By US Southern Command Public Affairs
MIAMI, USA – Adjutant generals and other senior National Guard leaders from 19 states, the District of Colombia, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands, met at US Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) in Doral, Florida, January 22-23 to discuss their longstanding partnerships with countries in the Caribbean, Central America and South America.
The discussions, which also included senior SOUTHCOM leaders, were part of the 2025 Adjutant General Strategic Leadership Seminar. Discussions focused on ways to increase cooperation with partner militaries and public-security forces, support US and regional security strategies, and help regional partners strengthen capabilities under the National Guard’s State Partnership Program.
The State Partnership Program supports the security cooperation objectives of the United States and geographic combatant commands, like SOUTHCOM, by developing enduring relationships with partner countries and carrying out activities to build partner capacity, improve interoperability, and strengthen multinational ties while increasing the readiness of US and partner forces to meet emerging challenges.
The State Partnership Program has 105 partnerships with 115 nations, including 30 in the SOUTHCOM area of responsibility. In Latin America and the Caribbean, the first of those partnerships were established in 1996 between Kentucky and Ecuador, Louisiana and Belize, Missouri and Panama, and West Virginia and Peru.
In fiscal year 2024, the states completed almost 322 engagements and events with partners in the Caribbean, Central America and South America. More than 300 are slated for in the region for fiscal year 2025.
Security cooperation under the State Partnership Program ranges from exercises and subject matter expert exchanges to workshops and familiarization visits. The engagements focus on topics of mutual interest such as aviation, logistics, engineering, communications, cyber, health, humanitarian assistance, disaster preparedness and professional development.
The origins of the State Partnership Program date back a quarter century, when the Department of Defense established it to link the unique capabilities of its states’ National Guard with military and security forces around the world, expanding US defense cooperation and strengthening its global security partnerships.
State partnerships also allow for expanded bilateral engagements between various government departments in each state and their counterparts in the region, including those with expertise in healthcare, law enforcement, education, and emergency management.
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