On this episode we talk with Maj. Keith Kosik, the state partnership program director and three members of the Washington National Guard on their experience with the program.

The National Guard State Partnership Programs (SPP) are designed to establish long term relationships in which U.S. States and their partnered nations share best practices and expert knowledge in a range of areas. The SPP is a Department of Defense joint security cooperation program administered by the National Guard Bureau that links a state's National Guard with the armed forces of a partner country in order to build long-lasting, mutually beneficial relationships with U.S. allies around the world.

The Washington Military Department and our partner countries share best practices for military support to civilian authorities, emergency management, disaster planning, port security, HAZMAT/WMD response initiatives and airport security, among others. The SPP also facilitates economic, commercial, social and cultural government interactions in addition to military-to-military expert exchanges. Multi-level Army and Air Force familiarization exercises provide yet another platform to share effective practices and techniques.

In 2002, Washington Gov. Gary Locke and The Adjutant General, Major General Tim Lowenberg, established Washington State’s SPP to establish a long-term relationship between the Washington Military Department and the Kingdom of Thailand.

In 2017, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee and The Adjutant General, Major General Bret Daugherty, signed the agreement with the country of Malaysia, pledging each other’s commitment to build enduring relationships through sustained cooperation on areas of mutual interest.

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