New York National Guard Hosts Ceremony for Signing of State Partnership Program with Sweden
NEW YORK - The New York National Guard hosts a ceremony for the signing of a state partnership agreement between the New York National Guard and the country of Sweden as part of the National Guard Bureau State Partnership Program.
Latham, NY (07/11/2024) — NEW YORK - The New York National Guard hosts a ceremony for the signing of a state partnership agreement between the New York National Guard and the country of Sweden as part of the National Guard Bureau State Partnership Program.
Maj. Gen. Raymond Shields, the adjutant general of New York, will be participating in the signing ceremony in Manhattan at One World Trade Center. Dr. Pal Jonson, Sweden's Minister of Defence, and Swedish Armed Forces' Maj. Gen. Johan Pekkari, Director of Strategic Plans and Policy, will sign the agreement on behalf of Sweden.
Media are invited to attend the ceremony.
WHO: Maj. Gen. Raymond Shields, the adjutant general of New York, Sweden's Minister of Defence Dr. Pal Jonson, and Swedish Armed Forces' Maj. Gen. Johan Pekkari, Director of Strategic Plans and Policy, will sign the partnership agreement.
WHAT: A brief ceremony for the state partnership program agreement signing. The New York National Guard will partner with Sweden to conduct joint training missions and military exchanges.
WHEN: 10 a.m., Friday, July 12, 2024
WHERE: One World Trade Center, 102nd Floor, 117 West Street, New York, NY 1007
COVERAGE OPPORTUNITIES:
Video and still imagery. There will be an opportunity to interview the signatories following the ceremony. NOTE: The event will begin promptly at 10 a.m. and will be no longer than 15-20 minutes.
Members of the media must contact the Division of Military and Naval Affairs Public Affairs Office at 518-496-7150 to access the event.
BACKGROUND:
The agreement is the latest program that pairs state National Guards with the militaries of foreign countries, including some NATO allies.
"On March 7, 2024, Sweden became the 32nd member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization - NATO," Shields said. "Allies, friends and partners are stronger together than they are individually - especially against those who want to destroy freedom and independence."
The partnership is part of the National Guard's State Partnership Program which pairs state National Guard's with the militaries of countries around the world in bilateral training and exchange partnerships.
As part of the partnership, the New York National Guard and Sweden will conduct joint training missions and military exchanges to improve readiness within their respective forces.
For more than 30 years, National Guardsmen have built enduring connections with foreign counterparts through the State Partnership Program, said General Daniel Hokanson, the Chief of the National Guard Bureau. The program is one of the most productive, cost-effective security cooperation programs the United States has to offer.
The program originally began after the collapse of the Soviet Union. The Guard was chosen to help former Soviet states reform their militaries and move toward civilian control of their armed forces as newly emerging democracies.
In 1993, the National Guard State Partnership Program started with Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania as they emerged from the breakup of the Soviet Union.
Since then, the program has grown to 89 partnerships across 106 nations and every continent - today adding the Kingdom of Sweden to that list.
In recent years, Guardsmen have conducted about 1,000 training exchanges with their foreign counterparts annually, focusing on everything from peacekeeping operations to leadership development, lifesaving techniques and cyber defense.
New York has maintained a State Partnership Program relationship with the South African National Defense Force since 2003 and Brazilian Ministry of Defense since 2019.
The New York National Guard and Israeli Defense Forces also initiated a formalized relationship in 2019 with a bilateral security cooperation agreement and New York signed a statement of intent with Denmark in late 2023 to establish joint training and exchanges in Greenland with their Joint Arctic Command.
New York's first exchange is scheduled for later this summer, holding a similar signing ceremony in Stockholm, Sweden.
New York National Guard
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