Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus meets with U.S. Ambassador to South Africa Patrick Gaspard before they meet with Chief of the South African National Defense Force Gen. Solly Zacharia Shoke. Mabus is in South Africa to thank government and military leadership for their role in building regional partnerships, peacekeeping operations, and their support of counter-piracy operations in the region. South Africa is hosting the final planning conference for exercise Cutlass Express, a maritime exercise designed to improve interoperability between nations in the region, which is vital to maritime security. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Armando Gonzales/Released)