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When
pro-democracy forces compelled former Serbian President Slobodan
Milosevic to relinquish power in October 2000, the seeds for a shared
form of government slowly began to take root in the country. In the wake
of devastation wrought by years of regional conflict, vital
infrastructure was destroyed and those left behind began the monumental
task of putting a politically and economically fragile country back
together.
Some six years later, Serbia is looking to the future with the help of
the Ohio National Guard.
On Sept. 8, one day after signing a Status of Forces Agreement with the
U.S. government, Serbian President Boris Tadić visited Ohio to discuss a
planned partnership through the National Guard State Partnership
Program.
The partnership program was established in 1993, following the collapse
of Communism and the disintegration of the Soviet Union, when National
Guard leaders recognized a unique opportunity to contribute to peace and
stability in the emerging democratic nations. Since its inception,
National Guards from 42 states, two territories and the District of
Columbia have participated in the program, partnering with countries
worldwide.
“It is a new page of our history in the relations between two states,”
Tadić said. “We are going to open a new door, new opportunities in all
kinds of cooperation.”
Ohio was chosen to sponsor Serbia due to its large Serbian population of
nearly 200,000, concentrated in the northern region of the state. Ohio
has also been partnered with Hungary, Serbia’s neighbor to the north,
since 1993.
Through the program, members of the Ohio National Guard will travel to
Serbia, where they will help military leaders establish a reserve
military force that functions much like the U.S. National Guard –
helping in domestic emergencies and disaster relief and serving as
augmentees to the active-duty forces.
Once the initial military aspects of the agreement are under way, the
program shifts into a “citizen” training role. Program administrators
then begin to focus on education, economic development, small business
administration and other aspects affecting the country’s
Citizen-Soldiers, including how to balance military life with civilian
careers.
Following a brief ceremony to announce the planned partnership, Tadić
spent the day with senior Ohio leadership, including Maj. Gen. Gregory
L. Wayt, Ohio adjutant general, discussing concerns including force
structure and disaster response.
Tadić expressed keen interest in the National Guard’s response to
Hurricane Katrina, an unprecedented deployment of troops in terms of
time and manpower. He said he envisioned his reserve forces serving in
similar situations.
Lt. Gen. H Steven Blum, chief, National Guard Bureau, explained how
events on the devastated Gulf Coast came together, the interstate mutual
assistance agreements and the teleconference that set the wheels in
motion.
“Many federal organizations have been criticized in their response to
Hurricane Katrina,” Blum said. “But the National Guard is one of the
organizations that received no complaints as to how we responded.
Everybody remembers New Orleans, but the National Guard was in Texas,
Mississippi and Alabama as well.”
Wayt noted it was Ohio National Guardmembers who were initially
airlifted into the Louisiana Superdome to assist in its evacuation.
Tadić was also introduced to the Ohio National Guard’s senior
noncommissioned officers, State Command Sgt. Maj. William Gilliam (Army)
and State Chief Master Sergeant Christopher Muncy (Air).
“These are my two senior NCOs in the state,” Wayt said. “They’re my
right hands on the Air and Army side.”
Wayt plans to visit Serbia later this month to begin cooperative
efforts. Muncy and Gilliam also plan to visit to help develop the NCO
corps in the Serbian military.