{"id":19430,"date":"2023-07-17T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-07-17T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=19430"},"modified":"2023-07-20T06:44:45","modified_gmt":"2023-07-20T06:44:45","slug":"the-most-important-people-in-the-army-are-the-sergeants-the-department-of-defense-national-guard-state-partnership-program-a","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=19430","title":{"rendered":"\u2018The Most Important People in the Army are the Sergeants\u2019 The Department of Defense National Guard State Partnership Program: A …"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n
\n
\n <\/p>\n

<\/a>
\n
\n <\/span>
\n <\/span>
\n
\n <\/span>
\n <\/span>
\n <\/span>
\n <\/span>

\n 1 \/ 7<\/span>
\n
\n Show Caption +<\/span>
\n Hide Caption \u2013<\/span>
\n <\/span>
\n
\n
\n U.S. Army Command Sgt. Maj. Daniel Markle, left, and Col. William Murphy, right, command sergeant major and commander of Task Force Orion, 27th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, New York Army National Guard, walk with Gen. Daniel Hokanson, chief of the National Guard Bureau, through a camp in Grafenwoehr, Germany, March 1, 2023. Hokanson visited Task Force Orion, which is deployed to lead the Joint Multinational Training Group \u2013 Ukraine, and helps facilitate training of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in Germany as part of a continued worldwide effort led by the U.S. and supported by more than 50 nations to help Ukraine defend itself from Russia\u2019s brutal and unprovoked war.
\n (Photo Credit: Staff Sgt. Jordan Sivayavirojna)<\/span>
\n <\/span>
\n VIEW ORIGINAL<\/a>
\n <\/span>
\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n \"Tennessee's
\n <\/a>
\n
\n <\/span>
\n <\/span>
\n
\n <\/span>
\n <\/span>
\n <\/span>
\n <\/span>
\n 2 \/ 7<\/span>
\n
\n Show Caption +<\/span>
\n Hide Caption \u2013<\/span>
\n <\/span>
\n
\n
\n Soldiers stand at ease during the Transfer of Authority ceremony, Aug.8.
\n (Photo Credit: Sgt. Timothy Massey)<\/span>
\n <\/span>
\n VIEW ORIGINAL<\/a>
\n <\/span>
\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n \"Tennessee
\n <\/a>
\n
\n <\/span>
\n <\/span>
\n
\n <\/span>
\n <\/span>
\n <\/span>
\n <\/span>
\n 3 \/ 7<\/span>
\n
\n Show Caption +<\/span>
\n Hide Caption \u2013<\/span>
\n <\/span>
\n
\n
\n A Ukrainian Soldier gives the peace symbol during room clearing procedures in Yavoriv, Ukraine, Nov. 15.
\n (Photo Credit: Sgt. Timothy Massey)<\/span>
\n <\/span>
\n VIEW ORIGINAL<\/a>
\n <\/span>
\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n \"CNG
\n <\/a>
\n
\n <\/span>
\n <\/span>
\n
\n <\/span>
\n <\/span>
\n <\/span>
\n <\/span>
\n 4 \/ 7<\/span>
\n
\n Show Caption +<\/span>
\n Hide Caption \u2013<\/span>
\n <\/span>
\n
\n
\n Attendees stand in front of the audience during a ‘flash mob’ to show their support at the 365-day of Ukrainian Bravery rally in Sacramento, California, Feb. 24, 2023.
\n (Photo Credit: Sgt. 1st Class Amanda Johnson)<\/span>
\n <\/span>
\n VIEW ORIGINAL<\/a>
\n <\/span>
\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n \"OCC
\n <\/a>
\n
\n <\/span>
\n <\/span>
\n
\n <\/span>
\n <\/span>
\n <\/span>
\n <\/span>
\n 5 \/ 7<\/span>
\n
\n Show Caption +<\/span>
\n Hide Caption \u2013<\/span>
\n <\/span>
\n
\n
\n Ukrainian soldiers walk through strategic plans for an exercise during an Operational Capabilities Concept evaluation at the International Peacekeeping and Security Centre in Yavoriv, Ukraine, Sept. 11, 2018. The evaluation was conducted by a multinational OCC evaluation team during the Rapid Trident exercise to assess Ukraine\u2019s military interoperability capacity.
\n (Photo Credit: Spc. Amy Carle)<\/span>
\n <\/span>
\n VIEW ORIGINAL<\/a>
\n <\/span>
\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n \"US
\n <\/a>
\n
\n <\/span>
\n <\/span>
\n
\n <\/span>
\n <\/span>
\n <\/span>
\n <\/span>
\n 6 \/ 7<\/span>
\n
\n Show Caption +<\/span>
\n Hide Caption \u2013<\/span>
\n <\/span>
\n
\n
\n Air Force Gen. Philip Breedlove, commander, U.S. European Command, at the USEUCOM National Guard State Partnership Program Conference, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, July 21, 2014.
\n (Photo Credit: Sgt. 1st Class Jim Greenhill)<\/span>
\n <\/span>
\n VIEW ORIGINAL<\/a>
\n <\/span>
\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n \"General
\n <\/a>
\n
\n <\/span>
\n <\/span>
\n
\n <\/span>
\n <\/span>
\n <\/span>
\n <\/span>
\n 7 \/ 7<\/span>
\n
\n Show Caption +<\/span>
\n Hide Caption \u2013<\/span>
\n <\/span>
\n
\n
\n Chief of the National Guard Bureau, General Joseph Lengyel shakes hands with the Commander of the Land Force Academy, Lt. Gen. Tkachuk, July 31 in Yavoriv, Ukraine.
\n (Photo Credit: Sgt. Timothy Massey)<\/span>
\n <\/span>
\n VIEW ORIGINAL<\/a>
\n <\/span>
\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 When Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24 last year, some of the first phone calls from Kiev were to Sacramento.<\/p>\n

