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The National Guard’s State Partnership Program — which pairs individual state Guard forces with a foreign country in need of military and civil advisers — is set to expand into Africa as Africa Command reaches full operational capability, according to the program’s chief official.
The Guard also is looking to expand its partnerships in the Pacific region, said Air Force Lt. Col. Michael Golden, chief of operations for the National Guard Bureau’s international affairs branch. Lt. Gen. Steven Blum, chief of the bureau, said in January that he expects the program will grow from 59 to 70 partnerships in the next three years.
The first partnerships were initiated in 1993 in an attempt to shore up the stability of Eastern European nations following the fall of the Soviet Union. Because sending active-duty troops could have created the appearance of an occupation, Guard and reserve troops were tasked with engaging the emerging democracies to assist in their development, Golden said.
The state Army and Air National Guards work jointly to provide expertise in areas such as disaster response, search and rescue, and border security. Civil aspects of the program involve economic and educational exchange programs. The states also provide personal contacts for their partners’ military and civil officials.
“The country is not dealing with the United States as a whole, it’s dealing with a smaller version of that in its [partner] state,” Golden said, “which tends to be a little less ... intimidating.”
The partnerships fall under the auspices of the Defense Department, the combatant commander for the region and the U.S. ambassador for the country. Often, the first step of a partnership is explaining how America’s elected and military officials cooperate.
“The idea of civilian control of the military for the Soviet Union and [its] satellite countries was a new concept,” Golden said.
Teaming up
Some partnerships, such as Virginia-Tajikistan, are based largely on which state was willing and able when a new country applied to the program. Others are based on factors that, although not obvious, provide greater meaning to both sides: South Dakota and Suriname both have economies dependent on mining. Poland’s partner, Illinois, has America’s largest Polish population, said Randy Noller, National Guard Bureau spokesman.
That pairing has been one of the program’s great success stories. “Poland is not the Poland that we started with just a few short years ago,” Golden said.
The Illinois Air Guard helped get Poland’s F-16 program up to NATO standards and is preparing the Polish armed forces for the standup of its first C-130E operation, to launch in October, according to Maj. James Fisher, bilateral coordinator for the partnership, who works in Warsaw.
“The most significant success is seen in the sky over Poznan, where Polish F-16 pilots fill the sky,” Fisher said via e-mail. “The Air National Guard facilitated the successful transition of pilots from former Warsaw Pact tactics and doctrine to a U.S. Air Force-based atmosphere through mobile training team events and seminars.”
Illinois National Guardsmen are embedded with Polish troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, said Army Capt. Krista Jekielek, State Partnership Program coordinator for the Illinois Guard.
“It teaches us how to fight together whenever we get deployed together,” Jekielek said.
The program has grown steadily since its inception, but of the 59 current partnerships, only seven are in Africa and only five in the Pacific.
Oregon and Bangladesh paired up this year as the initial step in a thrust for more partnerships in the region. U.S. ambassadors and regional military leaders encourage countries to seek a partnership when they identify areas of mutual benefit, although it is up to foreign officials to officially request the arrangement.
One key interest in the Pacific is fostering security in the sea trade between the region and America’s West Coast. Washington and Thailand, already partnered, have worked to create a shipping container inspection system at Thailand’s main port.
“If we can increase the safety of those shipments of cargo containers, that’s a homeland defense issue for this country,” Golden said.
The project’s blend of military and civil programs also is expected to adapt well to America’s interests in Africa, where establishing governmental and economic stability will be Africa Command’s focus. State universities may be able to assist with AIDS research critical to containing the disease’s spread in Africa, Golden said.
The Guard also is looking to expand its partnerships in the Pacific region, said Air Force Lt. Col. Michael Golden, chief of operations for the National Guard Bureau’s international affairs branch. Lt. Gen. Steven Blum, chief of the bureau, said in January that he expects the program will grow from 59 to 70 partnerships in the next three years.
The first partnerships were initiated in 1993 in an attempt to shore up the stability of Eastern European nations following the fall of the Soviet Union. Because sending active-duty troops could have created the appearance of an occupation, Guard and reserve troops were tasked with engaging the emerging democracies to assist in their development, Golden said.
The state Army and Air National Guards work jointly to provide expertise in areas such as disaster response, search and rescue, and border security. Civil aspects of the program involve economic and educational exchange programs. The states also provide personal contacts for their partners’ military and civil officials.
“The country is not dealing with the United States as a whole, it’s dealing with a smaller version of that in its [partner] state,” Golden said, “which tends to be a little less ... intimidating.”
The partnerships fall under the auspices of the Defense Department, the combatant commander for the region and the U.S. ambassador for the country. Often, the first step of a partnership is explaining how America’s elected and military officials cooperate.
“The idea of civilian control of the military for the Soviet Union and [its] satellite countries was a new concept,” Golden said.
Teaming up
Some partnerships, such as Virginia-Tajikistan, are based largely on which state was willing and able when a new country applied to the program. Others are based on factors that, although not obvious, provide greater meaning to both sides: South Dakota and Suriname both have economies dependent on mining. Poland’s partner, Illinois, has America’s largest Polish population, said Randy Noller, National Guard Bureau spokesman.
That pairing has been one of the program’s great success stories. “Poland is not the Poland that we started with just a few short years ago,” Golden said.
The Illinois Air Guard helped get Poland’s F-16 program up to NATO standards and is preparing the Polish armed forces for the standup of its first C-130E operation, to launch in October, according to Maj. James Fisher, bilateral coordinator for the partnership, who works in Warsaw.
“The most significant success is seen in the sky over Poznan, where Polish F-16 pilots fill the sky,” Fisher said via e-mail. “The Air National Guard facilitated the successful transition of pilots from former Warsaw Pact tactics and doctrine to a U.S. Air Force-based atmosphere through mobile training team events and seminars.”
Illinois National Guardsmen are embedded with Polish troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, said Army Capt. Krista Jekielek, State Partnership Program coordinator for the Illinois Guard.
“It teaches us how to fight together whenever we get deployed together,” Jekielek said.
The program has grown steadily since its inception, but of the 59 current partnerships, only seven are in Africa and only five in the Pacific.
Oregon and Bangladesh paired up this year as the initial step in a thrust for more partnerships in the region. U.S. ambassadors and regional military leaders encourage countries to seek a partnership when they identify areas of mutual benefit, although it is up to foreign officials to officially request the arrangement.
One key interest in the Pacific is fostering security in the sea trade between the region and America’s West Coast. Washington and Thailand, already partnered, have worked to create a shipping container inspection system at Thailand’s main port.
“If we can increase the safety of those shipments of cargo containers, that’s a homeland defense issue for this country,” Golden said.
The project’s blend of military and civil programs also is expected to adapt well to America’s interests in Africa, where establishing governmental and economic stability will be Africa Command’s focus. State universities may be able to assist with AIDS research critical to containing the disease’s spread in Africa, Golden said.