The National Guard's 65-nation, 20-year-old State Partnership Program provides unique partnership capacity-building capabilities to combatant commanders and U.S. ambassadors through partnerships between U.S. states, territories and the District of Columbia and foreign countries.
The SPP supports U.S. national interests and security cooperation goals by engaging partner nations via military, socio-political and economic conduits at the local, state and national level.
The SPP evolved from a 1991 U.S. European Command decision to set up the Joint Contact Team Program in the Baltic Region with Reserve component Soldiers and Airmen. A subsequent National Guard Bureau proposal paired U.S. states with three nations emerging from the former Soviet Bloc and the SPP was born, becoming a key U.S. security cooperation tool, facilitating cooperation across all aspects of international civil-military affairs and encouraging people-to-people ties at the state level.
VIDEO
National Guard State Partnership Program: 20 Years Later20 years after the National Guard's State Partnership Program (SPP) began, it has grown from just a handful in Europe to a global endeavor. Learn more about the scope and philosophy behind this visionary and valuable diplomatic tool.
Time: 6:44
SPOTLIGHT REPORTS
- District of Columbia Guard members celebrate history, partnership with Jamaica counterparts - July 23, 2012
- National Guard, active duty medics work together to achieve common goals in Cambodia - July 19, 2012
- Florida Army Guard's 13th Army Band assists Guyana partnership mission - July 17, 2012
- Colorado National Guard, Jordanian Armed Forces conduct eighth women's leadership engagement - July 13, 2012
- Vermont Air National Guard members among U.S. service members providing humanitarian aid in Senegal - July 12, 2012
- South African National Defense Force leaders learn logistics from New York Guard members - July 11, 2012
- New Hampshire Air National Guard medics travel to El Salvador, take part in urban search and rescue exchange - July 10, 2012
- State Partnership Program part of Africom's theater engagement plan - July 6, 2012
- Through State Partnership Program, Maryland National Guard works to enhance foreign nations’ interoperability - June 26, 2012
- Latvian prime minister praises Latvia, Michigan National Guard relationship - June 25, 2012
- Estonian ambassador visits Estonian pilots training with Maryland Army National Guard - June 22, 2012
- Suriname military leaders, South Dakota National Guard exchange leadership training, team building techniques - June 18, 2012
- Wyoming Air Guard members exchange aeromedical evacuation knowledge with Tunisian partners - June 14, 2012
- Idaho National Guard partnership with Cambodia gains momentum - June 7, 2012
- Minnesota National Guard Soldiers train with partners in Croatia - May 31, 2012
U.S. European Command (USEUCOM)
U.S. Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM)
U.S. Central Command (USCENTCOM)
U.S. Pacific Command (USPACOM)
U.S. Africa Command (USAFRICOM)
U.S. Northern Command (USNORTHCOM)
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