WASHINGTON, DC – Matters of mutual interest between Jamaica and the Washington DC National Guard, including initiatives under the US Government’s State Partnership Plan, were high on the agenda during a visit to the Jamaican Embassy on Thursday January 10 by the Commanding General of the Washington D.C. National Guard, Major General Errol Schwartz.
In their discussions with Jamaica’s Ambassador to the United States, His Excellency. Stephen Vasciannie, Major General Schwartz and his team outlined some of the existing areas of cooperation between the National Guard and Jamaica.
Ambassador Vasciannie thanked the Commanding General for the National Guard’s specific contributions to the Jamaican military and to the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management. Representatives from both the National Guard and the Jamaican Embassy also touched on possible areas for future cooperation.
Collaboration with the National Guard is coordinated in Jamaica through the Jamaica Defense Force. There are annual high-level consultations and a number of exercises involving structured visits by military officers on both sides. The National Guard has also assisted with training and has provided technical assistance in emergency relief, security and medical evacuation exercises, among other fields.
Following the meeting, Ambassador Vasciannie noted that “this type of technical cooperation certainly redounds to the benefit of Jamaica. We are heartened by the assistance received from the National Guard and note that the JDF, with its high degree of professionalism, is able to reciprocate in some areas.”
The National Guard State Partnership Program provides unique partnership capacity-building capabilities to combatant commanders and U.S. ambassadors through partnerships between U.S. states, territories and the District of Columbia and foreign countries. The 20-year-old program is a key U.S. security cooperation tool, facilitating joint effort on all aspects of international civil-military affairs and encouraging people-to-people ties in 65 countries
On Military Cooperation: Jamaica’s Ambassador to the United States Stephen His Excellency Vasciannie and Major General Errol R. Schwartz of the Washington D.C. National Guard (3rd and 4th left) with Captain Paul Martin, Deputy Chief of Mission of the Jamaican Embassy Cherryl Gordon, Jamaica’s Alternate Representative to the Organization of American States Marsha Coore-Lobban and Captain Yolanda Lee, at the Embassy of Jamaica after the National Guard contingent held discussions with the Ambassador on Thursday, January 10, 2013
The District of Columbia National Guard had conducted a senior official visit to Jamaica during last year’s 50th anniversary celebrations of the Army, highlights of which included a military tattoo. The 257th Army Band, a D.C. National Guard Unit, participated in the Jamaica Military Tattoo 2012, which ran from June 28 to July 1, under the theme “Precision, Pomp and Pageantry: The First Five Decades.”
