SC&RE Conducts Seminar for the West Virginia National Guard to Support State Partnership with Qatar - Defense Security Cooperation University

The Security Cooperation & Regional Education (SC&RE) program conducted a state partnership program workshop for the West Virginia National Guard (WVNG) and attending Qatari delegate from 5-7 February 2019. The seminar aimed to enhance the understanding of the WVNG of the historical and socio-political context of their partner and the unique characteristics of the Qatari Armed Forces along with other areas of cooperation.

The participants remained engaged through the two days. The Commander, MG Hoyer, made several key points to place the faculty’s comments in context of their mission and to highlight the capabilities of the WVNG that could meet requirements of Qatar. They extended their support for planning and supporting Qatar in providing security for the 2022 world soccer cup to be hosted in Qatar. The Qatari delegate from the Ministry of Interior, in turn, welcomed the participants to Qatar and looked forward to working with WVNG on all areas of cooperation.

The West Virginia National Guard (WVNG) and Qatar formalized the establishment of their state partnership in May 2018. Through the partnership with Qatar, the WVNG seeks to “increase military and diplomatic cooperation, develop and expand defense capabilities and mutually beneficial training interactions.” In addition, the leadership noted that the “state and country will work to increase interoperability of forces and deter and disrupt criminal and terrorist activities in the region.”

SC&RE brought together a diverse group of subject matter experts from academia to dialogue with participants and program experts from the National Guard Bureau, and U.S. Central Command, Army Central Command. The scholars reviewed the complexities of conflicts in the region and considered the interests of Qatar.

The Center for Civil Military Relations has been conducting orientations for newly established state partnerships each year, since 2004, under the direction of the National Guard Bureau. To find out more about the CCMR state partnership educational program, contact: ccmrinfo@nps.edu