{"id":2840,"date":"2018-05-16T13:12:41","date_gmt":"2018-05-16T13:12:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/?p=2840"},"modified":"2018-05-16T13:14:40","modified_gmt":"2018-05-16T13:14:40","slug":"maryland-national-guard-trains-with-estonian-defense-forces-celebrates-25-years-of-partnership","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/2018\/05\/16\/maryland-national-guard-trains-with-estonian-defense-forces-celebrates-25-years-of-partnership\/","title":{"rendered":"Maryland National Guard trains with Estonian defense forces, celebrates 25 years of partnership"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Article and photography by Maj. Kurt Rauschenberg,\u00a058th Expeditionary Military Intelligence Brigade<\/em>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]\"\"<\/p>\n

Maryland National Guard soldiers and airmen supported the Estonian defense forces May 2 – 12 during Exercise Hedgehog 2018, the largest training exercise conducted in Estonia.<\/p>\n

Focused on territorial defense, as well as special operations capabilities, the exercise brought together elements of the Estonian Defence League, Women\u2019s Home Defence League, and regular Defence Force. Estonian police and border forces and emergency management personnel also participated.<\/p>\n

Additionally, more than 15,000 personnel from 15 NATO member-countries participated in the exercise.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Hedgehog 2018 occurred as the Maryland National Guard celebrates the 25th anniversary of partnering with Estonia as part of the National Guard Bureau\u2019s State Partnership Program, which links National Guard elements with partner nations worldwide.<\/p>\n

The Maryland Guard was one of the first three partnerships in the program that began in 1993 as the Cold War came to a close.<\/p>\n

\u201cDuring the SPP\u2019s 25th anniversary, the Maryland Guard was honored to once again participate in this Estonian national exercise,\u201d said U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Jason W. Burns, bilateral affairs officer with the Maryland Guard.<\/p>\n

Burns facilitates the exercise planning between Maryland Guard and Estonian units.<\/p>\n

Maryland Guard personnel had the opportunity to integrate a wide variety of capabilities, enabling soldiers and airmen to fulfill specific training requirements, exchange critical tactics, techniques, and procedures and continue to reinforce security cooperation in the region.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnnually, the Maryland National Guard typically schedules and accomplishes about 40 military-to-military training and exercise events,\u201d Burns said. \u201cThe Maryland Guard is fortunate to have such a close ally and partner nation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Personnel from the Maryland Army National Guard\u2019s 629th Expeditionary Military Intelligence Battalion, based in Laurel, Maryland, provided expertise to two Estonian brigade intelligence sections. They supported the brigade commanders with operational planning, advised on fighting techniques, and engaged with the community throughout the exercise.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, soldiers with the Maryland Army Guard\u2019s B Company, 2nd Battalion, 20th Special Forces Group, based in Glen Arm, Maryland, took part by disrupting enemy actions against the Estonian Defence Force\u2019s 1st Brigade.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Airmen with the Maryland Air National Guard\u2019s 175th Wing Cyber Operations Group, based at Warfield Air National Guard Base, Middle River, Maryland., supported the Estonian Defence League\u2019s cyber defense unit. They advised and assisted with building greater operational awareness of cyber defense capabilities among the Estonian participants.<\/p>\n

The Maryland Air Guard\u2019s 175th Security Forces Squadron also participated in the exercise at Amari Air Base, Estonia, and provided air base security support and observations within the Base Defense Operations Control center through the duration of the exercise. The unit\u2019s participation provided greater insight on processes and procedures used to protect mission-critical resources.<\/p>\n

Those training exchanges are all part of the goals of the SPP.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe SPP assures our allies, deters our enemies, provides access to critical regions, and forges long-lasting relationships around the globe,\u201d said U.S. Air Force Gen. Joseph L. Lengyel, chief of the National Guard Bureau, in a May 10 letter to the force.<\/p>\n

Through the partnership with Estonia, the Maryland Guard has played a key role in promoting regional cooperation and stability.<\/p>\n

\u201cThrough SPP, the Maryland Guard and Estonian Defences strengthen our alliance and supports all other NATO allies and partners as well,\u201d said Army Maj. Gen. John L. Gronski, U.S. Army Europe\u2019s deputy commanding general for Army National Guard, during a visit to the exercise training areas May 11.<\/p>\n

Gronski met with Maryland Guard intelligence and special operations soldiers to address the importance of the exercise and how their participation fits within overall National Guard training opportunities throughout Europe.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen the Maryland Guard comes here they also strengthen their own readiness, which helps them seamlessly deploy alongside Estonian [partners], contributing to the overall SPP,\u201d Gronski said.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Article and photography by Maj. Kurt Rauschenberg,\u00a058th Expeditionary Military Intelligence Brigade[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text] Maryland National Guard soldiers and airmen supported the Estonian defense forces May 2 – 12 during Exercise Hedgehog 2018, the largest training exercise conducted in Estonia. Focused on territorial defense, as well as special operations capabilities, the exercise brought together elements of the Estonian  Read the Rest…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":139,"featured_media":2841,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2,810],"tags":[66,865,75,205,283],"class_list":["post-2840","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-state-partnership-program","tag-estonia","tag-exercise-hedgehog","tag-maryland-air-national-guard","tag-maryland-national-guard","tag-state-partnership-program"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2840","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/139"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2840"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2840\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2845,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2840\/revisions\/2845"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2841"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2840"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2840"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2840"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}