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
  State Partnership Program
 
 Download
 Details
 Share
 NEWS
 Nevada National Guard Holds Workshop for New Partner Samoa By Capt. Emerson Marcus,
                Nevada Joint Force Headquarters Public Affairs
 CARSON CITY, Nev. - Michael Fusi Ligaliga understands familial village systems and how they work in the Independent State of Samoa. He’s an assistant professor and program lead of Pacific Island Studies at Brigham Young University in Hawaii. He’s also a Matai, or Chief, at his village in Samoa. Ligaliga spoke this week during a Nevada National Guard State Partnership Program workshop at the Office of the Adjutant General in Carson City. “One of the things I am extremely proud of is our traditions of our forefathers,” Ligaliga said of Samoa, the first Pacific Island nation to gain independence on June 1, 1962. “Most of them were farmers. Sovereignty was important. We wanted our own identity.” The event brought Nevada Guardsmen together with representatives from the National Guard Bureau, Defense Security Cooperation University, the Institute of Security Governance and the Nevada Governor’s Office. The workshop focused on the Nevada National Guard’s newest partner nation through the Department of Defense National Guard Bureau State Partnership Program: Samoa. In 2023, Samoa joined the Kingdom of Tonga and the Republic of Fiji as Nevada’s third state partner in the program, which matches a sovereign nation with a state National Guard for mutually beneficial exchanges and partnerships. “We were very impressed by the quality of discussion and the presenters (for the two-day workshop),” said Maj. Kristina Roberts, NGB J-5, Indo-Pacific Command desk officer who attended the event. “This is a great first step helping establish the Samoa-Nevada partnership on the right foot. Understanding the culture is pivotal for any State Partnership Program.” Iati Iati, associate professor, School of History, Political Science and International Relations, Victoria University of Wellington, also spoke on the importance of understanding geopolitical competition and regional conflicts throughout Oceania. “I think it went spectacularly well,” said Maj. Dustin Petersen, Nevada National Guard SPP director. “From a professional standpoint, we had a good workout, to use a gym term. This week’s event helped professionalize our SPP force quite a bit by bringing in experts on the culture from Samoa. Working with ISG and DSCU was also very important to our success with this week’s workshop.” Samoa (known as “Western Samoa” until 1997) is an archipelago consisting of two main islands, Upolu and Savai’i, and seven smaller islands. It has about 200,000 people, with roughly 75 percent of them residing in the capital city of Apia. Samoa was a German protectorate before World War I and was occupied unopposed by New Zealand in 1914. In 1962, Samoa became the first Polynesian nation to establish independence in the 20th century. Its official languages are Samoan and English. Each partnership works through mutually beneficial exchanges between nations and state National Guards. Given that Samoa does not have a state military force, future engagements in Samoa will focus on a whole-of-government approach incorporating outside military state agencies. One exchange scheduled for this year is set to focus on medical readiness, Petersen said. The SPP began in 1993 with 13 partners following the end of the Cold War. Thirty-one years later, it includes 92 partnerships with 106 nations and is a key U.S. security cooperation tool that facilitates collaboration across all aspects of civil-military affairs.
 SHARE
 PRINT
 More about the State Partnership Program
 Nevada National Guard
 State Partnership Program
 Samoa
 Tennessee Guard Participates in Thracian Warrior Exercise State Partnership Program • 5 hours ago
 Malaysia, Washington Guard Strengthen Partnership at Bersama Warrior 2024 State Partnership Program • 6 hours ago
 Illinois Army Guard Takes on Exercise Immediate Response State Partnership Program • 5 days ago
 Washington National Guardsman Reconnects with Palauan Roots State Partnership Program • 6 days ago
 Washington Guard, Malaysia Conduct Air Assault Exchange State Partnership Program • 6 days ago
 2024 (66)  2023 (157)  2022 (128)  2021 (77)  2020 (50)  2019 (87)  2018 (75)  2017 (52)  2016 (47)  2015 (48)  2014 (65)  2013 (47)  2012 (68)  2011 (64)  2010 (71)  2009 (3)  2008 (11)
 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