MEXICO CITY – The California National Guard and Mexico’s Secretariat of National Defense (Secretaría de la Defensa Nacional) held a signing ceremony Oct. 28 to formalize their partnership in the Department of War National Guard Bureau’s State Partnership Program, or SPP.
The SPP pairs a U.S. state or territory's National Guard with a partner nation's military forces, security forces or government organization, to foster long-term, mutually beneficial relationships.
Maj. Gen. Matthew Beevers, the adjutant general of California, and Maj. Gen. Javier Sandoval Dueñas, deputy chief of military doctrine of the National Defense Joint Headquarters Staff, or EMCDN, signed an official document formalizing the agreement with the two partners.
“I am extremely pleased that the California National Guard was selected to partner with the Mexican army,” Beevers said. “This partnership will enhance our homeland defense by fostering strong relationships between California and Mexico, enabling shared training and interoperability, exchanges and collaborative security efforts that ultimately strengthen our national security.”
This new partnership marks a milestone as it is the second State Partnership Program for U.S. Northern Command, or USNORTHCOM, and builds upon USNORTHCOM’s already strong defense relationship with the Mexican armed forces – a decades-long relationship based on trust, mutual benefit and respect for sovereignty.
"The California National Guard’s partnership with Mexico through the State Partnership Program reflects our shared commitment to advancing security cooperation efforts," said Gen. Gregory M. Guillot, commander of North American Aerospace Defense Command and USNORTHCOM. "This collaboration enhances practical cooperation between our forces to address shared security challenges, fostering a safer and more secure Western Hemisphere.”
The California National Guard and Mexico partnership will collaborate on shared initiatives, including disaster response and joint training exchanges. The SPP is designed to strengthen enduring partnerships across the globe and build partner capacity. California also is partnered with the Armed Forces of Ukraine since 1993 and the Nigerian Armed Forces since 2006.
For more than 30 years, National Guard members have built enduring connections with foreign counterparts through the SPP. Annually, Guard members have conducted about 1,000 training exchanges with their foreign counterparts.