DUSHANBE, Tajikistan –
Virginia National Guard Soldiers assigned to the Fort Belvoir-based 91st Cyber Brigade and the Virginia Army National Guard’s G6 section conducted a communications exchange with the Republic of Tajikistan March 25 – 29, 2024, in Dushanbe, Tajikistan.
The exchange was conducted in support of the Department of Defense‘s State Partnership program, in which Virginia and Tajikistan have been partners since 2003.
The exchange included Tajik participants from five different security and military components, including the Ministry of Defense, Border Patrol, National Guard, Ministry of Interior and the Committee of Emergency Situations, according to Maj. Isaac Rivera, the VNG’s SPP director.
“Each sector has specific use cases, radio equipment, and requirements for a solid communications infrastructure, and the exchange provided them an opportunity to learn from each other,” said Rivera.
The four signal and cyber-Soldiers from Virginia led the exchange, bringing with them an average of more than 18 years of signal, cyber and military police experience, discussing their current capabilities, issues, and processes. Discussions on communication best practices, communication plan development, training towards proficiencies, technical solutions and an overview and demonstration of specific radio systems took place during the five-day exchange.
“The exchange was instrumental in discussing interoperability among the different Tajikistan branches and helping them understand the technical capabilities available to overcome challenges in their current infrastructure,” said Rivera. “The best practices discussed included organizational management, radio discipline, training plans, secrets and key rotations. Demonstrating technologies allowed insight into the future direction of secure and reliable communications.”
Rivera said the Tajikistan contingent participating in the exercise were able to benefit from the event.
“The collective agreement among the Tajik participants was that there is always room for the development and implementation of processes,” he said. “The passion of the exchange participants was influential and motivational to continue to improve.”
In July 2023, the VNG and Tajikistan celebrated the 20th anniversary of their formal partnership in the State Partnership Program, which itself just celebrated its 30-year anniversary. The relationship has benefitted all parties, from sharing subject matter expertise throughout 200 military-to-military engagements that help counter terrorism, deter violent extremism, expand emergency response capabilities, develop professionalism among leaders and staffs and promote shared values in national sovereignty and security.
Read more about the State Partnership Program at https://ngpa.us/24494.