(The Center Square) — While in Finland on an international trade mission, Gov. Glenn Youngkin participated in a signing ceremony for the Virginia National Guard’s newly approved partnership with Finland as part of the Department of Defense National Guard Bureau State Partnership Program.
The national program began in 1993 as a result of a “conversation between two general officers” – a former NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe and the 22nd chief of the National Guard Bureau – “about how to help emerging democracies following the collapse of the Soviet Bloc,” according to an article published by the U.S. Department of Defense commemorating the program’s 30th anniversary.
“Today, there are security cooperation agreements among the National Guard of every state, territory, the District of Columbia” and more than half of the world’s countries, according to the same article.
“Now more than ever, it is critically important we build and maintain key strategic relationships to enhance security and provide new avenues for economic development, and I have no doubt the Virginia National Guard’s partnership with Finland will bring greater peace, stability and opportunity,” Youngkin said in a statement. “I know making this formal partnership a reality required tremendous effort and energy, and I want to thank our Virginia National Guard and the Finnish Ministry of Defense for their hard work.”
The partnership is Virginia’s second through the program. Virginia partnered with Tajikistan in 2003 and the two have conducted more than 200 exchanges since concerning almost every aspect of military operations, including military communications, counter-terrorism, emergency response, infantry tactics, checkpoint security, medical evacuations, passive defense measures and more.
“As part of their partnership, the Virginia National Guard and Finnish Ministry of Defense will likely share best practices on combined air operations and interoperability defense including defense against cyber threats, information and intelligence operations, combined land forces capability including the deployment of military forces in cold weather environments, military assistance and support for disaster operations and facilitations special operations training,” according to a release from the governor’s office.
The U.S. territory of Guam also launched a partnership with Palau on Thursday. The National Guard Bureau’s 29th Chief, Army Gen. Daniel Hokanson, said in March that Saudi Arabia, Sierra Leone, Sweden and Tanzania will also be added to the program in 2024.
