Here's how you know
 **Official websites use .mil** .mil
 **Secure .mil websites use HTTPS** lock () https://


Skip to main content (Press Enter).
 Toggle navigation
            
            
            
            
            National Guard
                        Always Ready Always There
                    National Guard
            
            Search National Guard:
                        Search
                    Search
                        Search National Guard:
                            Search
    Home

    News
    
        Guard News

    Overseas Operations

    State Partnership Program

    News Features

    RSS Feeds

    Press Releases

    Transcripts

    Features
    
        Features by Year

    Posture Statement

    State Partnership Program

    Special Features

    About the Guard
    
        How We Began

    Air National Guard

    Army National Guard    
    
        DEERS Soldier Journey

    Leader Development Program

    History and Heritage

    I am the Guard

    NGB Official March

    Leadership
    
        CNGB

    VCNGB

    SEA

    DANG

    DARNG

    Joint Staff    
    
        J-1

    J-2

    J-3

    J-4

    J-5

    J-6

    J-7

    J-8

    Personal Staff    
    
        Inspector General

    General Counsel    
    
        Special Victims Counsel

    Public Affairs

    Executive Support Services

    Legislative Liaison

    Special Staff    
    
        Office of the Provost Marshal

    Office of the Joint Surgeon

    Director of Acquisitions

    Small Business Programs

    Chaplain

    Senior Leader Management Office

    Diversity Equity Inclusion

    Comptroller

    Resources    
        National Defense Strategy Implementation Guidance

    Community Engagement

    FOIA

    Fact Sheets

    Helpful Links

    Image Gallery
    
        News Images

    Graphics

    Historical Paintings

    Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

    Legislative Liaison

    Small Business Programs

    Social Media

    State Websites

    Videos    
    
        Featured Videos

    On Every Front

    2019 Videos

    2020 Videos

    2021 Videos

    Suicide Prevention

    Family Programs

    Environmental

    Trial Defense Service

    Holistic Wellness Challenge

    Contact Us  Home
  News
  Article View
 
 Download
 Details
 Share
 NEWS
 Nevada Guardsman Plays Key Partnership Role in South Pacific By Master Sgt. Erick Studenicka,
                Joint Force Headquarters, Nevada National Guard
 CARSON CITY, Nev. – Nearly two years into his role as the Nevada Guard’s bilateral affairs officer based in the picturesque South Pacific island nation of Fiji, Maj. David Paxton emphatically dismisses the notion his job is an extended vacation thousands of miles from the pressures and stresses of the mainland. As the representative of Nevada’s State Partnership Program in the U.S. Embassy in Suva, Fiji, Paxton helps organize, coordinate and manage Nevada’s SPP engagements with Fiji and Tonga. He is also deputy chief of the Office of Defense Cooperation with Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Tonga and Tuvalu. (Nevada’s third partner country in the SPP, Samoa, falls under the oversight of the U.S. Embassy in Wellington, New Zealand.) Those jobs leave little time for tourism, Paxton said recently while in Nevada for a series of meetings. “It’s not as romantic as one might imagine. The resorts are not far away, but there is little time to venture there,” Paxton said. “The tempo of engagements has really ramped up in the post-Covid era, and the region is one of the most visible in the world as nations vie for influence in the Blue Pacific (a diplomatic term that encompasses the Pacific Ocean-island nations and their collective interests.) “The job itself hasn’t been romantic, but it’s been rewarding to be in a position where I am a part of a team that can influence global relationships on behalf of the United States,” he said. “I did not know much about international affairs and diplomacy before becoming the bilateral affairs officer, but now I know how much the State Partnership Program really matters on the geopolitical scale.” Paxton, 36, of Reno, will reside in Suva until his international tour concludes next year. He lives