Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Elizabeth Pena | From left to right, Ambassador Dennis Hankins, Foreign Policy Advisor to the National...... read more read more
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SALEM, Ore. – The success of the State Partnership Program (SPP) stems from years of interpersonal and bilateral relationships, where both nations’ military-to-military engagements seek to build upon a ‘whole-of-society approach’ – bridging military, governmental, economic, and social relations.
Following the breakup of the Soviet Union, the State Partnership Program began 30 years ago and is now paired with 100 nations in combination with National Guards from all U.S. States and U.S. territories. Oregon first partnered with Bangladesh in 2008 and followed four years later with Vietnam. These enduring relationships enhance U.S. access and encourage readiness and response to emerging challenges for both the United States and partner forces.
During the annual SPP conference held in Denver from April 17-21, states together with their nation partners were presented awards and recognized in a number of categories. The award for the State Partnership Program Director of the Year was presented to Oregon Army National Guard Lt. Col. Christopher Markesino and his role working with Bangladesh and Vietnam.
“This is an amazing opportunity and an opportunity I might never get again,” Markesino said, describing his decision to apply for the State SPP Director position in 2021. “I thought – If I stay in my corporate civilian world, I’ll never have this chance to work on the ambassador and National Guard Bureau level.”
He left his job after 17 years with Kaiser Permanente, where he was the Director of Regional Environmental Health & Safety and Emergency Management. It was during the height of the pandemic, in his civilian role, that he helped coordinate many of the civilian medical responders with members of the Oregon National Guard medical teams working at vaccination sites in the state.
“I am a true believer that diversity makes a better leader,” he said, describing his decision to leave an established career. “Staying in one organization, you learn that organization but you don’t get to experience all the other leadership attributes and cultural experiences outside of that organization.”
Prior to supporting medical operations at the Portland Convention Center through his civilian job, Markesino was deployed to Kosovo with the 41st Infantry Brigade Combat Team in late January 2020 as the Medical Operations Officer.
“We got there and almost right away, the world went into lockdown,” he said, recalling this hectic period. “Then nearly a year later, switching gears during this once-in-a-lifetime pandemic – supporting the mass vaccination clinic. It was a great phase as a medical guy.”
The challenge of supporting the SPP mission is ongoing for him and his team, with engagements scheduled well in advance, and last-minute items inherent to the job.
Annual, the Oregon National Guard takes part in multiple exercises with their two partners, including the Disaster Management Engagement Activity (DMEA), the Disaster Response Exercise and Exchange (DREE), Tiger Lightning, and oftentimes supporting other states with their partnerships.
“There are so many engagements that Oregon is taking part in, and there is so much that goes on behind the scenes…passports, travel visas, declaration forms, and ISOPREPs…you name it,” he said, describing the work of their small but effective SPP team. “In-person relationships is what our countries want – They want us there, we want them here, and we really want that face-to-face to exchange ideas.”
These distinct opportunities to participate in leadership positions within the SPP mission also allow for opportunities to travel overseas for service members in a liaison role, and in some cases, being assigned overseas for extended tours. From July 2017 to July 2019, Army Lt. Col. Sung Yoon Ji, was assigned as Oregon’s Bilateral Affairs Officer to the U.S. Embassy in Hanoi. He recently returned from Vietnam during the annual engagement exercise, describing how he rekindled past bonds with his Vietnamese counterparts.
“This was a chance to see some of the changes – just in the past few years since I was assigned to Vietnam,” he said, after taking part in the planning for this year’s event.
“It really was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, one that my family and I appreciated even more after we came back home,” Ji said. “My wife and I will now laugh at some of the challenges we had at first, but it really was a great experience and opened our eyes to the culture by living in the country.”
This is one of the key aspects that Markesino points out about the State Partnership Program’s impact on National Guard members.
“We tell our teams going overseas on these missions – not only are you representing yourself, but the entire Oregon Guard, and they’re going to look at you as the entire U.S. Military,” he said, emphasizing the impression each Soldier or Airman can make during the exercise engagement. “You’re getting a chance to share your experience and expertise that the Army sent you to school for with others. It’s an incredible opportunity for our NCOs and junior officers.”
With all the engagements and training opportunities taking place now that travel has resumed after more than two years of pandemic restrictions, Markesino entered the Oregon National Guard’s accomplishments into the awards process.
“With everything we are doing with our two partner nations, it came back that I was selected as the State Partnership Program Director of the Year,” he said. “Which was pretty cool since this was a new category that all 54 states and territories had entered.”
The State Partnership Program Director is responsible for planning, managing, and coordinating all approved SPP activities, also overseas logistics, resources, and budgets while working with U.S. government agencies and embassy country teams. These were many of the areas that were evaluated for the award. Other winners for 2022 included Pennsylvania-Lithuania and New York-Brazil partnerships, being named the Department of Defense National Guard State Partnership Program partnerships of the year, and the Bilateral Affairs Officer of the Year award was given to Army Capt. Omar Rosario of the Puerto Rico Guard for his work with the Dominican Republic.
As busy as Markesino is with his SPP role, he will soon be taking command of the 141st Brigade Support Battalion in July, leaving his current drill status position with the Joint Operation Center (JOC).
“This is an exciting time, especially with the operational tempo picking up,” he said. “With the upcoming training this summer and deployments in the near future, it’s going to be a challenging next couple of years – for sure!”
| Date Taken: | 06.14.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 06.14.2023 19:10 |
| Story ID: | 447201 |
| Location: | SALEM, OREGON, US |
| Web Views: | 162 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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