Article by Mark Teel

Maryland and Estonia: a strong partnership

Since 1993, the U.S. National Guard State Partnership Program (SPP) has linked U.S. states and territories with partner countries for the purpose of fostering mutual interests and establishing long-term relationships across all levels of society.

Maryland and Estonia were two of the first partners, and in 2003 they celebrated the ten-year anniversary of their cooperation. Maryland and Estonia are natural partners since they are both coastal states with a large port city. In addition, Maryland's population includes a sizeable Estonian-American community. These factors, combined with active and sustained participation from both sides! Makes the Maryland-Estonia partnership one of the strongest in the State Partnership Program.

Over the past ten years, the Maryland-Estonia State Partnership Program has integrated military-to-military, civil-military, and civilian-to-civilian contacts into a successful network of events that supports the political and security cooperation goals of the United States. The vision behind this cooperation was to enable Estonia to become part of a community of free, stable, and prosperous countries acting together while respecting the dignity and rights of the individual.

U.S. security cooperation helps Estonia fulfill vital security needs and become a strong political and military ally.Less than ten years ago, two of Estonia's main foreign policy goals were to join NATO and the European Union. NATO and EU membership invitations demonstrate Estonia's achievements.

In the beginning, the purpose of the State Partnership Program was to strengthen military-to-military contacts between the Maryland National Guard and the Estonian Defense Forces. Teams of Maryland National Guard personnel and Estonians traveled back and forth over the years to discuss military topics as diverse as Officer and NCO professional development, civil-military cooperation, airbase security and operations, air cargo handling, military medicine, environmental protection, logistics, personnel, and finance.

Maryland National Guard personnel have participated in international exercises in Estonia such as Baltic Challenge in 1997, provided evaluators for Baltic Eagle in 2002, and provided medical personnel to assist with Resceur/Medceur in 2002.

The medical personnel involved In Resceur/Medceur addressed the medical needs of local residents while using the facilities of the U.S. hospital ship "Comfort" docked in Tallinn harbor for the exercise. In addition, Estonian personnel have attended annual training exercises with Maryland National Guard units, both in the U.S. and in Germany.

Over the course of its nine-year history, the former U.S. Military Liaison Team based in Tallinn was headed by five different Colonels from the Maryland National Guard. These individuals provided the basis for the state partnership program. Today, the Bilateral Affairs Officer, who works as part of the U.S. Embassy's Office of Defense Cooperation, represents the Maryland National Guard in Tallinn.

A number of activities

The National Guard's dual mission of providing support to both federal and state level governments creates a unique ability to integrate military cooperation, with civil-military and even civilian-to-civilian cooperation. The Maryland National Guard has also provided extensive information on its role in civil-military cooperation to members of the Estonian Ministry of Defense, the Defense Forces, the Defense League, the Rescue Board, the Border Guard, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The Maryland National Guard has passed on its experience in providing military support to civilian agencies in the areas of crisis management, disaster response and dealing with threats from weapons of mass destruction.

The Estonian Defense League has also expressed interest in learning more about the Maryland National Guard's programs to provide guidance for at-risk youth. The Estonian Defense League has provided strong support, including office space for the former Military Liaison Team and the current Bilateral Affairs Officer, for both the military and civilian goals of U.S.- Estonian cooperation. By working with the broad spectrum of military and civil-military Estonian agencies responsible for providing assistance in disaster response and crisis management, the Maryland National Guard has promoted inter-agency cooperation within Estonia, as well as cooperation between Estonia and the U.S.

Partner cities

Paide Tower

A Maryland small town Westminster and an Estonian town Paide have been most active in the Partner City Program, Several official exchange visits have been made and there are even bigger plans for the future. There is more than one thing uniting these small towns: limestone heritage, prominent Lutheran church, clean tree-lined streets, etc. Westminster is in fact considering naming one of their streets "Paide Street".

Partner cities

The dual role of the traditional National Guard citizen-soldier also provides Maryland with a solid foundation for expanding its state partnership to include civilian-to-civilian cooperation. In supporting civilian-to-civilian cooperation, the Maryland National Guard has focused on five areas: 1) partner cities, 2) educational development, 3) at-risk youth, 4) medical cooperation, and 5) economic development.

So far, ten Estonian cities have been paired with ten Maryland cities. These pairs include Tallinn and Annapolis, Tapa and Cumberland, Valga and Oakland, Otepaa and McHenry, Sillamae and Havre de Grace, Torva and Grantsville, Viljandi and Frostburg, Tartu and Salisbury, Paide and Westminster, and Parnu and Ocean City.

The National Guard has funded several initial visits between city leaders as well as providing coordination assistance in order to build the foundations for these partner city relationships. The Westminster and Paide partner city relationship, one of the strongest, has benefited from the efforts of a Master Sergeant in the Maryland National Guard, who just happens to also work in the Westminster city government. Representatives from the Westminster city government helped organize a partner city conference in Paide in February, 2003, and they will also help conduct a community foundation workshop there in July 2003. Over thirty people, representing eleven Estonian cities and including the U.S. Embassy's Deputy Chief of Mission, attended the Partner City Conference in February, which included presentations by the American Chamber of Commerce and the League of Estonian Cities. By coordinating the efforts of the U.S. Embassy with government officials and non-governmental organizations in Maryland and Estonia, the Maryland National Guard has maximized the opportunities available for increasing bilateral interaction and cooperation.

Civilian-to-civilian cooperation has not been limited to partner cities. Educational cooperation has led to creation of the Maryland Baltic Education Consortium. Recent visits by professors from Garrett College and the University of Baltimore have received support from the Maryland National Guard and the U.S. Embassy. Garrett College and the University of Baltimore have recruited Estonian students. A representative from Tartu University traveled to Maryland to visit Harford Community College to discuss the community college system, which does not exist in Estonia, as well as more general education cooperation between Maryland and Estonia. Another event brought one representative from the Estonian Business School to visit the University of Baltimore and the College of Southern Maryland. Outside of education, at-risk youth provides another important avenue for cooperation. A retired Estonian military officer was brought to Maryland to learn more about the Maryland National Guard's programs for at-risk youth, including the "Freestate ChalleNGe" and "About Face" programs. It is expected that sometime in the future four Estonian Defense League members will travel to Maryland for some first hand observations, before implementing a similar program in Estonia.

More to come in the future

The Maryland National Guard leadership and the U.S. Embassy have provided direction, coordination and support for the various cooperation activities within the Maryland-Estonia state partnership program. In order to conduct and support these events, funding has been received from the Joint Contact Team Program, the National Guard Bureau's Minuteman Fellows program, various U.S. government and non-government organizations including the U.S. Embassy, and the Maryland National Guard itself. The program has benefited from integrating a variety of agencies and organizations, which include military-to-military, civil-military and civilian-to-civilian. The potential of the Maryland-Estonia State Partnership Program is limitless, and the next ten years should witness continued growth and development in all aspects of the Maryland- Estonia relationship.

Major Mark Teel is from the Maryland National Guard