Photo By Staff Sgt. Adeline Witherspoon | A member of the Special Malaysia Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team (SMART) tosses a...... read more read more
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In late September 2025, the Washington National Guard hosted Malaysia's Special Malaysia Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team (SMART) for a week-long domestic response workshop in Spokane. This event marked the first "civilian-to-civilian" engagement under the State Partnership Program to be held in Washington state.
The week-long workshop, held in late September 2025, focused on domestic disaster response training. It was coordinated through the State Partnership Program, a federal initiative that links U.S. National Guard units with partner nations worldwide.
The event was the first civilian-to-civilian engagement conducted in Washington state under the SPP. This marked a notable step in the partnership, which was formed in 2017 between the Washington National Guard and the Malaysian Armed Forces.
The Washington National Guard, 10th Homeland Response Force, Spokane Valley Fire Department, Spokane County Sheriff’s Office, Airmen with the 304th Rescue Squadron hosted members of the Malaysian NADMA SMART team. SMART is an elite, internationally certified Heavy Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) task force. Managed by NADMA, this team draws its personnel from the Malaysian Armed Forces, the Royal Malaysia Police, and the Fire and Rescue Department.
“The most important thing is the partnerships that we have with other countries [and] being able to work together,” said U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Dereck Reese with the Washington National Guard’s 10th Homeland Response Force. “That's a huge deal. If we ever got called to assist them—or if they ever got called to assist us—building that relationship is super important, and just learning different things and sharing that knowledge.”
The Malaysian personnel received training on civilian SAR operations, including specific skills like swift water rescue techniques. A key component included breaking and breaching procedures, or drilling and cutting through materials to access areas during rescue missions.
The Malaysian SMART team members we've been working with are all civilians—police and firefighters—who respond to emergencies the same way we do: they receive a call, gather their gear and personnel, and deploy to handle the mission, said Reese.
As Malaysia's central disaster management agency, National Disaster Management Agency (NADMA) is responsible for coordinating the government's response to disasters. This includes managing assets like the SMART team.
Since 2017, Malaysia and the Washington National Guard have been partners through the U.S. Department of Defense's State Partnership Program. The program facilitates military-to-military and military-to-civilian cooperation. Previous SPP exercises, like the annual Bersama Warrior, have focused on enhancing military interoperability. The recent workshop expanded this partnership to include civilian SAR expertise.
Safriz Bin Swahini, Deputy Superintendent of Police and head of logistics for the Malaysian disaster assistance and rescue team
“The training was developed since last year, focusing on the strategic level,” said Safriz Bin Swahini, Deputy Superintendent of Police and head of logistics for the Malaysian disaster assistance and rescue team. “So [by] bringing the teams to the United States, we were engaging with the U.S. Embassy [and] trying to find what's the best type of training that can be done.”
| Date Taken: | 10.15.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 10.16.2025 16:35 |
| Story ID: | 550190 |
| Location: | SPOKANE, WASHINGTON, US |
| Web Views: | 59 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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