For almost 30 years, since the founding of the Department of Defense National Guard State Partnership Program, California National Guardsmen and their Ukrainian counterparts have held exchanges, trained together, and built troop-to-troop friendships.<\/p>\n

Now, Ukraine was under attack, victim of a brutal, unprovoked invasion, and much of the world thought it would be conquered quickly.<\/p>\n

\u201cCalifornia Guardsmen told me, \u2018Not so fast. We\u2019ve trained with them and learned from them, shoulder-to-shoulder. They\u2019re good,\u2019\u201d recalls Army Gen. Daniel Hokanson, 29th Chief of the National Guard Bureau.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause the Ukrainians felt comfortable with those relationships they had developed for almost 30 years at that point, those were their friends, and they were the people they reached out to immediately.\u201d<\/p>\n

Urgent text messages from a Ukrainian soldier experiencing a weapons malfunction were exchanged with a Washington National Guardsman back in the States who he had trained with \u2013 an expert on the anti-tank missile system in question \u2013 and later followed by a video of a destroyed Russian tank.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn this war, it doesn\u2019t matter which kind of technique or technology we use; people are still critical \u2013 crucial,\u201d says Chief Master Sgt. Oleksandr Kosynskyi, senior enlisted leader, Ukrainian Armed Forces. \u201cModern warfare needs responsible, competent and motivated NCOs. We have a huge history of cooperation with the California National Guard, which has given us good help.\u201d<\/p>\n

Army Maj. Gen. Matthew Beevers, California\u2019s adjutant general, says that cooperation continues today.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe’re maintaining a relatively persistent dialogue with our Ukrainian counterparts throughout the entire invasion,\u201d Beevers says. \u201cSo, even though we are unable to execute SPP engagements in Ukraine during the conflict, we have been able to maintain those relationships.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can help Ukrainians translate, if you will, the great work that they’re doing on behalf of not just Ukraine, but NATO, and the entire free world.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 1993 California \/ Ukraine pairing in the SPP had also been a textbook example of one of the messages Guard leaders repeat to partner nations: When you partner with a state, you partner with the entire National Guard.<\/p>\n

On Feb. 20, 2014, Russia began annexing the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine.<\/p>\n

Shortly afterward, Air Force Gen. Phil Breedlove, who was dual-hatted as both commander, U.S. European Command, and NATO\u2019s Supreme Allied Commander Europe, invited the National Guard Bureau\u2019s chief at the time, now-retired Army Gen. Frank Grass, to his official residence in Mons, Belgium.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith a resurgent Russia, we talked about the value of the State Partnership Program in all these countries,\u201d Grass recalls. \u201cHe gave me his guidance to share with the adjutants general about what was needed from a EUCOM and NATO perspective.\u201d<\/p>\n

