Idaho enters partnership with Cambodia

By Maj. Candis Olmstead
Idaho National Guard

Chief Warrant Officer 5 Leon Hatfield, CW4 Kirt Bullock, First Sgt. Barry Fransden and CW3 Ed Barnowski, members of the Idaho National Guard's maintenance assessment team post with members of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces during their initial visit to the country in May. (Photo provided by CW4 Bullock, Idaho National Guard)
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BOISE (7/9/09) -- The Idaho National Guard is forging a new relationship with Cambodia through the National Guard Bureau's State Partnership Program (SPP).

Col. Tim Kelly, the state strategic planner, and Capt. Steve Kaminsky, the SPP coordinator, recently traveled to Cambodia to introduce themselves to embassy officials and convey Idaho's interest in working with its new partner nation.

The initial task was to determine how the IDNG can be integrated into existing government and civilian programs to support and assist the developing nation.

Kelly and Kaminsky met with Cambodian officials in order to establish goals and objectives and begin planning for activities to be held next year.

The primary request from Cambodia was for assistance with disaster management and emergency response, but there are many additional areas where the nation can learn a lot from Idaho's military and civilian programs.

Establishing better programs for environmental resource management, agricultural management, integrating an improved education model and strengthening governance to combat corruption are a few additional areas that may benefit Cambodia through this new partnership.

"At this point, they're all just ideas," said Kelly. "We'll work with the nation to determine which areas to focus on and how we can work together to improve them."

As a first step, a maintenance assessment team reviewed the nation's vehicle maintenance program, particularly important since they are now in possession of a fleet of M35A2 two-and-a-half ton cargo trucks, provided by the United States. The team was able to identify and provide recommendations for improvements to the program.

"We're just getting our feet wet with this program right now," said Kelly. "Now the work really begins for us as we figure out how we're going to execute the program, and then start doing it." The SPP incorporates military and civilian aspects, and the association must incorporate nonmilitary participants at every level. The partner nation has access to the National Guard's military capabilities and other government and civil institutions, such as business organizations, fire and police departments and universities.

With these activities, each program is tailored to meet the needs of the host country as well as U.S. strategic goals and interests.

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