tough fight, pretty much right in the open covered by machine gun fire, and even with the support of naval gunfire this was a tough nut to crack." The operation opened with an attempted incursion by special forces, but that angle was compromised by opposition forces, leading to a delay in the main assault, which fell short of achieving all its planned objectives. "The Marines did make it ashore and they did achieve their first objective, which is good," Saatkamp said. "We have some key notes to learn from this, but having said that, we always learn more from failure than we do from success." The mission and the preparation leading up to it presented a unique opportunity for cooperation and feedback, with South African and U.S. planners gaining new perspectives and ideas from each other. "We've had a great interaction, particularly in the exercise control environment," said South African Navy Capt. Graham Davies, with the joint operations staff. "We've had a completely integrated system, and we've both learned a great deal from each other." The landing is a key part of Exercise Shared Accord, a biennial training exercise between the U.S. and South African militaries designed to increase capacity and enhance interoperability between the forces. More than 3,500 total service members are involved in the exercise, which includes airborne, land, and seaborne operations as well as a major humanitarian component that will provide tangible benefits, such as prescription eyewear and livestock vaccinations to some of South Africa's most at-risk populations. The benefits of working together are apparent for Saatkamp. "It's been great to work with [the South African military] and more importantly develop those relationships where we can say 'That can work,' or 'That didn't work,'" he said. "We've got another week of the exercise left to go, so we'll see what happens."

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