JOHNSTON, Iowa — In a historic first for the Iowa National Guard, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte visited the Iowa National Guard Joint Force Headquarters Sept. 23 alongside U.S. Permanent Representative to NATO Matthew G. Whitaker. The visit highlighted the strategic impact of the National Guard State Partnership Program and Iowa’s longstanding relationship with Kosovo.
Rutte and Whitaker met with Iowa National Guard senior leaders, including Maj. Gen. Stephen Osborn, adjutant general of the Iowa National Guard; Command Sgt. Maj. Matthew Strasser, command senior enlisted leader; Brig. Gen. Mark Kappelmann, director of the joint staff; and Kerri Lewers, Iowa National Guard State Partnership Program director.
The engagement centered on Iowa’s partnership with Kosovo and the Kosovo Security Force, with discussions focused on KSF capabilities, interoperability, continued professional development and opportunities to build on more than a decade of cooperation through the Department of War National Guard State Partnership Program.
“The strength of the State Partnership Program is built on relationships, trust and a shared commitment to continuous improvement,” Osborn said. “For 15 years, our Soldiers and Airmen have worked shoulder-to-shoulder with our partners in Kosovo, strengthening our relationship through every exchange, exercise and shared opportunity. Having Secretary General Rutte and Ambassador Whitaker here in Iowa underscores how a partnership between a state and a nation can have an impact far beyond our borders. We are incredibly proud of what we have built with the Kosovo Security Force and excited about the opportunities ahead for this enduring partnership.”
That enduring relationship began in 2011, when Iowa and Kosovo established their partnership through the Department of War National Guard State Partnership Program. Since then, Iowa National Guard Soldiers and Airmen have participated in military-to-military engagements with the KSF across a range of areas, including infantry operations, medical readiness, logistics and sustainment, cyber defense and professional development.
The partnership has evolved alongside the Kosovo Security Force, moving beyond individual exchanges to increasingly complex training opportunities designed to strengthen interoperability and institutional capacity.
That cooperation has also extended into multinational training environments. Kosovo Security Force members have trained alongside Iowa National Guard Soldiers during major exercises, providing opportunities for both forces to operate together while strengthening relationships built through years of exchanges.
Iowa National Guard members have also supported NATO missions in the region, including the Kosovo Force, or KFOR, NATO’s longstanding peace-support mission in Kosovo.
Rutte’s visit underscored the connection between those efforts and the broader value of the National Guard State Partnership Program, which pairs state National Guard forces with partner nations to build enduring military relationships, enhance interoperability and support U.S. security cooperation objectives around the world.
For the Iowa National Guard, the engagement provided an opportunity to showcase a partnership built through consistent, personal relationships between Iowa service members and their counterparts in Kosovo.
More than a decade after the partnership began, the first visit by a NATO secretary general to the Iowa National Guard demonstrated how relationships developed between a state National Guard and a partner nation can contribute to security and cooperation beyond state borders.
From Iowa to Kosovo and across the NATO alliance, the partnership continues to demonstrate the National Guard’s ability to turn enduring relationships into strategic impact.
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