International partnership a joint effort for Missouri Army and Air Guard

By: April Bachler
Missouri National Guard Public Affairs

Soldiers and Airmen from the 7th Civil Support Team work together during a state partnership exchange. (Photo by Silas Allen)

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. - In early February, Lt. Col. Rebecca Segovia-Johnson travelled to Atlanta, Ga., for a conference on the National Guard's State Partnership Program.

The partnerships - between U.S. states and allied countries - began in the early 1990s. Since then, they have stood out as one of the Guard's most cost effective and successful endeavors. Gen. Craig R. McKinley, chief of the National Guard Bureau, called the program one of the Guard's "crown jewels."

"State partnership programs cannot be static," said Gen. Craig R. McKinley, chief of the National Guard Bureau. "They must be creative, integrated and responsive to combatant commanders and U.S. ambassadorial priorities in the field."

Segovia-Johnson, who took over the program in 2009 after a yearlong Kosovo deployment, saw the conference as both a call to arms and a validation of where Missouri's state partnership with Panama is going.

For Segovia-Johnson, of Jefferson City, the State Partnership has not just been an opportunity for Missouri to exchange information with an important ally, but a chance for the state's Citizen-Soldiers and Airmen to work together and learn more about each other.

"We're breaking down barriers, most of which are administrative in nature" Segovia-Johnson said. "These are opportunities to work together, not only with our partners in Panama, but with our two components, Army and Air, right here in the Missouri National Guard."

Recently, the program participated in a judicial exchange with Panama. The exchange was beneficial for both sides, said Master Sgt. Carla Craig, the 139th Airlift Wing's law office superintendent.

"We were able to introduce them to the ways our police, military and judicial systems work and they introduced us to theirs," Craig said. "They explained to us more fully how they operate without a military force and only a National Police Force."

Craig's team consisted of five members, including two fellow Airmen and two Soldiers. The joint group was invited to tour the Ministry of Government and Justice.

"It was an amazing tour, and we were introduced to many people to include the Viceministerio de Securidad Publica (Vice Ministry of Public Security)," Craig said. "After our tour, the director invited us to his office where his staff had cooked us a traditional Panamanian meal for lunch."

The U.S. group spoke on the political and military structure of the U.S. and criminal investigations in the state system. Investigative techniques and procedures in drug and murder cases were addressed, as well as the Missouri Counterdrug Program.

In turn, the Panamanian group presented an overview of their ministry of government and justice, their judicial investigative service, as well as their aerial and naval military services. The Security and Frontier Service, which serves as a national police to protect Panama's border, was discussed as well.

While the exchange itself was important and valuable for both sides, it also highlighted a growing partnership within the Missouri Guard.

"There is a real willingness and desire among our Soldiers and Airmen to work jointly," Segovia-Johnson. "It's all about learning and continuing to develop professionally, and the State Partnership Program provides a multitude of opportunities for this type of positive energy to come together."

With the increased Army and Air partnership, the two components have learned a lot about each other as well. Segovia-Johnson has worked with Col. Kathleen Hancox, the Missouri Air National Guard's director of staff, to ensure proper coordination in the collaboration. Hancox said that while the regulations that govern the Army and Air Guards might be different, the program is a solid reminder that at the end of the day, both components have the same mission.

"The level of jointness is at an all time high," Hancox said. "It enhances the mission accomplishment as it allows two different types of skill sets to bear on the mission and ensures coverage of all aspects of accomplishment."

In programs like the judicial exchange, Segovia-Johnson has worked hard to ensure that all those skill sets are in play.

"We're working more together, and we're optimistic that we will get better as we keep going," Segovia-Johnson said. "On this last exchange, we were half Army, half Air. The diversity within our ranks show that we're doing things jointly here."

That joint capability will make the program even stronger and more effective in the future as Missouri Guardsmen move to support the objectives of U.S. ambassador to Panama Barbara J. Stephenson and U. S. Southern Command's Gen. Douglas Fraser. Part of those objectives include working in the nation's Darien Province.

"There is a need for our horizontal engineers for projects like road building." Segovia-Johnson said. "Which could mean an opportunity to bring in all of our assets - air, medical, administrative and logistical to support that project".

Meanwhile, the program will continue to expand in the future. Later this month, a delegation from Panama will visit the Kansas City area for another judicial exchange.