The U.S. National Guard celebrated the 30th anniversary of the "State Partnership Program" in Washington, DC. Austria was also present as one of the initiative’s youngest partners, represented by the Secretary General of the Federal Ministry of Defense, Dr. Arnold Kammel. Secretary General Kammel was joined at the conference by Austrian Ambassador Petra Schneebauer and Austrian Defense Attaché Major General Norbert Huber. In all, more than 90 countries accepted the invitation to attend the conference on July 17-18 in Washington, DC, which offered the representatives of defense ministries from across the world an excellent networking opportunity.

In 1993, the first 13 countries began cooperating with the U.S. National Guard. Now the United States partners with 100 countries worldwide. Last year, the Austrian Armed Forces became an important part of the U.S. partnership program and the results of the cooperation are impressive. With our partner, the Vermont National Guard, the Austrian Armed Forces will implement 37 projects in 2023.

"After one year, we can proudly say that the balance of cooperation between our armed forces and the Vermont National Guard is very positive. In addition to the many projects that we have already been able to successfully implement, we also want to cooperate in other areas. Beyond mountain combat, we are also looking forward to more intensive cooperation in air power and cyber in the future. The "State Partnership Program" with the USA enables us to take a more pragmatic approach to the implementation of our plans and cooperation," said Secretary General Dr. Arnold Kammel.

In addition to joint training and education in mountain combat, such as the Austrian 7th Jäger brigade’s participation in U.S. Ranger training, the formation of an "Air Fighter Wing Exchange" with the Vermont National Guard will present opportunities to learn from each other and improve our capabilities in the future.

© ÖB Washington