COTONOU, BENIN – Delegates from the North Dakota National traveled to Cotonou, Benin, to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the State Partnership Program between the state of North Dakota and the Republic of Benin, June 27, 2024. Benin was officially selected to partner with North Dakota as part of the SPP in April 2014.
Attending the event were U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Al Dohrmann, NDNG adjutant general, Command Sgt. Maj. Jason Magnuson, NDNG senior enlisted leader, and U.S. Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Merri Filloon, 119th Wing, command chief.
“It has been an honor to witness this incredible journey. It has grown into a robust alliance of friendship and collaboration between North Dakota and the Republic of Benin,” said Dohrmann. “Through the State Partnership Program and with the support of U.S. Africa Command, we have achieved significant milestones in disaster readiness over the past decade.”
The disaster preparedness portfolio is North Dakota’s most cross-cutting engagement with the SPP. North Dakota routinely brings over state employees from public health, fire, and police forces in addition to National Guardsmen. One of the most significant engagements through the program is counter-IED awareness training. The Republic of Benin conducts many peacekeeping operations around Africa and they also have experienced increased violent extremism and conflicts at their borders; many ambushes they experience involve an IED, followed by small arms fire. The NDNG partners with them to train on best practices, using experience that NDNG Soldiers gained from deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan.
The Benin National Civil Protection Agency has a strong relationship with the North Dakota Department of Emergency Services and the NDNG Domestic Operations Section, supporting Benin’s disaster preparedness and response. The NDNG, with assistance from U.S. Africa Command, has conducted 46 military-to-military engagements and 14 Disaster Preparedness engagements with Benin and has trained 150 first responders.
“We gain a lot of experience working with different partner nations. Our Soldiers and Airmen become more adept at working alongside different cultures and tackling situations with a wider array of experience,” said U.S. Army Lt. Col. Mark McEvers, NDNG SPP director. “The partnership for the last 10 years has been amazing. Watching how they keep moving forward, and how the countries have developed over the years has been remarkable.”
Funding for the program comes from both the National Guard Bureau and the combatant command. No money is taken directly from the state of North Dakota. The NDNG has conducted more than 300 engagements with its three partner countries, Ghana, Togo, and Benin, and all of the funding for the engagements has been provided by NGB and U.S. Africa Command, as their mission is directly tied to maintaining the relationship with African countries.
The SPP was developed in 1993 in response to the Cold War. The goal was to maintain relationships between the U.S. and other countries and to move forward with security cooperation that encouraged and enabled international partners to work with the U.S. to achieve strategic objectives. The program establishes enduring partnerships, improves long-term international security, builds partner capability and capacity, and provides access. Currently, the program has partnered states with over 100 countries.
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