Grass shared Breedlove\u2019s guidance: Accelerate exercises. If you need resources, team up. Link up with the partner defense chiefs. If they ask for something, work it through EUCOM, but know you probably already have my approval, if it makes sense.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe just couldn\u2019t say enough good things about the relationships the adjutants general had with the chiefs of defense in all those countries,\u201d Grass says, \u201cespecially the former Warsaw Pact nations, those now-independent countries, and how they had built through the SPP, working with EUCOM and the State Department, creating incredible capacity from virtually nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n

In Ukraine\u2019s case, the California Guard was the key to Guard nation.<\/p>\n

Russia\u2019s 2014 annexation of Crimea later resulted in years of intensified training that National Guard leaders say can be directly tied to Ukraine\u2019s ability to resist the recent invasion, 18 months on.<\/p>\n

By 2015, Guardsmen and women were almost continuously training with Ukrainian counterparts, rotating through the newly established Joint Multinational Training Group-Ukraine, or JMTG-U, at the Yavoriv Combat Training Center in western Ukraine.<\/p>\n

The mission of JMTG-U is to train, equip, develop and assist the Ukrainian Armed Forces with doctrine refinement, and 7th Army Training Command oversees the mission.<\/p>\n

When the California Guard wasn\u2019t there, units from other states were. Indeed, Florida Guardsmen would be among the last U.S. troops to leave the country in the days leading up to Russia\u2019s 2022 invasion. The Florida Guard\u2019s 53rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team was repositioned to Grafenwoehr, Germany, where the JMTG-U mission quickly resumed and continues to this day.<\/p>\n

Two months ago, California Guardsmen reunited with some of their Ukrainian counterparts in Poland.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey came to us and said, \u2018We have this initiative to make behavioral health a priority in our forces, we just don\u2019t know how to do it\u2019,\u201d says Army Lt. Col. Dustin Harris, chief, Behavioral Health, California National Guard.<\/p>\n

The California Guard had a rich variety of resources to draw on and share, including the U.S. Army\u2019s Master Resilience Training program, which enhances Soldier leadership and effectiveness and teaches resilience skills.<\/p>\n

And, typical of SPP engagements, the California Guardsmen took lessons learned back home.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the most important things to remember is the Ukrainian troops don\u2019t get to go home,\u201d Harris says. \u201cThey\u2019re fighting on their own territory. That was such a big takeaway and so eye-opening.\u201d<\/p>\n

A Ukrainian showed Harris a smartphone image of his home.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m like, \u2018Oh! That\u2019s a beautiful home,\u2019 right?\u201d Harris recalls. \u201cThen he swipes to the next photo, and he\u2019s like, \u2018It\u2019s got blown up.\u2019 They\u2019re in constant war. What they\u2019re going through in their forces, they\u2019re going to deal with this for decades. Our intent is making sure that they have what they need \u2013 the framework \u2013 to help their troops.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo help their entire nation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Army Maj. Daniel Burns, a California Guard behavioral health officer, feels a strong bond with the Ukrainians he worked with in Poland and will be continuing to train with in more exchanges scheduled for the coming months.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey know what they\u2019re fighting for: They\u2019re fighting for freedom\u2019,\u201d Burns says. \u201cIt is just very similar to our core value of fighting for freedom. This is just kind of an ethos alliance between the two cultures \u2013 and it makes it very, very pure, and a very rewarding exchange.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hokanson visited the 53rd IBCT last June and the New York Guard\u2019s 27th IBCT, the next unit in the JMTG-U rotation, this March. There, he met with the Guardsmen and active component Army troops responsible to refit and train Ukrainians headed back to the front lines of Ukraine\u2019s fight for democracy, sovereignty and territorial integrity against Russian aggression.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe whole world is watching the work you\u2019re doing,\u201d Hokanson told 27th IBCT Soldiers, \u201cand it\u2019s making a huge difference.\u201d<\/p>\n

Retired Air Force Gen. Joseph Lengyel, Grass\u2019 successor as 28th Chief of the National Guard Bureau, also observed the training in Yavoriv firsthand during a 2018 visit.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou could see the value in the professional development of the soldiers of the Ukrainian military,\u201d Lengyel says.<\/p>\n

