Matthew Michels led one of the Minnesota National Guard teams supporting Norwegian service members at this year's NOREX. Norway's recent SPP entry with the Minnesota Guard was almost a half-century in the making, as the Nordic nation and its upper-Midwest counterpart held 50 years of training exchanges, dubbed NOREX, short for U.S.-Norway Reciprocal Troop Exchange.Īrmy 2nd Lt. On the other hand, sometimes official SPP pairings can take years to come to fruition. 'The agility of the program is amazing,' said Blum, who is now retired. Central Command requested a National Guard partner for Jordan. H Steven Blum, 25th Chief of the National Guard Bureau, had partnerships established with the seven Caribbean islands that are members of the Regional Security System in a matter of months, repeating a feat his staff had pulled off when U.S. Thirteen partnerships were up and running in former Soviet bloc countries within a year of the SPP's birth.Īnd, where appropriate, subsequent pairings have sometimes happened quickly since.

'The secretary of defense, in coordination with the Department of State, approves.'Īfter an official announcement to the partner nation, signing ceremonies typically take place on both sides, both in that nation and in the home state of the National Guard partner. 'Ultimately, the chief of the National Guard Bureau makes a recommendation back to the secretary of defense,' Zana said. This critical staff position creates a bridge between the chief and other stakeholders in navigating the geopolitical terrain. The foreign policy advisor to the chief of the NGB is an integral player in this process, helping him or her master the complexities of foreign engagements and ensuring the chief has a deep understanding of State Department of State. 'It strictly is a by-choice and voluntary process at each stage,' Zana said.Ī board process at the national level - involving all stakeholders - then assesses the candidates and ranks the most suitable applicants. Interested states, territories or the District of Columbia, in turn, submit requests to be the designated partner. 'We get this information out to the states, identifying what this nation is looking for in a security cooperation agreement and asking how we find the best partner,' Zana said. The team of agencies, including the NGB, then scrutinizes broader considerations: Is there a strong diaspora anywhere in the U.S.? Are there economic, political or academic connections? 'What things are most important to them? Those things they want to focus their training and readiness on which might be related to specific equipment, types of forces, types of missions.' 'Throughout the process, the Department of State and Department of Defense work closely to understand the request and what things that country is asking for,' Zana said. geographic combatant command whose area of responsibility the nation falls into.Īssuming all that goes well, the request is sent to the secretary of defense and then to the National Guard Bureau. ambassador, who coordinates with the relevant U.S. 'So, there are a lot of stakeholders, and - from my perspective - that's a feature, not a bug because everyone has a shared interest in the success of the program in establishing and maintaining meaningful relationships.'Ī potential partner nation first has to be aware of and learn about the SPP, then submit a formal request to that nation's U.S. 'The National Guard Bureau administers, resources, and serves as the integrator of the program,' Zana said. embassies and their chiefs of mission each partner nation and the National Guard in the partner state, territory or District of Columbia.

The DOD program is closely coordinated with the geographic combatant commands the State Department the U.S.

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