BALTIMORE - The Maryland State Partnership Program has successfully implemented a liaison officer in their partnership with Bosnia-Herzegovina in order to enhance bilateral relationships between the state and the partner country.
Lt. Col. Dzevad Buric works as the Bosnia-Herzegovina liaison to the State of Maryland, as well as the assistant BiH Defense, Military, Naval and Air attaché to the United States. While many states and territories have a partnership in place, the Maryland National Guard is currently the only SPP that uses a liaison with the partner country; however, other state programs are beginning to see the benefit of the position.
"This is the first ever liaison officer assigned to a state," said Maj. Matthew DiNenna, SPP director. "This is a benefit for the Guard and other State Partnership Program directors have contacted me to get information on how they can get a liaison for their program."
Buric's position is currently a three year tour where he works as the advisor on BiH issues to Army Maj. Gen. James Adkins, the adjutant general of Maryland; works to build closer ties between Maryland public and private institutions with their counterparts in BiH such as areas in education, economic opportunities and health care; coordinates policies and procedures between the Maryland National Guard and the BiH Armed Forces; coordinates the annual schedule of joint training events between the two services; and provides knowledge and advice on BiH practices.
"There is no higher symbol for our partnership than to provide an officer position for Bosnia to sit on our staff," said Adkins. "I can't emphasize enough the importance of relationships we've built on a long-term basis. … There is nothing more important than establishing relationships promising peace and democracy between the nations."
DiNenna explained that because of Buric's background, he was the ideal candidate for the liaison position. Buric has previously worked with the Ministry of Defense coordinating with the joint staff and the International Corporation Department.
"He was the most qualified person to help push the program forward," added DiNenna.
Buric is essential to the SPP because he is a subject matter expert on BiH, explained DiNenna. Buric knows contacts in his home country that can be used to answer any questions, he understands the rank structure of the BiH Armed Forces and government, and he is able to better prepare the travel contact teams on what they need to know before traveling to BiH.
While the Maryland National Guard is seeing many advantages from Buric's position as the liaison for the program, the BiH Armed Forces is also benefiting from the partnership between Maryland and the country.
"From our perspective, we see this partnership as a way to bring us closer to NATO standards," said Buric. "The skill sets that your Soldiers have, they transfer to our soldiers, and our soldiers also transfer some of our skills for your Soldiers to learn."
Depending on the mission, BiH Armed Forces may come to Maryland, or Marylanders will visit BiH to learn different skills from each other. For instance, recently, members of the Maryland National Guard traveled to BiH to for a senior leader visit, a flight safety assessment and accident investigation training, and assistance with developing post-deployment reintegration programs. Currently members of the BiH Armed Forces are scheduled to come to visit Maryland throughout the summer to attend various Maryland National Guard annual trainings to receive training on their respective functional areas.
The SPP was launched in Europe as part of the initial outreach by the United States to new democracies in Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. The SPP brings together U.S. states and territories with partner nations through a range of military, civil-military and civil activities under the Maryland Military Department auspices.
While the main focus of the SPP is military-to-military events, Buric added that he is looking to expand to more civilian-to-military events, as well as civilian-to-civilian activities. This is another benefit that the liaison position brings to Maryland, being able link the additional elements together, as the SPP is not authorized to work outside the military-to-military relationships.
The Maryland Military Department has another partnership with Estonia that has been in place since 1993.