Army Command Sgt. Maj. Christopher Kepner served with Lengyel as the 5th Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chief of the National Guard Bureau.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe used to tell me that the most important people in the Army are the sergeants who lead the soldiers and trust them and ensure they\u2019re properly trained,\u201d Lengyel says. \u201cI\u2019m a big believer in that. And I suspect that\u2019s had a huge impact on the success of Ukraine\u2019s military in this conflict with Russia, Ukraine being a force developed under the model of our military, where people are motivated and disciplined, and trained and equipped, and ready \u2013 and can do amazing things against a bigger adversary.\u201d<\/p>\n

SEA Tony Whitehead is the 6th Senior Enlisted Advisor to the CNGB.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur partnership with the California National Guard and the SPP has had a significant impact on Ukraine’s military capabilities,\u201d Whitehead says. \u201cDuring the Russian attack on Ukraine, the importance of fostering and maintaining connections was evident. We have set a precedent and laid a foundation that can inspire other nations to educate and empower their enlisted corps. The transformation of Ukraine’s military into a formidable force is a testament to the effectiveness of our longstanding relationships and training partnerships.\u201d<\/p>\n

It all comes down to the SPP\u2019s secret sauce: Individual relationships built and nurtured over years.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat friendships do, what relationships do, is they allow countries to be open and honest and transparent with each other,\u201d Lengyel says. \u201cThey can share their weaknesses and ask for help. Because they\u2019re friends, they will share things they might not otherwise want to expose. The end result is they fix their problems and their weaknesses, and they become a much more capable force.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd I\u2019m quite sure that\u2019s what happened in Ukraine.\u201d<\/p>\n

That type of transformation happens at the small unit level, where dialogue between individual soldiers makes both partners better.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe build high-performing teams,\u201d Lengyel says. \u201cThose teams aggregate to make a fighting force. The building blocks are at the individual Soldier and Airman level.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Russian model concentrates power and decision-making authority with general officers. The American model delegates to the noncommissioned officer level, empowering NCOs to take initiative in the absence of orders.<\/p>\n

\u201cBack when the former Soviet Union would look at us and wonder what our strength was, it was the value of the enlisted Soldiers and Airmen who are so outstanding,\u201d says retired Air Force Gen. Craig McKinley, 26th Chief of the National Guard Bureau. \u201cWe decentralize control so that these young men and women can make decisions on the battlefield or in the air.\u201d<\/p>\n

For a generation, Ukraine had absorbed that model from Guardsmen from their California SPP partner, and from other states that partnership gave them access to.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany countries have not adopted that,\u201d Grass says. \u201cIf you study those that haven\u2019t, you begin to see the true value of the NCO corps \u2013 and it\u2019s coming out loud and clear in Ukraine.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2013 Army Sgt. 1st Class Whitney Hughes and Sgt. 1st Class Elizabeth Pena, National Guard Bureau, contributed.<\/p>\n

State Partnership Program turns 30<\/strong><\/p>\n

A Five-Part Series By Master Sgt. Jim Greenhill and Sgt. 1st Class Zach Sheely, National Guard Bureau<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2018Why Don\u2019t we do a Little Partnership Thing?\u2019 The Department of Defense National Guard State Partnership Program is Born<\/a><\/p>\n

‘Our Real Superpower as a Nation is our Allies and Partners’ The Department of Defense National Guard State Partnership Program Today<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2018A Mosaic of Opportunities\u2019 The Department of Defense National Guard State Partnership Program Looks to the Future<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2018It truly is a Team Sport\u2019 How the Department of Defense National Guard State Partnership Program Works<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2018The Most Important People in the Army are the Sergeants\u2019 The Department of Defense National Guard State Partnership Program: A Crucial Arrow in Ukraine\u2019s Quiver<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

1 \/ 7 Show Caption + Hide Caption \u2013 U.S. Army Command Sgt. Maj. Daniel Markle, left, and Col. William Murphy, right, command sergeant major and commander of Task Force Orion, 27th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, New York Army National Guard, walk with Gen. Daniel Hokanson, chief of the National Guard Bureau, through a camp […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":19432,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19430","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19430","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=19430"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19430\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19440,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19430\/revisions\/19440"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/19432"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=19430"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=19430"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=19430"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}