Photo By Master Sgt. Stephanie Mundwiller | Public relations and communications specialists with several of Panama’s safety and...... read more read more
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Five public affairs specialists assigned to the Missouri National Guard led a three-day skills and knowledge exchange in Panama from Feb. 24-26, 2026, sharing expertise with nearly 30 Panamanian government communication professionals.
The subject matter expert exchange focused on strengthening strategic communication capabilities, crisis messaging and interagency coordination.
“With exchanges like this one, Missouri always wants to accomplish our face-value objectives of sharing our knowledge and skills, while coming home with new capabilities gleaned from our Panamanian partners,” Col. Jeff Bishop, Missouri National Guard chief of the joint staff and director of staff-air, said. “At the same time, it remains important that we represent Missouri well to maintain—if not enhance—our longstanding reputation as a strong, competent and faithful partner.”
Missouri National Guard public affairs specialists led briefings and discussions on media relations, communication planning, content production and social media best practices. Representatives of the 10 participating Panamanian safety and security agencies presented information on their current capabilities, successful communication efforts and challenges they have encountered.
There was a variety of experience represented among the Panamanian participants. One said she especially appreciated the information about communicating with the public through social media though she found all the content valuable.
Bishop said the exchanges are designed to be mutually beneficial.
“We quickly learned that we don’t have a monopoly on our tradecraft," he said. “We learned as much from our Panamanian counterparts as we taught. As a result, we’re returning to Missouri better equipped for our important communication and engagement missions here.”
Against a backdrop of rising global interest in the region, Missouri Guard public affairs professionals shared insights on synchronizing messaging during large-scale operations and the importance of coordinating across multiple government agencies. The engagement was one of more than 20 SMEEs Missouri plans to support this year, exchanging best practices on other topics such as legal affairs, cybersecurity, recruiting and defense of critical infrastructure as part of Missouri’s bilateral relationship with Panama under the U.S. National Guard’s State Partnership Program.
“As interest in the Panama Canal Region grows, the Missouri National Guard stands ready to help other joint partners in their efforts in the theater, however we can,” said Bishop.
2026 marks a milestone for Missouri’s relationship with Panama, as the two entities are set to celebrate the 30th anniversary of their partnership later this year. In addition to numerous knowledge exchanges, the Missouri National Guard plans to send Soldiers with the 35th Engineer Brigade to support Panama with construction projects during an Overseas Deployment Training effort. The state also anticipates taking part in PANAMAX and PANAMAX Alpha, major multinational exercises focused on the defense of the Panama Canal and regional security cooperation.
“Every Missouri Guard member that has supported a SMEE over these past 30 years should take pride in what they’ve been a part of in respect to shaping the safety and security of the Western Hemisphere and the Americas,” Bishop noted.
| Date Taken: | 04.06.2026 |
| Date Posted: | 04.13.2026 15:42 |
| Story ID: | 562373 |
| Location: | PANAMA CITY, PA |
| Web Views: | 76 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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