Photo By Airman 1st Class Connor Taggart | U.S. Army and Air National Guard members of the State Partnership Program discuss...... read more read more
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ATLANTIC CITY AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, N.J. -- The New Jersey National Guard hosted the State Partnership Program directors of the six U.S. states whose respective National Guards are partnered with the Adriatic charter nations: Albania (New Jersey), Bosnia and Herzegovina (Maryland), Croatia (Minnesota), Montenegro (Maine), and North Macedonia (Vermont) at the National Aerospace Research and Technology Park, Egg Harbor Township, Jan. 23-24, 2024.
“As state National Guard SPP directors, we have worked closely together for years,” said U.S. Army Lt. Col. Kevin Murphy, New Jersey SPP director. “It's rare, though, that we can all get into the same room to share best practices and discuss how we can support each other.”
U.S. Army Maj. Patrick “Gene” Enriquez, Vermont SPP director described a Western Balkans regional cyber security exercise as one such example of the programs’ interoperability.
“There are certainly times in a region like the Adriatic five region or the Balkans where we can pool resources, we can leverage one another's expertise, and in many cases, create multilateral events to support strategic priorities for the combatant command,” said Enriquez.
“We’re trying to integrate our efforts for better efficiency, getting more done with less,” added Murphy, noting the benefits of steady and deliberate coordination. “We're trying to get after it ourselves and do some integration before we get into the very, very big exercises.”
One of the large-scale exercises ahead includes U.S. European Command's "DEFENDER-Europe 2025" exercise.
“Being able to collaborate and speak to other SPP directors that have been doing the job, getting their best practices, is very, very helpful,” said U.S. Army Maj. Elise Dent, incoming SPP director for Maryland.
Murphy explained that he hopes to continue the conference annually, rotating between A-5 partner states. This would include Ohio and Iowa National Guard representatives, who are partners with the A-5 observer states Serbia and Kosovo, respectively, and could not attend this year due to scheduling conflicts.
The Department of Defense’s State Partnership Program is managed and administered by the National Guard Bureau. It is a U.S.-sponsored security cooperation program that supports the security cooperation objectives of the United States and the geographic combatant commands by developing enduring relationships with partner countries and carrying out activities to build partner capacity, improve interoperability, and enhance U.S. access and influence while increasing the readiness of U.S. and partner forces to meet emerging challenges. The State Partnership Program began in 1993 with 13 partners. Thirty years later, the program has grown to more than 100 partner nations and is a key U.S. security cooperation tool that facilitates collaboration across all aspects of civil-military affairs.
(Story by Lt. Col. Agneta Murnan, New Jersey Department of Military & Veterans Affairs Public Affairs Officer)
| Date Taken: | 01.23.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 02.27.2024 16:29 |
| Story ID: | 464832 |
| Location: | EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP, NJ, US |
| Web Views: | 79 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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