PORT MORESBY, Papua New Guinea – Soldiers from the Wisconsin National Guard and the Papua New Guinea Defence Force, or PNGDF, stood shoulder to shoulder on the parade field at Murray Barracks during the July 13 opening ceremony for Exercise Tamiok Strike 26, reaffirming the enduring relationship between the United States and Papua New Guinea while demonstrating a shared commitment to interoperability, readiness and regional security across the Indo-Pacific.
The Wisconsin National Guard and Papua New Guinea are paired through the Department of War National Guard Bureau State Partnership Program.
The opening ceremony for Exercise Tamiok Strike 26 began with members of the PNGDF Band performing the national anthems of Papua New Guinea and the United States, setting the tone for the bilateral exercise that brings together military personnel from both nations alongside participants from Australia and New Zealand to strengthen military-to-military cooperation through realistic, collaborative training.
Brig. Gen. Brion J. Aderman, deputy adjutant general for the Wisconsin Army National Guard, said the relationship between Papua New Guinea and the United States is built on generations of trust and shared sacrifice.
"Before anything else, I want to say thank you, directly and sincerely, to Papua New Guinea," Aderman said. "PNG has been a genuine partner to Wisconsin and to the United States, and that is not something we take for granted."
Aderman reflected on the historical ties between the two nations, noting that the enduring relationship began during World War II when American, Australian and local forces fought together during the New Guinea Campaign.
"That partnership did not start with a signed agreement or a named exercise," Aderman said. "It started in the jungles of New Guinea in 1942, when Wisconsin's own 32nd Red Arrow Division fought alongside Australians and local forces through some of the most brutal terrain and combat of World War II."
"They earned something here that no policy can create and no headquarters can order – mutual respect, forged in sacrifice," Aderman said.
"When Wisconsin and Papua New Guinea formalized our State Partnership Program in 2022, we weren't starting something new," he said. "We were honoring something old."
Exercise Tamiok Strike 26 features training at multiple locations across Papua New Guinea. At Murray Barracks in Port Moresby, U.S. Army and PNGDF personnel will conduct a battalion-level staff exercise and a military police field training exercise. At Igam Barracks in Lae, Soldiers will work side by side during an Engineer Civic Action Program to renovate classrooms while medical personnel participate in a bilateral health partnership. In Wewak, infantry forces will conduct a field training exercise at Moem Barracks before the exercise concludes with a July 24 closing ceremony in Lae.
"Training here, in this country, on this ground, makes every one of us better," Aderman said. "PNG's Defence Force brings knowledge of this terrain, this environment and this theater that sharpens our thinking and challenges our assumptions. We bring capabilities and resources we share freely, because that is what partners do."
"This is not a single-service exercise. It is not a single-nation effort," Aderman said. "That breadth is deliberate, and it is a strength."
As the ceremony concluded, the PNGDF Band again performed the national anthems as Wisconsin National Guardsmen and PNGDF troops remained in formation together on the parade field, symbolizing an enduring relationship that continues to evolve through shared training, mutual respect and a common commitment to security and stability throughout the Indo-Pacific.