Maryland National Guard celebrates 50 combined years of security cooperation with Estonia, Bosnia & Herzegovina
By Maj Ben Hughes
ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Maryland Gov. Wes Moore hosted a reception to celebrate 50 combined years of security cooperation of the Maryland National Guard with Bosnia & Herzegovina and Estonia through the State Partnership Program at his residence November 16, 2023.
Estonia and Maryland celebrated the 30th anniversary of their mutually beneficial partnership, which began in 1993, while Bosnia & Herzegovina celebrated 20 years of partnership with Maryland this year.
“You all have shown yourselves to be true friends, true leaders and we can only hope that we were able to show the same back to you,” said Moore. “So I say on behalf of the 6.2 million people of this great state, we are honored to have you in a place that you will find to be your second home. We look forward to years and decades of further partnership.”
The reception, which featured music by the Maryland National Guard’s 229th Army Band, was a culminating event, as the partnerships were celebrated in all three countries earlier this year. Many of those impacted by the program reflected on its successes.
“It is amazing to think about all these accomplishments that we have had together,” said Maj. Gen. Janeen L. Birckhead, adjutant general for Maryland. “The list goes on and on but perhaps the most significant has been the times we deployed together in harm’s way.”
Birckhead cited the 115th Military Police Battalion’s co-deployment with the Armed Forces of Bosnia & Herzegovina to Afghanistan in 2013 and the 29th Combat Aviation Brigade’s deployment to Afghanistan with two Estonian Defense Force helicopter pilots in 2014 as the highlights of the partnerships.
A video highlight of the program created by the Maryland National Guard, which featured interviews with military and civilian personnel who supported SPP over the last 30 years, was shown during the reception. A comprehensive book about the history of the program, which was written by Maryland National Guard historian Dr. Julie Shively and edited in coordination with the State Partnership Program office, was given to the governor and others who attended the event.
In addition to the reception, delegations from Bosnia & Herzegovina and Estonia visited the Warren Grove Range in New Jersey to observe a live exercise showcasing coordinated call-for-fire operations from Estonian and Maryland Army National Guard joint terminal attack controllers (JTAC) coordinating ground-based fire support alongside UH-1Y Venom and AH-1W Super Cobra helicopters, as well as Maryland Air National Guard A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft.
It was an example of expanding training opportunities for tri-lateral events that are beneficial to all three partner countries.
“The growing transformation of our defense sector has benefited immensely from the various programs including mil-to-mil program, [International Military Education & Training], and joint education and training,” said AFBiH Maj. Gen. Ivica Jerkić, deputy chief of the joint staff of Armed Forces Bosnia & Herzegovina. “Over 1000 members of the Armed Forces of Bosnia & Herzegovina have benefitted under the State Partnership Program.”
During the reception, Benjamina Karić, the mayor of Sarajevo, signed a Sister City agreement with the city of Annapolis via an online video call, highlighting how the State Partnership Program has grown beyond military training events to include civilian engagements. This was the first Sister City agreement between Maryland and Bosnia & Herzegovina with plans for numerous new opportunities for civilian exchanges in education, commerce, medical and agriculture. Estonia has eight Sister City agreements with Maryland.
“I admire our predecessors who made the decision to establish a cooperation, which has lasted now for 30 years,” said Hanno Pevkur, the Estonian minister of defense. “We have excellent cooperation and this journey we have come through has shown us that we can do a lot together. We can rely on each other and we can lean on each other, as we know what this cooperation is for and why we are doing it.”
The Estonian delegation met with Maryland Air National Guard leaders at Martin State Air National Guard Base in Middle River, Maryland, to receive capabilities briefs from our 175th Cyber Operation Group and the 104th Fighter Squadron. In the days before the reception, the delegation from Bosnia & Herzegovina visited the U.S. Army War College in Carlise, Pennsylvania, to meet with an AFBiH soldier studying there. They also met with the Maryland deputy secretary of agriculture, Mr. Steve Connelly, to discuss potential import/export opportunities and initiating relationships between wine industries.
“It is evident that these two decades of partnership and cooperation have played a crucial role in positioning Bosnia & Herzegovina as a credible partner and candidate for EU membership as well as a candidate for full NATO membership,” said Jerkić.
The reception concluded with the group moving to the Eastport Yacht Club for continued celebration of the partnership. With more than 50 years of combined partnership between both countries, the relationship continues to strengthen.
“I want to thank Gov. Moore for hosting us tonight,” said Birckhead. “I look forward to accompanying you on your first trip to Bosnia & Herzegovina and Estonia in the near future, so you can see firsthand the richness of our relationship and the impact it has had on Maryland and their countries.”