Florida Guardsmen Instrumental in Multinational Partnership

Photo By 1st Lt. James Lanza | ST. KITTS AND NEVIS – Florida Army National Guardsmen with the 13th Army Band play with their Kittitian counterparts during the St. Kitts and Nevis Independence Day Parade on September 19, 2018. Florida Guardsmen working side by side their SKNDF counterparts as part of the State Partnership Program, were a featured part of the parade. (U.S. Army photo by 2nd Lt. James Lanza)  

SAINT KITTS AND NEVIS

09.20.2018

Story by 2nd Lt. James Lanza 

Florida National Guard Public Affairs Office

Soldiers of the 13th Army Band joined with members of the St. Kitts and Nevis Defense Force Band during a parade celebrating the 35th anniversary of St. Kitts and Nevis’s independence as part of the National Guard’s State Partnership Program, on September 20, 2018.

The parade was the cumulating event of the four-day SPP exchange with the St. Kitts and Nevis Defense Force, highlighting the close relationship between the American and SKN militaries. Since its inception in 1992, the SPP has facilitated military cooperation between National Guardsmen and partner states’ defense forces and law-enforcement agencies.

“For more than 25 years the SPP has been focused on building long-term relationships with partner countries to meet the political and military objectives of the combatant commands. Additionally, the program allows Guardsmen to build cultural competencies while increasing unit readiness,” said Maj. David Tavares, SPP Coordinator for the Florida National Guard.

For guardsmen of the 13th Army Band, the exchange provided a unique opportunity to not only cultivate relationships with local forces, but also to develop their skill sets through joint training.

“The SKNDF has a different operating culture than what we’ve grown accustom to in the United States, this results in different styles of doing things, different training and different standard operating procedures,” said Sgt. 1st Class Michael Francis, a 13th Army Band member taking part in the exchange. “Learning how the locals here approach issues and training is vital to us because it shows us a new approach which we wouldn’t have thought of as Americans. These different approaches we can then take back to the states and apply to our own training.”

By the conclusion of the exchange, Soldiers of the 13th Army Band left the small island nation not only with new approaches to training and organizational problems, but also an added appreciation for the cultural similarities.

While this exchange was the first of its kind for many of the Soldiers of the 13th Army Band, many Soldiers throughout the SKNDF have benefited from numerous encounters with the Florida National Guard during their careers.

“The partnership program continues to benefit our force in capacity development,” said Capt. Kayode Sutton, Regimental Commander of the SKNDF. “The program has allowed us to exchange experiences and lessons to develop best practices, bettering our response mechanisms as we prepare to counter natural and man-made disasters.”

• Date Taken: 09.20.2018
• Date Posted: 09.21.2018 14:29
• Story ID: 293968
• Location: KN