Today, Stars and Stripes the daily American military newspaper reported on the beginning of a 3 week excersie in Israel, to be held with the Israeli Army.

Some 500 U.S. Marines staged a beach-storming exercise in Israel during some of the first bilateral military drills since a major Pentagon realignment for the longtime allies.

On Monday, the Israeli Defense Force and the Bahrain-based U.S. Naval Forces Central Command launched the amphibious assault in Eilat, a Red Sea port town near Jordan, the 51/5th Marine Expeditionary Brigade said in a statement.

“This exercise is part of the next chapter in the U.S. Navy’s and Marine Corps’ long-standing relationship with Israel that is so vital to stability and security in the region,” said Brig. Gen. Farrell Sullivan, commander of the Marine task force.

The three-week training also involves urban combat exercises, bomb disposal drills and firing the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System.

The exercise began days after Israeli fighters escorted a U.S. Air Force bomber on a patrol flight.