Courtesy Photo | Chief Master Sgt. Stephen Jeffers, 104th Fighter Wing command chief, visited Paraguay,...... read more read more
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Chief Master Sgt. Stephen Jeffers, 104th Fighter Wing command chief, visited Paraguay, one of the Massachusetts National Guard’s partners through the State Partnership Program, to bolster the enduring partnership from April 2 to April 5, 2024.
Jeffers traveled to Paraguay with key enlisted leaders from the Massachusetts Army and Air National Guard with the intent of working with their Paraguayan counterparts on noncommissioned officer development, and to see how the Massachusetts National Guard can work with the partner nation in the future.
“The primary focus was the training of NCOs,” said Jeffers. “Their words are something to the effect of, ‘I want to be the very best NCO I can be.’ On the enlisted side we definitely have an opportunity to learn from a partner nation and build relationships.”
The State Partnership Program has been successfully building relationships for over 30 years and now includes 89 partnerships with 106 nations around the globe. The MANG has been partnered with Paraguay since 2001 and signed a state partnership agreement with Kenya in 2015.
Through the SPP, the MANG conducts mutually beneficial engagements in support of defense security cooperation goals and works to strengthen its partner nation’s domestic response capabilities.
“We have to look globally at relationships,” said Jeffers. “The State Partnership Program really is about building those relationships. We’re investing in those relationships, and they pay dividends at some point in time.”
Jeffers used his experience in a deployed environment as an example as to why partnerships are crucial, saying he was overseas with twenty-one other countries during the Global War on Terrorism, and that nations will continue having the need to operate jointly in the future.
“For the future fight, we’re not doing this on our own,” said Jeffers. “We’re going to be working with joint partners of all backgrounds. To be socially conscious of a country’s cultures, norms, and the way they operate helps with interoperability. It really helps us understand each other.”
The 104FW has had numerous engagements with Paraguay since 2001. The partnership has helped shape several programs now utilized by Paraguay, such as tool accountability practices, safety programs, and professional development for noncommissioned officers.
“The professional noncommissioned officer is the backbone of getting things done,” said Col. David ‘Moon’ Halasi-Kun, 104th Fighter Wing commander. “We’ve helped them build that through sharing our methodologies for professional military education and they’ve molded that into a system that works for them. It’s really cool to see.”
In addition to building partner capacity and improving interoperability, the State Partnership Program increases the readiness of U.S. and partner forces to meet emerging challenges. The program is strategically important to national defense, and Halasi-Kun said he sees the state’s partnerships enduring into the future.
“The importance to us, nationally and strategically, is building these partnerships within the lower ranks that rise to higher ranks, so that in the future, when I’m at a higher rank and my partners down in Paraguay are, the trust is already there if something ever comes up,” said Halasi-Kun. “It’s priceless when it comes to international relations.”
| Date Taken: | 05.01.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 05.02.2024 08:40 |
| Story ID: | 470039 |
| Location: | WESTFIELD, MA, US |
| Web Views: | 18 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, 104FW command chief visits Paraguay, enhances enduring partnership, by Randall Burlingame, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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