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Moldovan Military Members Visit NCNG

  • Published
  • By Spc. Miko Holloran
  • NCNG Public Affairs
Raleigh, NC --  Five members of the Moldovan military force toured two North Carolina National Guard bases last week as a part of the NATO State Partnership Program. The team traveled to the United States with the intent of learning about medical evacuation and search and rescue operations conducted by the North Carolina National Guard.

On July 27, the Moldovan military team visited the North Carolina National Guard Aviation Flight Facility in Morrisville, N.C. The group was given a tour of the facility, a presentation of the AH-64 Apache helicopter, and an orientation flight in the UH-72 Lakota helicopter which gave them a view of the city of Raleigh from the air.

"The purpose of our briefing and orientation was to discuss and demonstrate the capabilities, techniques, and training regime which allow our North Carolina aviation organization to respond to state emergencies and natural and manmade disasters," said Army Chief Warrant Officer Dan McAuliffe, the aviation operations and training officer.

The team then traveled to Charlotte on July 29 for a simulated air medical evacuation mission.

"I walked through the checklist with the Moldovan medical commander," said Air Force Maj. Rachel Mallette, a flight nurse. "We showed the Moldovan military members how our crew operates as a 'moving hospital,' with the ability to transport patients anywhere."

While the point of the Moldovan military visit was for their soldiers to learn, it also gave the North Carolina Soldiers an opportunity to learn more about their visitors, said McAuliffe.

"I really enjoyed the opportunity to meet with the Moldova visitors," he said. "It is always a rewarding and worthwhile opportunity when we have the chance to work and share ideas with other nations and organizations."

The Moldovan representatives are in North Carolina as part of the State Partnership Program. The program links U.S. states with partner countries for the purpose of supporting U.S. Security cooperation objectives. The program's goals reflect an evolving international affairs mission for the National Guard using the unique civilian-military nature of the Guard to interact with both active and reserve forces of foreign countries.

The State Partners actively participate in a host of engagement activities ranging from bilateral familiarization, fellowship-style internships, civic leader visits and medical events. All activities are coordinated through the Theater Combatant Commander and the U.S. Ambassadors' country teams, and other agencies as appropriate, to ensure that the National Guard support is tailored to meet both U.S. and country objectives.

The value of the SPP is its ability to focus the attention of a small part of the Department of Defense, a state National Guard, with a single country of region in support of U.S. Government policies. This concentrated focus allows for the development of long-term personal relationships and a mechanism to catalyze support from outside the DoD which otherwise would not occur but nevertheless complements U.S. policy.

The optimum SPP partnership is on in which: the host nation professes genuine interests in partnership; U.S. and theater engagement objectives are satisfied; the force protection risk is acceptable; a minimum of additional resources is required to execute engagement; and National Guard core engagement competencies, particularly military support to civil authority (MSCA), and national defense are heavily incorporated.