The largest communications interoperability exercise on the African continent kicked off August 9, 2010, during a ceremony at the Ghana Armed Forces Command and Staff College in Accra.

Africa Endeavor (AE) 2010 is a U.S. Africa Command-sponsored communications exercise focused on interoperability and information sharing among African militaries. AE 2010's goal is to develop command, control and communications tactics, techniques and procedures that can be used by the African Union (AU) and the African Standby Force in support of humanitarian assistance, disaster relief and peace support missions.

U.S. Embassy Ghana Charge d' Affaires Julie Furuta-Toy provided the ceremony's opening remarks and stressed the importance of AE 2010 in a time when the boundaries between people are overwhelmed by our relationships.

"Our connections are what will help all of us fight conflicts and develop the future," stated Furuta-Toy. "Command, control, communications and computer systems are the critical vehicles to achieve the goals of regional security and transformation."

AE 2010 participants will spend the initial days of this two-week exercise learning academics regarding voice and data networks theory and configuration. The last several days of AE 2010 will be spent applying that knowledge during exercise scenarios.

This year's exercise will be the first time a communications link between the exercise location and the AU is established. Situation reports and messages pertaining to the scenario and exercise will be passed from Accra, Ghana to the AU Peace Support Operations Center in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

"One of the Africa Union's main objectives is to promote peace, security and stability on the continent. We need a united front to ensure this objective," stated Ghana Minister of Defense Lieutenant General J.H. Smith. "Communications and information systems interoperability provide means for sharing of information across borders, which is very vital to the sustenance of the Africa Union and the African Standby Force."

AE 2010 is a culmination of the planning and labor conducted throughout the last year. The planning cycle for AE 2010 began in January during the Initial Planning Conference in Kampala, Uganda as the technicians and delegation chiefs started to discuss their expectations for the exercise. April's Main Planning Conference in Accra, Ghana further solidified the test plan. The planning cycle was finalized in June during the Final Planning Conference in Kigali, Rwanda as the delegations finalized the exercise agenda, training plans and test plans.

Thirty-six African partners, the AU, the Economic Community of Western African States, the Economic Community of Central African States, Sweden, Switzerland and the United States are participants in AE 2010.