Hearing Wrap Up: The National Guard State Partnership Program Strengthens Security Worldwide

WASHINGTON—The Subcommittee on Military and Foreign Affairs today held a hearing titled “The National Guard State Partnership Program: Strengthening U.S. Security, One Partnership at a Time.” In the hearing, members highlighted how the National Security State Partnership Program (SPP) has been instrumental in strengthening regional stability, fostering peace, and collaborating with partner nations to enhance global security. Members also discussed ways in which Congress can provide more resources and funding to this essential program to maintain its viability and reinforce U.S. influence around the world. 

Key Takeaways:

The National Guard’s State Partnership Program strengthens alliances and national security by building lasting relationships with 115 partner nations.

• Christopher Mamaux, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Global Partnerships at the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD), testified that “For over 30 years, the SPP has been developing relationships, increasing cooperation across the globe. It is a simple and yet effective concept, pairing a state or territory’s national guard with a partner nation to foster long-term, mutually beneficial relationships while enhancing joint military capabilities and readiness in combination with authorities. Today, the SPP boasts a network of 115 partner nations strategically aligned with the National Guard’s presence in all 50 states, territories, and the District of Columbia. Working hand-in-hand with the State Department and the geographic combatant commands, this extensive reach makes the SPP a critical component of the United States national security framework.”

• Major General William J. Edwards, Director of Strategic Plans and Policy and International Affairs (NGB J-5) at the National Guard Bureau, testified that “The State Partnership Program is a unique tool in the security cooperation toolbox. It is the only security cooperation program that delivers sustained, enduring relationships with our partners that our competitors simply cannot match. Many of our Adjutants General have engaged with their partner nations’ leaders, including their Chiefs of Defense throughout their careers.”

• Major General Robin B. Stilwell, Adjutant General of the South Carolina National Guard, testified that “[The South Carolina National Guard’s] strong relationship ensures continued access to and integration with Colombian military facilities and other strategic access. Next engagements, on average, the state of South Carolina and the National Guard participates in 40 SPP events annually. These events take place in both the United States and Colombia, and in other regions of the world and involve multiple military organizations. By the end of fiscal year 2025, we will have completed 52 engagements, 29 of those in the country of Colombia…Notably, ladies and gentlemen, our Rotary Wing Maintenance and Readiness initiative just recently paired with the Colombian army and has helped to surge their helicopter rotary wing aviation readiness from 20 percent to 60 percent, a dramatic 40 percent increase since December of 2024.”

The National Guard SPP delivers high-value security cooperation at a fraction of the cost of traditional military engagements, delivering a cost-effective global impact and maximizing returns on investment. 

• Major General Edwards testified that “In 2025, the total operating budget of the SPP is approximately $55 million. This allocation enables the execution of more than 1,000 engagements across all aspects of international civil-military affairs. It has also supported the addition of eight new partner nations. The National Guard Bureau uses a resource, a structured resource, allocation model to portion the funding to the states based off their partnership plans that they develop in coordination with their partners…The Chief of the National Guard Bureau, General Steve Nordhaus, testified earlier this month. He said, ‘we cannot overstate the value of these mutually beneficial security cooperation relationships that are built on trust and shared values.’ He continued to say that ‘for less than one percent of the U.S. security cooperation budget, the SPP strengthens partner capacity, addresses the security challenges, and enhances global stability.’”

Congress must assess resources provided to the National Guard SPP so that it can continue to strategically enhance regional stability, deter aggression, and reinforce U.S. influence in key regions of the world.

• Subcommittee Chairman William Timmons (R-S.C.) remarked in his opening statement that “[We] must assess the resources that are provided to the program. Currently, the SPP’s budget is just one percent of the overall defense security cooperation budget but accounts for almost thirty percent of all Geographic Combatant Command engagements with partners and allies.  It is my hope that this hearing will bring to light the need for enhanced funding for the State Partnership Program and the vital mission it supports.”  
• Mr. Mamaux testified that “Deepening existing relationships and prioritizing partnerships aligned with key U.S. strategic objectives, particularly in the Indo-Pacific. It is a crucial step to insuring the SPP continues to deliver maximum value for the American taxpayer. A key element involves allocating resources towards developing the most beneficial partnerships and facilitating the development of lethal capabilities when necessary for defensing the homeland and deterring China. Such actions guarantee the SPP remains a cornerstone of our national security strategy.”

