Virginia National Guard to collaborate with Finland – Virginia

(The Center Square) – While in Finland on an international trade mission, Governor Glenn Youngkin participated in a signing ceremony for the Virginia National Guard’s recently approved partnership with Finland as part of the Department of Defense National Guard’s State Partnership Program Desk.

The national program began in 1993 as a result of a “conversation between two general officers” – a former Supreme Allied Commander of NATO Europe and the 22nd Chief of the National Guard Bureau – “about how to help emerging democracies after the collapse of the Soviet bloc.” ” according to an article published by the US Department of Defense to commemorate the program’s thirtieth anniversary.

“Today there are security cooperation agreements between the National Guard of every state, territory, the District of Columbia” and more than half the world’s countries, the same article said.

“Now more than ever, it is critical that we build and maintain key strategic relationships to enhance security and provide new avenues for economic development, and I have no doubt that the Virginia National Guard’s partnership with Finland will bring greater peace , stability and opportunity,” Youngkin said in a statement. “I know that achieving this formal partnership took 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 since conducted more than 200 exchanges on nearly every aspect of military operations, including military communications, counterterrorism, emergency response, infantry tactics, checkpoint security, medical evacuations, passive defense measures and more.

“As part of their partnership, the Virginia National Guard and the Finnish Ministry of Defense will likely share best practices in combined air operations and interoperability defense, including defense against cyber threats, information and intelligence operations, combined land forces, including the deployment of forces in cold weather environments, military assistance and disaster operations support, and facilitating special operations training,” according to a news release from the governor’s office.

The U.S. territory of Guam also launched a partnership with Palau on Thursday. The 29th National Guard chief, Army Gen. Daniel Hokanson, said in March that Saudi Arabia, Sierra Leone, Sweden and Tanzania would also be added to the program in 2024.