Kenya New National Guard Partner

The Massachusetts National Guard partnered with the Republic of Kenya through the Defense Department’s State Partnership Program during an Oct. 1 signing ceremony in Nairobi, according to an Oct. 2 release. “What’s great about this program is that [it] is mutually beneficial,” said Gen. David Rodriguez, US Africa Command boss. “It allows for an exchange of knowledge and facilitates the development of personal relationships between partner nations and their National Guard counterparts.” The new strategic partnership aims to strengthen defense security cooperation goals and Kenya’s domestic response capabilities. “Our force will use their dynamic civilian and military skill sets and experiences to identify potential problems and offer effective solutions to cooperate with shared initiatives in Kenya,” said Maj. Gen. Scott Rice, Massachusetts National Guard adjunct general. Kenya marks the 76th nation to partner with the National Guard in the 22 years of the State Partnership Program and is Massachusetts’ second partner nation. Massachusetts also partnered with Paraguay in 2001. (See also The Guard Partnerships from the October 2014 issue of Air Force Magazine.)