Photo By Edwin Wriston | Leadership of the West Virginia National Guard (WVNG) held a video conference call...... read more read more
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Leadership of the West Virginia National Guard (WVNG) held a video conference call with their State Partnership Program (SPP) counterparts in Perú to discuss COVID-19 military response efforts and best practices June 11, 2020.
The video conference was held in lieu of face-to-face meetings due to travel restrictions still active during the ongoing pandemic.
Maj. Gen. James Hoyer, Adjutant General of the WVNG, and Command Sgt. Maj. Phillip Cantrell, senior enlisted advisor for the WVNG, along with an interpreter, and SPP-Peru program coordinator, Sgt. 1st Class Hector Guillen, spent an hour discussing COVID-19 efforts with their Peruvian counterparts, including Brig. Gen. Marcos Rodriguez, the commander of the Peruvian Army’s National Support and Development Command.
Topics covered were securing and utilizing Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) supplies, active response efforts including decontamination missions and assisting public health officials with testing, and overall force protection methods to keep members of both military organizations safe and healthy.
Both Hoyer and Rodriguez spoke on the unique challenges presented by COVID-19 with extended mission length requiring long-term activations of personnel, and the large-scale response needed as compared to normal short-term targeted and localized missions during typical natural disasters or emergencies. Both agreed that sustained operations places unusual challenges on their organizations, but agreed those challenges presented unique opportunities to serve their communities.
Like the WVNG, since early March Peruvian forces have been busy providing humanitarian support to their nation, especially to vulnerable populations, as they assist with their government’s response efforts.
Before wrapping up the video conference call, both the WVNG and Perú reiterated the importance of the SPP program and their mutual desire to reengage face-to-face interactions and joint missions after travel restrictions are lifted, including continuing exchanges of enlisted personnel and officers for professional development opportunities.
Hoyer invited Peruvian representatives to participate in the upcoming 2021 Boy Scout Jamboree mission in West Virginia, as well as the large-scale Vigilant Guard exercise to be held at the WVNG Hobet training site next summer.
“I was a young Captain in 1996 when our Perú SPP relationship began,” said Hoyer. “I have watched our partnership grow and mature throughout my career, and it is a source of pride for us that our Peruvian partners continue to stand side by side with us in such meaningful ways.”
West Virginia and Perú have been partners through the State Partnership Program since 1996. Through this partnership, the two have participated in more than 130 engagements focusing on regional challenges facing the Andean region, especially in the areas of counterinsurgency, anti-terrorism, emergency preparedness, and disaster response and recovery.
| Date Taken: | 06.11.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 06.12.2020 09:21 |
| Story ID: | 371995 |
| Location: | CHARLESTON, WV, US |
| Web Views: | 58 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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