U.S. service members, primarily reservists from the Marines, Navy, Army and Air Force recently deployed to Senegal, West Africa to take part in the inaugural exercise called Western Accord, June 26 - July 24, 2012. Western Accord 2012 is a scheduled U.S. training event hosted by Marine Forces Africa and consists of peacekeeping, peace support, disaster response and humanitarian assistance exercises. The training is designed to build, integrate and refine stability operations with partner nations while enhancing command, control and communications of participating forces. Task Force Commander, Colonel Anthony Fernandez, III said, "Our combined efforts and shared purpose will not only pave the way for future regional exercises but also forge a personal bond amongst our warriors." The Senegalese leader, Brigadier General Papa Samba Kamara, Senegal Army Chief of Staff said, "Western Accord 2012 is the way to build unified strength to protect and defend the West African community. This cooperation should help the different units involved to enhance their capacities and perfect their knowledge to build peace." Although the exercise is new to Senegal, these exercises have been successful in other parts of the continent and prepare service members for real-world scenarios. Gunnery Sergeant Brian Ross, Operations Chief of Marine Forces Africa said, "We've seen great demonstrations of interoperability between the Marine Corps and partner nation forces, whether they are large scale CJCS exercises like African Lion or Shared Accord to small engagements involving two or three Marines. The objectives of Western Accord 2012 include:Prepare U.S. and West African forces for stability operationsConduct Humanitarian Assistance operations and improve West African Nations capability to respond to complex Humanitarian EmergenciesTrain U.S. forces to operate in an austere environment alongside partner nationsEnhance training facilities for future operations Infantry battalions from the various nations are the primary training audience for this exercise, however, there is a large humanitarian civic assistance program consisting of both medical and dental cadres that require expertise from various supporting units throughout the U.S. The combined exercise involves nearly 600 U.S. service members and approximately 600 members of the Armed Forces of Senegal, Burkina Faso, Guinea, Gambia and France. It is coordinated by Marine Forces Africa. The primary U.S. military units and personnel supporting Western Accord are: (MARINES) 3rd Battalion, 25th Marines (based in Brook Park, Ohio with companies in Akron and Columbus)Marine Forces Africa (based in Stuttgart, Germany)Marine Forces Reserve and 4th Marine Division (based in New Orleans, La.) Marine Civil Affairs (based at Camp Pendleton, Calif.)Marine Wing Service and Support 473 (based in Ft. Worth, Texas) 6th Engineer Support Battalion (based in Ft. Lewis, Wash.) (NAVY )4th Medical Battalion (based in San Diego, Calif.)4th Dental Battalion (based in Marietta, Ga.) (ARMY)36th Infantry Division, Texas Army National Guard (based in Austin, Texas)404th Civil Affairs Battalion (based in Ft. Dix, N.J.)75th Training Division, Army Reserve (based in Ft. Sill, Okla.)Medical Detachment, Vermont Army National Guard (based in Colchester, Vt.) (AIR FORCE) 158th Figther Wing, Vermont Air National Guard (based in Burlington, Vt.) See also: Marines, West African Partners Kick Off Exercise Western Accord 2012