DVIDS – News – Mr Hokansson discusses security cooperation in Ireland

DUBLIN (1/16/2024) – The Commander-in-Chief of the National Guard met with Irish Defense Force and Government leaders last week to discuss potential future security cooperation activities between the Republic of Ireland and the National Guard.

Gen. Daniel Hokanson, director of the National Guard Bureau, told officials that the 100-nation Department of Defense National Guard National Partnership Program is one of the most cost-effective security cooperation tools for the United States, and that both the United States and partner nations said it would benefit.

“By working together with like-minded partners, we can together make the world a safer place and advance our shared values,” Håkansson said.

Last July, Ireland’s Director-General Jackie McCrum met with Mr Håkansson during the Guards’ SPP 30th Anniversary event in Maryland to learn more about the program.

“One of the best things the Guards brings to our partner nations is continuity and familiarity,” Håkansson told McCrum at the Irish Department of Defence’s headquarters. “We have Guardsmen who live and serve in the same states and units throughout their careers, so they often work with international Guardsmen over long periods of time and develop lasting relationships.”

The relationship between the United States and Ireland has long been based on ties of common ancestry and shared values. Approximately 30 million Americans claim Irish heritage. The two countries share strong economic, educational and cultural ties.

Ireland’s policy of military neutrality is characterized by its long-standing independent foreign policy and lack of membership in military alliances or common or mutual defense agreements. Ireland is one of the five European Union countries that is not a member of NATO, but is a member of NATO’s Partnership for Peace and the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council.

Amid Russia’s unprovoked attack on Ukraine, Europe’s security prospects are bleak. This new reality has implications for how historically neutral countries view security cooperation with the United States and other allies.

“We have witnessed Russia’s blatant and brutal disregard for international law and Europe’s collective security architecture…and our traditional policy of military neutrality has challenged the need for us to respond to this new reality. It is not a hindrance,” said Michael Martin, Minister of State and Minister for the Tánaiste of Ireland. Foreign and defense officials from both countries said this when they announced the establishment of the Irish Consultative Forum on International Security Policy in April last year.

The Tánaiste is the deputy head of the Irish government, appointed by the President on the advice of the Taoiseach, Prime Minister of Ireland.

“We need to have a serious and honest conversation about the international security policy options available to us,” Martin said.

Håkansson believes that national partnership programs are one such possibility. Founded in 1993 to help former Soviet Union countries come out from behind the Iron Curtain, the program now has partner countries on every continent except Antarctica, and in each state, territory and District of Columbia. We are working with the National Guard.

Through SPP, Guard members conduct approximately 1,000 engagements annually in the United States and abroad.

In July 2022, Austria, a non-NATO and neutral country, will officially join the Nation Partnership Program, partnering with the Vermont National Guard, and last year calling it “a major success based on common security interests” by U.S. Ambassador to Austria Victoria Kennedy. We have established a partnership called “. ”

Speaking with Ireland’s Minister for European Affairs and Defense Peter Burke, Mr Hokansson explained that the National Partnership Program is not one-size-fits-all, but is scalable and adaptable to the needs of partner countries.

“It can be as much or as little as you want,” CNGB told Burke.

Emergency and disaster response is an area where Ireland and the Gardaí may be involved. Cyber ​​defense is another. In 2021, Ireland’s publicly funded healthcare system was hit by a major ransomware cyberattack, prompting the government to reconsider how it deals with these threats.

Hokansson pointed to the Guard’s cyber capabilities.

“Some of the best cyber forces in the Department of Defense reside in the National Guard,” he said. “Forty-two states have cyber units that can assist civilian authorities. One of the reasons they’re so good is because many of them bring the skills they learned in the civilian world to their military jobs.”

Irish Defense Force Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Sean Clancy told Mr Hokansson that the Irish Defense Force was committed to honing its culture and overhauling its structure. He also expressed the need for the Irish Armed Forces to be better prepared for defense and collective security, adding that there are challenges to integrating the Reserve in all areas where the CNGB sees the Guard as a suitable partner. said.

“As the second largest U.S. military organization after the Army, we continually review our force structure to ensure seamless compatibility between the Army and Air Force,” Hokansson said. “Currently, the Guard has eight Army divisions and 90 Air Force corps, both of which are the result of continued force design.”

Although SPPs begin at the military-to-military level, relationships across society often develop. Economic and policy exchanges, trade training opportunities, and university cooperation have developed through other partnerships.