Guard members make up 20 percent of the U.S. personnel needed for the small expert visits abroad. Sometimes the visits take on as much a diplomatic flavor as a military one. This summer, for example, the Illinois National Guard arrived for an exchange in Poland with a delegation of 55 of the state's civic and financial leaders. Team members routinely have greater access and contact with foreign military leaders than the defense attaches assigned to U.S. embassies. Some analysts say the JCTP is an example of how the Pentagon is eclipsing the State Department as the most visible agent of U.S. foreign policy overseas.
Engagement is easier for the military.
We have the infrastructure and the educational programs. The military has the ability to move around and we have the resources. Where the U.S. military's influence has taken hold, the impact can be pervasive. Kestutis Kurselis recently watched as a platoon of recruits moved toward a mock enemy camp. The camouflage, that's American.