just a few blocks from the U.S. Embassy in Suva. An engineer branch officer, Paxton joined the Nevada Army Guard in 2008 and was commissioned as an officer in 2009. After his 2016 deployment to Iraq and Kuwait with the 17th Sustainment Brigade as its battle captain, he became the commander of the 240th Vertical Construction Company. His most recent military assignment was as the personnel officer for the 421st Regional Training Institute. For his full-time employment, Paxton was the facility and construction master planner for the Nevada Army Guard’s Directorate of Installations and Environment. In 2021, Paxton veered from the engineering officer career path to succeed Maj. Michal Riggs as the second bilateral affairs officer in Nevada Guard history. Paxton said it’s his job to share information between the embassy and the Nevada National Guard that might otherwise go unknown by both parties. For example, Fiji recently needed equipment distribution and familiarization training on explosive ordnance disposal equipment the Department of State granted to Fiji. Within weeks, Paxton helped organize an international engagement including Fijian Soldiers and Soldiers in the Nevada Army Guard’s 3665th Explosive Ordnance Disposal Company. The SPP-coordinated team even acted as couriers on behalf of the Department of State to get some of the equipment into the country. Paxton has no complaints about the location of his office and the traveling opportunities. “The geographic region and climate are completely opposite Nevada’s,” Paxton said. “It has been amazing to have nearby access to other countries and get out and do different activities.” Paxton said most Blue Pacific citizens support the U.S. presence in the region. Many remain grateful for the U.S. defense of the Pacific during World War II. “The most important thing I can do in my position is maintain the existing relationships that have been established with our partners and further develop new, positive relationships,” Paxton said. Paxton will return to the mainland in March to a yet-to-be-determined position. Renowned aviator Maj. Zackary Taylor-Warren will become the Nevada Guard’s third BAO. “The job of bilateral affairs officer has been the most impactful and diversely challenging experience of my military career,” Paxton said. “The learning curve was enormous, but I can now say I know at least a little about how the U.S. conducts international diplomacy — it definitely differs from what we see on television.”
 SHARE
 PRINT
 State Partnership Program celebrates 30-year anniversary
 Nevada National Guard
 Bilateral Affairs Officer
 State Partnership Program
 Fiji
 Tonga
 
 Nevada Guard Welcomes Soldiers from Partners Fiji, Tonga
 By Spc. Adrianne Lopez,
  Nevada Army Aviator Moves to Finance, Logistics Management
 By Master Sgt. Erick Studenicka,
  Hokanson Visits Guardsmen Safeguarding Las Vegas New Year’s Eve Celebration
 By Army Sgt. 1st Class Zach Sheely,
  More
 New York Air Guard Transports Special Operations Forces5/15/2024Kentucky Guard Airlifts Materials for Arctic Circle Housing5/15/2024Pennsylvania Guard Prepares to Train Ukrainian Forces5/15/2024 View more Guard News »
 Georgia Army Guard Joins DEFENDER 24 Exercise in Sweden5/8/2024
Exercise Gobi Wolf 2024 Begins in Heart of Mongolian Steppe5/8/2024
Vermont Army Guard Soldiers Attend Brazilian Mountain School5/3/2024 View more Overseas Operations News »
 Tennessee National Guard Soldiers Join Multinational Exercise5/14/2024

Guard Bureau Chief Promotes Partnerships at Defense Services Asia Exhibition5/12/2024

Kentucky National Guard Partner Ecuador Receives C-130H5/6/2024 View more State Partnership Program News »
 Back-to-school tools for military families8/11/2015DoD sends blended military retirement proposal to Congress6/16/2015First employment symposium held for National Guard spouses5/11/2015 View more Family Programs News »
 Home
 Site Map
 Privacy & Security Policy
 Link Disclaimer
 Web Policy
 DOD Information Quality
 DOD Open GovernmentFOIA
 No FEAR Act
 Accessibility/Section 508
 Contact Us
 Army Guard Careers
 Air Guard Careers
 USA.gov
                    
Staying Connected
    XYouTubeFlickrFacebookInstagram
                 
                
                

Hosted by Defense Media Activity - WEB.mil