National Guard helping state partners improve port security

Courtesy Photo | Maj. Gen. Timothy Lowenberg, the adjutant general of Washington, speaks during the Maritime Port Security Workshop at the 2009 European Command State Partnership Program Conference held at Stuttgart, Germany, from June 15-16.  

STUTTGART, GERMANY

06.16.2009

Story by Staff Sgt. Jim Greenhill 

National Guard Bureau

STUTTGART, Germany — Port security is emerging as a new area of focus for the National Guard's State Partnership Program.

"This is a very fertile field for us because it draws on the strength of what we do already intuitively on a daily basis at home," said Maj. Gen. Timothy Lowenberg, the adjutant general of the Washington National Guard, during an SPP workshop on maritime and port security here last week.

Port security is a new topic for the SPP within the U.S. European Command area of responsibility, participants said.

Washington is home to major ports. When the Washington National Guard uses lessons learned at home to help its SPP partner Thailand improve port security, it benefits the United States. "Their maritime security directly impacts our maritime security," Lowenberg said.

The relationship is mutually beneficial — the National Guard can learn lessons from foreign partners that can be applied at home.

"We have a very well-developed and established program," said Maj. Gen. William Wade, the adjutant general of the California National Guard, whose partner is Ukraine.

California targets its assistance to Ukraine so that it meets the goals of the combatant commander and of the ambassador, Wade said.

The state has seen its program result in interagency cooperation and multinational participation, he said. Efforts to improve rapid response to incidents, anti-terrorism measures, waterborne policing operations and training standards have seen the Department of Justice, Department of Homeland Security, California Highway Patrol and local sheriffs' and police departments team up with the National Guard.

Port security is a particular challenge because officials do not want to interfere with trade.

"The ports are there to move goods and produce an income, a bottom line," said Cosme Perrone, security manager for the Port of Long Beach. "It is to support the business model rather than interfere with it."

Security can be challenging at ports such as Long Beach, where there are 30 terminals on 3,000 acres of land and 35 miles of waterway visited by 5,000 vessels every year.

"This is not altruism," Sidone Sansom, deputy director of the Port of San Francisco, said of security collaboration. "An attack on one port would impact all the ports."

The Navy has started its own Maritime Partnership Program as part of joint efforts to improve security, said Cmdr. Jeff Marty of the Navy Reserve. "It was based on the very successful view that the Navy has of the State Partnership Program," he said.

• Date Taken: 06.16.2009
• Date Posted: 06.23.2009 09:27
• Story ID: 35517
• Location: STUTTGART, DE