State Partnership Program The National Guard State Partnership Program ( SPP ) is a United States Department of Defense program managed by the National Guard that links U . S . States with partner countries around the world for the purpose of supporting the security cooperation objectives of the geographic Combatant Commanders . By linking U . S . states with designated partner countries , the SPP aims to promote access , enhance military capabilities , improve interoperability and enhance the principles of responsible governance . Furthermore , the SPP aims to support several areas of potential interest to the US Congress , such as : All SPP activities are coordinated through the geographic Combatant Commanders , the U . S . Ambassadors ' country teams , the partner State , and other agencies as appropriate , to ensure that National Guard support is tailored to meet both U . S . and country objectives . Specifically , all activities must support the Theater Campaign Plan ( TCP ) as well as individual U . S . Ambassador mission plans in the countries where they operate . The unique civil - military nature of the National Guard allows active participation in a wide range of security cooperation activities , such as : History . As the Soviet Union disintegrated between 1989 and 1991 , U . S . government officials explored options to minimize instability and encourage democratic governments in the former Soviet bloc nations . One effort to address these policy goals was to expand military - to - military contacts with the newly independent states of Central and Eastern Europe to promote subordination to civilian leadership , respect for human rights , and a defensively oriented military posture . At the time , most of these newly independent states had militaries that were based on the Soviet model and focused on countering threats from NATO nations . Sparking the program was a request from the Latvian government for help in developing a military based on the National Guard ’ s citizen - soldier model . Army Gen . Colin Powell , chairman of the Joint Chiefs at the time and Army General John Shalikashvili , then European Command ( EUCOM ) commander , embraced the concept as a way to build partnerships with non - NATO countries in the region as they established democratic governments and market economies . The United States EUCOM took the lead in this effort by establishing the Joint Contact Team Program ( JCTP ) in 1992 . The JCTP was originally composed of active component personnel and included members of the special forces because of their language skills . However , when the JCTP began to engage the Baltic nations of Latvia , Estonia , and Lithuania , senior defense officials insisted that National Guard and Reserve personnel play a leading role in any military liaison teams operating in those countries , apparently in response to those governments ’ desire to establish reserve - centric defense establishments and to assuage Russian concerns about U . S . expansion into its former satellites . “ The U . S . was trying to engage with the former communist nations that were in the Warsaw Pact , and using active duty troops might have been a little too offensive to the Russians or the folks that were in there , so the idea was to use the small footprint of National Guard troops , ” said Air Force Col . Joey Booher , Chief of International Affairs for the National Guard Bureau . In November 1992 , Lieutenant General John Conaway , the Chief of the National Guard Bureau , and Brigadier General Thomas Lennon , head of the JCTP , visited the Baltics . A few months after their trip , in early 1993 , the National Guard initiated the first state partnerships : Maryland - Estonia , Michigan - Latvia , and Pennsylvania - Lithuania . Additional partnerships were proposed later in 1993 for Albania , Belarus , Bulgaria , the Czech Republic , Hungary , Kazakhstan , Romania , Poland , Slovakia , Slovenia , and Ukraine . The SPP assisted the JCTP by providing additional personnel , funding , and access to military personnel from U . S . ethnic - heritage communities who often had relevant language and cultural skills . Today , 50 U . S . states , two territories , and the District of Columbia are partnered with 65 countries around the world . Two bilateral relationships also exist between NGB and Israel and between Minnesota and Norway . Current partnerships . The State Partnership Program consists of 65 State / Country partnerships within the six combatant commands . The following is a list of each relationship with the year they were formed in parenthesis . Note : USNORTHCOM currently maintains one SPP relationship ; Rhode Island / Bahamas ( 2005 ) Benefits of the SPP . In a U . S . Government Accountability Office ( GAO ) Report to Congressional Committees published in May 2012 , State Partnership Program stakeholders , including State Partnership Program Coordinator s , Bilateral Affairs Officer s , and Combatant Command officials , cited benefits of the program as follows : Statutory authority . The SPP has no dedicated statutory authority ; rather , SPP activities are currently carried out under one or more Title 10 ( Armed Forces ) , Title 32 ( National Guard ) and National Defense Authorization Act authorities that are related to the types of missions conducted . The main authorities that may be used by SPP are : For SPP events conducted overseas , National Guard members are placed in a duty status by orders issued under the authority of 10 U . S . C . 12301 . For SPP events conducted within the United States , National Guard members are placed in a duty status by orders issued under 32 U . S . C . 502 . This permits the participating members to receive appropriate military pay and benefits . Funding mechanisms . Current funding for SPP activities includes the pay and allowances for the National Guard participants , which are normally funded by the Army and Air National Guard Personnel accounts of DOD appropriations . However , those who serve overseas full - time in support of the program have their pay and allowances covered by the active component Army or Air Force Personnel account . Other significant costs for SPP are travel - related expenses , such as transportation , lodging , and meals . These expenses may be incurred by National Guard personnel or foreign military personnel participating in an SPP event . Such travel - related expenses are typically paid for out of one of the Operations and Maintenance ( O & M ) accounts , although some of the travel expenses for National Guard personnel may be paid out of Personnel accounts . This O & M funding has historically flowed to SPP through a number of programs and activities : External links . News articles News videos