JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - Maj. Gen. Stephen L. Danner, adjutant general of the Missouri National Guard, led a contingent of senior Guard leaders to Panama City, Panama, in early December to meet with agency directors and officials.
The outing, which lasted from Dec. 8-11, was an opportunity to exchange ideas intended to help promote and improve the State Partnership Program with Panama.
“The visit allowed us to put names with faces and gather a better understanding of how to meet the needs of our state partners,” Danner said. “It also gave us the chance to see how we could benefit from what the Panamanians have to offer us.”
The State Partnership Program links National Guard states and territories with partner countries to foster mutual interests, establish habitual, long-term relationships and provide international security and stability.
Currently 62 countries are partnered with National Guard states.
Missouri has been partnered with the Republic of Panama since 1996. Exchanges between Missouri and Panama are diverse and range from emergency preparedness and disaster response to medical hazardous materials and leadership and systems development.
The Guard leadership met with staff from Panama’s Office of Defense.
“Our goals were met,” said Lt. Col. Rebecca Segovia-Johnson, the Missouri Guard’s director of the State Partnership Program. “This was Maj. Gen. Danner’s first time down to Panama as the Missouri Guard’s adjutant general. It was an opportunity for him to shake some hands and let them know that Missouri wants to be very engaged with them in the State Partnership Program.”
Along with Danner and Segovia-Johnson, the leadership included Brig. Gen. John Owen, director of the joint staff, Command Sgt. Maj. James Schulte, the state command sergeant major, Capt. Mike Roberts, the adjutant general’s aide-de-camp, and Capt. Juan Valencia, who was the group’ interpreter after serving nine months in Panama last year as the traditional commander’s activities coordinator.
The group also met with new U.S. ambassador, Phyllis Powers.
“We looked at some areas that the ambassador and the country team that reports to the ambassador can work together with us so all of their organizations in the county have some involvement,” Segovia-Johnson said.
“In this way, we learn how we can work together to fill in gaps in capabilities and ensure that we have a stable and secure environment there. It was good to get everybody on the same sheet of music very quickly, so we can continue to have open communication.”
Segovia-Johnson said Powers views Panama as the first barrier from keeping illegal narcotics from getting into the U.S.
“She sees it as the first frontier or first checkpoint, because you can drive from Panama all the away to the U.S,” Segovia-Johnson said.
Another highlight of the visit was meeting with Alejandro Garuz, vice minister of public security for Panama.
Garuz raised concerns to Owen and Segovia-Johnson about his country’s internal affairs process, on subjectslike how to best screen his own people for employment.
Based on that concern, the State Partnership Program was able to organize an internal affairs exchange of information the following week in Missouri for members of the Panamanian Ministry of Public Security and the Panamanian National Police.
The Panama contingent met with subject matter experts from the Missouri Guard’s joint staff intelligence directorate and judge advocate general staffs, as well as the Missouri Highway Patrol.
“We wanted to show Mr. Garuz that we took it seriously,” Segovia-Johnson said. “That was a great thing because he really lit up and was smiling when Maj. Gen. Danner was able to give him that news. Maj. Gen. Danner was very excited about that. It gives us and it gives him credibility. We’re not just there to put things out there and not follow up on it.”
On the horizon, Segovia-Johnson said Danner would like to see the heads of the various Panamanian ministries, or one of their representatives, meet with various Missouri Guard wings and senior command personnel in operations, as well as the Missouri civilian organizations that are involved, for a week to script a three- to five-year plan for the State Partnership Program.
“The program is getting more and more visibility, not only at our level, but it’s being pushed down from the Department of Defense and Defense Secretary Robert Gates, with emphasis from Chief of the National Guard Bureau, Gen. Craig McKinley,” Segovia-Johnson said.
“Secretary Gates said that the State Partnership Program is the best tool that they have in their security cooperation toolbox. It’s all about relationships and relationship building, which is why the National Guard is the perfect executer of this program. We have longevity in that we are state Guard, and our people can develop long-term relationships.”