News

Tag: State Partnership Program

U.S. and Honduran infantrymen ruck at Mariscal Zavala, Guatemala, May 12, 2025. As part of CENTAM Guardian 25, infantrymen from Honduras, U.S., El Salvador and Guatemala, rucked to their exercise site where they will execute specific survival tactics in the Guatemalan jungles.

May 14, 2025

Arkansas Guard Participates in CENTAM Guardian 2025 in Guatemala

More than 60 Arkansas National Guardsmen are participating in CENTAM Guardian 2025 in Guatemala. CENTAM Guardian 2025 is an annual multi-national exercise designed to strengthen interoperability, information sharing and counter-threat capabilities between the United States and participating Central American and Caribbean partner nations.

U.S. Army Lt. Col. Brian Weiblinger, left, team chief, Defense of Cyber Operations Element Team, Florida Army National Guard, and U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Thane Murphy, center, intelligence analyst, and Sgt. Victor Navarro, right, cyber warfare operator, Defensive Cyberspace Operations Internal Defensive Measures, conduct defensive cyber operations during exercise Southern Defender 25 in Augusta, Georgia, May 6, 2025. This exercise pushes teams to identify vulnerabilities, respond to adversary injects, and coordinate actions across 28 teams in 15 locations consisting of 20 participating countries in real time. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Samuel Qin)

May 12, 2025

Cyber Exercise Southern Defender 2025 Bolsters Partner Nation Defense Capabilities

U.S. and Partner nation forces concluded participation in Southern Defender (SD) 2025 May 9. SD25 is a defensive cyber operations exercise designed to enhance cybersecurity capabilities across the U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) area of responsibility. Approximately 320 participants from 20 Latin American and Caribbean countries engaged in intensive training and practical exercises across 15 locations focused on mitigating cyber threats.

A man in a green military uniform speaks to a group of military personnel.

Jan. 24, 2025

National Guard, SOUTHCOM Leaders Discuss Partnerships in Latin America, Caribbean

Adjutant generals and other senior National Guard leaders from 19 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, met at U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) in Doral, Florida, Jan. 22-23 to discuss their longstanding partnerships with countries in the Caribbean, Central America and South America.

Texas Army National Guard and Chilean army soldiers carry a litter off a U.S. UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter while conducting medical evacuation training during Southern Fenix 24 at Campo Militar Pozo Almonte, Chile, Aug. 29, 2024.

Sept. 3, 2024

Texas Guard, Chilean Medics Train Together at Southern Fenix

Over 600 troops from the Chilean, Argentine and U.S. armies are training together at the inaugural multinational military exercise from Aug. 27 to Sept. 5 to increase interoperability in a desert environment.

Kentucky National Guardsmen brief members of the Ecuadorian military and civilian partners on a Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and high-yield Explosive Enhanced Response Force Package at Boone National Guard Center in Frankfort Aug. 7, 2024. The Kentucky Guard and Ecuador have been partners via the State Partnership Program since 1996.

Aug. 12, 2024

Kentucky Guard Hosts Ecuadorian Military for Exchange

The Kentucky National Guard hosted Ecuadorian military members for a subject matter expert exchange focusing on interagency operations and communications in a domestic operational environment.

Maj. Jhon Chaparro, right, and Lt. Col. Jorge Flechas, second from left, both with the Colombian army’s engineer command, watch from a Combat Assault Craft as Soldiers with the 125th Multi-role Bridge Company, South Carolina Army National Guard assemble a raft on the Savannah River to move troops, vehicles, and equipment across the river as part of a training mission at Clarks Hill Training Site, S.C., July 17, 2024. The Colombian soldiers were observing the training as part of an exchange through the Department of Defense National Guard State Partnership Program.

July 25, 2024

South Carolina Guard Bridging Unit Trains With Colombian Partners

Since 2012, the Colombian military and the South Carolina National Guard have been partnered in the Department of Defense National Guard State Partnership Program, which pairs Guard elements with partner nations worldwide for mutual training and subject matter expert exchanges.

May 21, 2024

Snapshots of Service: JTF-Bravo's Global Health Engagement in Guatemala

LIVINGSTON, Guatemala — Joint Task Force-Bravo with the support from Arkansas National Guard’s 188th Air Wing and the Guatemalan military, the Ministry of Health, and the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food conducted a Global Health Engagement in remote villages near Livingston, Guatemala, May 13-16, 2024. During the 4-day GHE, JTF-Bravo and its partners delivered care to over 500 patients and 1,500 animals. Services provided were medical, dental, pharmacy, veterinary, public health and surgery.

Ecuadorian Air Force Lt. Col. Brian Flores, left, liaison to the U.S. Embassy, speaks to Kentucky Air National Guard leaders before a ceremony welcoming the arrival of a C-130H Hercules to the Ecuadorian Air Force in Latacunga, Ecuador, March 25, 2024. The ceremony marked a new milestone in Ecuador’s participation in the National Guard Bureau State Partnership Program, which has paired Ecuador and the Kentucky National Guard for mutual military cooperation.

May 6, 2024

Kentucky National Guard Partner Ecuador Receives C-130H

The Ecuadorian Air Force welcomed a C-130H Hercules into its inventory during a ceremony attended by Kentucky Air National Guard leaders who were on hand to congratulate their State Partnership Program colleagues on the new capability.

The South Carolina National Guard helped its State Partnership Program partner, Colombia, respond to dozens of fires in the Bogota area in January 2024 by providing helicopter buckets used to drop water or retardant.

Feb. 14, 2024

South Carolina Guard Comes to Aid of Partner Colombia

The South Carolina National Guard is assisting Colombia, its State Partnership Program partner, in dealing with dozens of wildfires. To help emergency responders battle as many as 30 active fires in and around Bogota in late January, the South Carolina National Guard loaned Colombia multiple helicopter buckets.

Army Maj. Gen. Haldane Lamberton speaks to the senior leaders from the Kentucky National Guard and the Armed Forces of Ecuador in Frankfort, Ky., Jan. 30, 2024. Over four days, the Ecuadorians visited multiple locations in Frankfort, participated in briefings with Kentucky Emergency Management, toured the capitol, and met Gov. Andy Beshear.

Feb. 14, 2024

Kentucky Guard Hosts Ecuadorian Military for Leader Engagement

Senior Kentucky National Guard leaders welcomed military personnel from the Armed Forces of Ecuador in a State Partnership Program exchange Jan. 30 - Feb. 1.