State Partnership Program Events

New York National Guard 1st Sgt Amanda Eldred, assigned to the 466 Medical Company, Area Support, reviews a medical bag with Brazilian Army Soldiers during a planning conference for Operation Parana held in in Foz do Iguazu, Brazil, on May 3, 2023. Operation Parana is a joint-training event that involves international participation to strengthen partnerships and improve interoperability in the event of a natural disaster in South America. (Courtesy photo by the Brazilian Army 1st Sgt. Lorencato and 2nd Sgt Yuri)

A Brazilian delegation and New York National Guard Soldiers and Airmen pose for a photograph at a Manhattan heliport as they prepare to board a New York Army National Guard UH-60M Black Hawk helicopter assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 142nd Aviation Regiment, for a flight to Fort Indiantown Gap, Pennsylvania on April 18, 2023. The Brazilians were heading to the Pennsylvania base to observe the New York National Guard Chemical Biological Radiological and Nuclear response team conducting a training exercise. The Brazilians were visiting New York as part of the New York National Guard's State Partnership Program relationship with that nation's military.

New York Army National Guard State Planner, Maj. Melanie Padilla works alongside her Brazilian army counterpart during the initial planning conference for exercise Southern Vanguard 24 in Macapa, Brazil, Dec 5-8, 2022. Brazil and the New York Army National Guard established a state partnership program in 2019 to enhance knowledge and training opportunities for both forces. Since its inception, the New York Army National Guard has completed over 20 exchanges, with the upcoming Southern Vanguard 24 being the largest to date. (U.S. Army photo by Maj. Tifani Summers)

New York Air National Guard Tech Sgt. Jeremy Miter, right, a member of the 274th Air Support Operations Squadron, is congratulated by the chief of Brazil’s world-famous Jungle Warfare Training School in Manas, Brazil on Nov. 17, 2022, after completing the international course taught annually by the school. Miter attended the course as part of the State Partnership Program agreement between Brazil and the New York National Guard. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Tech Sgt. Heather Riley)

Army Sgt. William Dunn, a member of the 101st Expeditionary Signal Battalion, left, and Air Force Tech Sgt. Jeremy Miter, assigned to the 274th Air Operations Support Squadron, will be representing the New York National Guard and the U.S. military at the annual international course taught at the Brazilian military's jungle warfare training school in Manas, Brazil. The New York National Guard has sent Soldiers and Airmen to the school since 2019 as part of a State Partnership Program agreement with Brazil's armed forces . (courtesy photos)

Senior Airman Matt Pluhoeski, at right, a pararescue Airmen assigned to the 103rd Rescue Squadron of the New York Air National Guard’s 106th Rescue Squadron, works with a Brazilian counterpart, on a simulated casualty on board one of the wing’s HC-130 Combat King II search and rescue aircraft during a medical evacuation mission being conducted as part of Exercise Tapio, a joint Brazilian- U.S. training exercise, in Campo Grande, Brazil on August 24, 2022. The New York Air National Guard sent 100 personnel to participate in the exercise as part of the New York National Guard State Partnership Program relationship with Brazil.

New York National Guard cyber protection experts Capt. Andrew Carter, the information systems officer for the 42nd Infantry Division headquarters battalion, second from left, and Chief Warrant Officer 2 Nefertiti Stokes, a member of the 173rd Cyber Protection Team, second from right, stand with Brazilian counterparts during a visit to the Brazilian military communications school in Brasilia, Brazil on August 17, 2022. The two Americans took part in Brazil’s annual Cyber Guardian Exercise as part of the New York National Guard State Partnership Program relationship with Brazil. ( Photo Courtesy Capt. Andrew Carter)

New York Army National Guard Staff Sgt. Christine Iraci, left, and Army Reserve Major Dwayne Bodie, look on as South African Military Health Service Anissa Talib-Ally checks a patient outside Richards Bay, South African during a medical readiness visit conducted on July 25, 2022, as part of Exercise Shared Accord. The every-other-year exercise teams American military personnel with those from an African nation. This year’s exercise includes joint U.S.Army-South African National Defense Force medical outreach missions to local communities, as well as tactical training. (Courtesy photo)

New York Army National Guard 1st Lt. Anthony Ruggerio from the 107th Military Police Company participated in a react to ambush exercise with the South Africa National Defense Force near Kwambonambi- Mfolozane on July 22, 2022. The U.S. Soldiers are in South Africa as part of Shared Accord, a biannual training event to enhance operational skills and partnership between the United States and South Africa. This year's exercise will include field training and medical readiness exercises. Participants will be stationed at dental, health care, and veterinary clinics with a group of Soldiers from the New York Army National Guard, directly working with senior officers from the South Africa National Defense Force in planning all the exercises and events that will occur in two weeks.

Lt. Col. Joseph Conley and Staff. Sgt. David Bailey stand with students from the Khanyiselisizwe High School for Nelson Mandela International Day on July 18, 2022. The U.S. Soldiers are there for Shared Accord, a biannual training event to enhance operational skills and partnership between the United States and South Africa. Note: The Khanyiselisizwe High School kindly permitted photographs to be taken during the Mandela Day activities and gave consent for their publication.

From left to right, South African Military Health Service Dentist, Maj. W.A. Mustafa speaks with counterparts from the Army Reserves and the New York Army National Guard. Dentist Maj. Dwayne Bodie and Dental Technician Staff Sgt. Christine Iraci on July 13th outside of Richards Bay, South Africa. The 2022 exercise of Shared Accord is the fourth, with previous iterations in 2011, 2013, and 2017. Apart from the 2017 exercise at the Army Combat Training Centre in the Northern Cape, the Eastern Cape hosted the other two, with a humanitarian and healthcare focus on rural, local communities. A planned 2020 Shared Accord fell victim to the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic. Courtesy, Photo Asset.

New York Air National Guard Master Sgt. Eric Wintersteen, a crew chief assigned to the 174th Attak Wing's Maintenance Group, explains the airframe and engine inspection he is performing on an MQ-9 Repear remotely piloted aircraft to Brazilian Air Force officers visiting Hancock Field Air National Guard Base, in Syracuse, New York, on June 6, 2022. The Hancock Field stop was part of a week-long tour of New York Air National Guard facilities the Brazilian team of eight officers and NCOs was conducting as part of the State Partnership Program. (U.S. Air ational Guard photo by Master Sgt. Barbara Olney)

New York Air National Guard Airmen from the 222nd Command and Control Squadron, which augments the U.S. agency managing American surveillance satellites, pose with Brazilian officials at Brazil’s Space Operations Center in Brasilia, the country’s capital on April 19, 2022. The Guard Airmen were there as part of a State Partnership Program exchange. (Courtesy Capt. Leah Elsbeck)