The National Guard State Partnership Program: Opportunities and Challenges
Abstract
Current U.S. National Strategy highlights the importance of shaping activities with other nations and cultivating partnerships around the world. One Diplomatic Tool -- The National Guard State Partnership Program (SPP) -- has been very effective in establishing and strengthening the United States' relationships with other nations. This paper reviews and analyzes national strategy documents, defense and service guidance, SPP history and lessons learned, and the findings of the GAO 2012 study of the SPP, entitled "State Partnership Program: Improved Oversight, Guidance, and Training Needed for National Guard's Efforts with Foreign Partners." The GAO study serves as the reference point for determining gaps in the current National Guard SPP, with a specific focus on how to grow the SPP. The paper examines what has been done at the Guard Bureau level since the GAO study and their effects in the field using case studies of long-standing SPPs. Recommendations for new SPPs and how to best develop the SPP are developed from these case studies. The impact of Regional Alignment of Forces (RAF) as an emerging concept also is examined, and comparisons are made between the RAF and the SPP. The paper concludes with recommendations for continuing the SPP's evolution.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 01, 2013
- Accession Number
- ADA589307
Entities
People
- Rhoda K. Daniel
Organizations
- United States Army War College