CARSON CITY, Nev. - Chief military officials of the Kingdom of Tonga — Nevada’s nation partner under the National Guard Bureau’s State Partnership Program — and senior officials from Papua New Guinea and Nauru met Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval, Nevada Adjutant General, Brig. Gen Bill Burks, and other state and military officials recently at the Nevada Capitol.
“This is a great moment for Nevada,” Sandoval told the delegates during their visit. “Thank you very much. Please know you always have a friend here. We hope to work together for years to come.”
“The partnership works through our continued sharing of information,” said Brigadier Tupou T. Aleamotu’a, chief of defense staff, Majesty’s Armed Forces of Tonga.
The State Partnership Program (SPP) builds cooperative relationships between nations and a state’s National Guard. Tonga signed its declaration of partnership with Nevada in 2014. Due to the success of this partnership the embassy and U.S. Pacific Command (USPACOM) have requested that the Nevada National Guard host other south Pacific countries Papua New Guinea and Nauru; each sending delegates for the first time last week.
Although Tonga, Papua New Guinea and Nauru face many different challenges than America — and Nevada — they also face similar challenges, including disaster response, climate change and human trafficking. Additionally, these nations share Nevada’s unique blend of urban areas in a sea of sparse population.
More than 70 nations worldwide are actively partnered with state National Guards. This low-cost program is administered by the National Guard Bureau, guided by State Department foreign policy goals, and executed by the state adjutants general in support of combatant commander and U.S. Chief of Mission security cooperation objectives and Department of Defense policy goals.
Last Wednesday, the delegates also visited the Department of Emergency Management Joint Operations Center and the Nevada National Guard’s Joint Operation Center at the campus of the Office of the Adjutant General in Carson City.
The delegation also attended the Nevada Guard’s third annual Diversity Day event before leaving for their home nations on Saturday.