KARLOVAC, Croatia - Maj. Gen. Richard Nash, adjutant general of the Minnesota National Guard, met with Brig. Gen. Dragutin Repinc and other Croatian leaders Wednesday at the Croatian Ministry of Defense.
"Maj. Gen. Nash is spending this week with Croatian government and military officials to discuss defense security goals and capabilities between the Minnesota National Guard and Croatian Armed Forces," said Army Lt. Col. Guy Konietzko, Minnesota National Guard International Affairs Officer."
"Minnesota and Croatia have been partnered since 1996 through the National Guard Bureau State Partnership Program." With more than 100 military-to-military engagements we have established a history of shared concepts, ideas and lessons learned in support of security cooperation objectives and Department of Defense policy goals," said Konietzko."
"The State Partnership Program links a unique component of the Department of Defense - a state's National Guard - with the armed forces or equivalent of a partner country in a cooperative, mutually beneficial relationship," said Army Maj. Gen. Richard Nash, Adjutant General of the Minnesota National Guard.
Croatia gained membership into the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in 2009 and was accepted into the European Union on July 1, 2013.