Member Highlights:

Subcommittee Chairman Timmons inquired about the SPP bolsters international military cooperation and allows the U.S. to compete against foreign adversaries.

Subcommittee Chairman Timmons: “Mr. Mamaux, security cooperation like the State Partnership Program contributes to regional stability and long-term prosperity, both in the U.S. and in partner nations. In a broader strategic context, how does sustained military-to-military cooperation through the SPP help the U.S. compete with adversaries like China and Russia?”

Mr. Mamaux: “Thank you, Chair. As you rightfully pointed out, the strategic importance of the SPP is bar none. It is a peerless program that is a strategic advantage, a competitive advantage, if we use a little more business term, ‘nomenclature,’ here that benefits the United States of America with enduring relationship building around the globe. Neither China nor Russia have a program that’s even remotely similar, and they certainly don’t have the relationships to call on when the time arises. This is something we see value in…And again, the relationships that we have around the globe through the SPP process for over 30 years of enduring relationships is just one highlight of that example.” 

Rep. John McGuire (R-Va.) asked for more details on funding of strategic partnerships between the U.S. and partner nations and staying aligned with American interests.

Rep. McGuire: “I’ve got a question for anyone up here. If one of these partnership nations begins to work against American interests, is there a plan to sever that partnership?”

Mr. Mamaux: “Thank you for the question, Congressman. Severance is not something that the SPP has mechanism for now because we’ve never had to use it. I can give you some examples of Venezuela, which obviously is no longer a favorable nation and hasn’t been for some time. What happens in those country partnerships, Mr. Representative, is they become dormant, so there’s no more funds, there’s no more training, there’s no more allocation of American talent, treasures, or material that flows to those partner nations, and they become dormant for lack of a better term.”

Rep. McGuire: “Last question is, for the partners we do have and that we have a good relationship, how is the funding? Do we have enough funding to do those for those relationships?”

Mr. Mamaux: “Thank you for the question. The funding, I think, is an issue where we have a true partnership, specifically with the various components we’ve already listed here before, but the funding is that ‘both sides of the coin’-type deal, right? We have some funding that we put towards capabilities, the partner countries have funding that they put towards capabilities. A highlight, I think, would be the state of Vermont and the country of Austria, where they both opened separate but sort of similar centers. Sort of ‘you come visit me, I come visit you,’ and that’s just a great highlight of what this looks like for actual burden sharing with true partnerships across the SPP.”

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) asked how Congress can help the National Guard obtain the resources it needs to maintain national security and stability.

Rep. Luna: “Can you please elaborate on certain programs and also where you need help from Congress? You’d figure this would be more of a bipartisan issue, I apologize if people made it partisan while you guys were being questioned.”

Major General Edwards: “Well, I think General Stilwell summed it up quite well, and especially with this position as an Adjutant General who is actually responsible for the manning training equipment and of his formations, both air and army. But if I were asked to compliment his words, we are, you know, we’re a citizen soldier force—over 80 some-odd-percent of our soldiers and airmen [have] a civilian career…”

Rep. Luna: “Just real quick, what would you guys need as, if you could do a magic wand on an appropriation request to help the National Guard, what would it be?”

Major General Edwards: “I’m not going to cite a number, but I will cite predictability. Predictability, and coming back to the State Partnership Program, which I think is, you know, our focus today. The ability to plan, properly plan, and execute the engagements of the variety that I described to Congressman Cloud earlier, that requires time and knowing you have the resources in time to have that exercise or that event is key. So that predictability is, that would be the one thing I would ask for your help with, Representative, to ensure predictable funding.”

Click here to watch the hearing.