Photo By Staff Sgt. Walter Lowell | Graphic shows the Samoan and Nevada flags along with an emblem displaying the Tongan...... read more read more
The Nevada National Guard will add a third state partner in the US Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM) area of operations when the Independent State of Samoa becomes the 96th partner nation formally approved through the National Guard State Partnership Program (SPP). The approval of the partnership was announced this week.
Samoa joins the Kingdom of Tonga and the Republic of Fiji as Pacific Island partners with the Nevada National Guard. These partnerships were formalized in 2014 and 2019, respectively. Nevada is one of three National Guard states now with three different partner nations.
“Nevada’s meaningful relationships and regional expertise in the Oceania region over the last decade were cited as the driving force behind the creation of this newest partnership,” said Brig. Gen. Michael Peyerl, Director of Joint Staff, Nevada National Guard. “Many people are surprised at how much Nevada and Pacific Island nations have in common. At first glance, it’s easy to focus on the differences. If you look closely, you will see similarities of small, close-knit, urban communities, separated by large distances of ocean in the Pacific, and desert in Nevada.”
The National Guard SPP connects a state’s National Guard forces with the armed forces or security forces equivalent of a partner nation in a cooperative and mutually beneficial relationship. The Samoa state partnership will be unique since Samoa does not have an established military defense. The State Partnership Program began in 1993 with 13 partners. Thirty years later, the program has grown to nearly 100 partner-nations and is a key U.S. security cooperation tool that facilitates collaboration across all aspects of civil-military affairs. With Nevada’s newest partnership, the Silver State’s National Guard continues to grow its partnership program in a vital region of the world.
Samoa (known as “Western Samoa” until 1997) is an archipelago consisting of two main islands (Upolu and Savai’i) and seven smaller islands. It has a population of roughly 200,000 people, with about 75 percent of the population residing in the capital city of Apia. Samoa was a German protectorate prior to World War I and was occupied unopposed by New Zealand in 1914. In 1962, Samoa became the first Polynesian nation to establish independence in the 20th Century. Its official languages are Samoan and English.
| Date Taken: | 02.03.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 02.03.2023 13:14 |
| Story ID: | 437791 |
| Location: | CARSON CITY, NV, US |
| Web Views: | 135 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Samoa named Nevada Guard’s third nation in bourgeoning State Partnership Program, by Capt. Emerson Marcus, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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