An official website of the United States government
A .mil website belongs to an official U.S. Department of Defense organization in the United States.
A lock (lock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .mil website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Home : News : Article View
NEWS | Dec. 9, 2011

Maryland National Guard first to assign liaison officer for State Partnership Program

By 2nd Lt. Jessica Donnelly Maryland National Guard

BALTIMORE - The Maryland National Guard State Partnership Program has successfully implemented a liaison officer in their partnership with Bosnia-Herzegovina, and is the first state to do so. This is expected to enhance bilateral relationships between the state and the partner country.

"This is the first ever liaison officer assigned to a state," said Army National Guard Maj. Matthew DiNenna, the SPP director for Maryland. "This is a benefit for the Guard."

Lt. Col. Dzevad Buric is 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.

Other state programs are beginning to see the benefit of the position.

DiNenna said other SPP directors have contacted him to obtain information on how they may be able to have liaisons for their programs as well.

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. His position as the liaison officer is also 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. He coordinates policies and procedures between the Maryland National Guard and the BiH armed forces and the annual schedule of joint training events between the two services. Additionally, Buric 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," Adkins said. "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 said that because of Buric's background, he was the ideal candidate for the liaison position because he had 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," DiNenna said.

Buric is essential to the SPP because he is a subject matter expert on BiH, he added.  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," Buric said. "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.

Recently, members of the Maryland National Guard traveled to BiH for a Senior Leader Visit, a Flight Safety Assessment and Accident Investigation training, and to assist 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.

While the main focus of the SPP is military-to-military events, Buric added that they are 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 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.

The Maryland Military Department has another partnership with Estonia that has been in place since 1993.

 

 

Related Articles
U.S. Soldiers with the Army National Guard speak with D.C. locals while patrolling Metro Center Aug 26, 2025. About 2,000 National Guard members are supporting the D.C. Safe and Beautiful mission providing critical support to the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department in ensuring the safety of all who live, work, and visit the District.
Guard Members From Six States, D.C. on Duty in Washington in Support of Local, Fed Authorities
By Sgt. 1st Class Jon Soucy, | Aug. 29, 2025
WASHINGTON – More than 2,000 National Guard Soldiers and Airmen from six states and the District of Columbia are on duty in Washington as part of Joint Task Force – District of Columbia in support of local and federal...

Lt. Gen. H. Steven Blum, chief of the National Guard Bureau, Maj. Gen. Russel Honore, Task Force Katrina commander, and Brig. Gen. John Basilica, 256th Infantry Brigade Combat Team commander, talk to news media during the aftermath of Hurricane Rita on Sep. 29, 2005. Basilica was appointed commander of Task Force Pelican, responsible for coordinating National Guard hurricane response efforts across the State. The task force included tens of thousands of National Guard Soldiers from Louisiana and other states.
Louisiana Guard’s Tiger Brigade Marks 20th Anniversary of Redeployment and Hurricane Response
By Rhett Breerwood, | Aug. 29, 2025
NEW ORLEANS – This fall, the Louisiana National Guard’s 256th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, known as the Tiger Brigade, commemorates the 20th anniversary of its redeployment from Iraq in September 2005, coinciding with the...

Alaska Air National Guard HH-60G Pave Hawk aviators and Guardian Angels, assigned to the 210th and 212th Rescue Squadrons, respectively, conduct a hoist rescue demonstration while participating in a multi-agency hoist symposium at Bryant Army Airfield on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, July 22, 2025. The symposium, hosted by Alaska Army National Guard aviators assigned to Golf Company, 2-211th General Support Aviation Battalion, included U.S. Coast Guard crews assigned to Sector Western Alaska and U.S. Arctic out of Air Stations Kodiak and Sitka, Alaska Air National Guardsmen with the 176th Wing rescue squadrons, U.S. Army aviators from Fort Wainwright’s 1-52nd General Support Aviation Battalion, Alaska State Troopers, and civilian search and rescue professional volunteers from the Alaska Mountain Rescue Group. The collaborative training drew on the participants’ varied backgrounds, experiences, and practices, to enhance hoist proficiency and collective readiness when conducting life-saving search and rescue missions in Alaska’s vast and austere terrain. (Alaska Army National Guard photo by Alejandro Peña)
Alaska Air Guard Conducts Multiple Hoist Rescues of Stranded Rafters on Kichatna River
By Staff Sgt. Seth LaCount, | Aug. 29, 2025
JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska — Alaska Air National Guard members with the 176th Wing rescued three rafters Aug. 28 after their raft flipped over on the Kichatna River.The Alaska Rescue Coordination Center opened...