The signing ceremony, at the military level, of the Declaration of Intent between the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Cyprus and the National Guard of the State of New Jersey of the United States of America, which inaugurated the inclusion of the National Guard in the State Partnership Program, took place today at the Presidential Palace. (SPP).
The Declaration of Intent was signed by the Chief of the National Guard Lieutenant General Dimokritos Zervakis and the Commander of the National Guard of the State of New Jersey Brigadier General Lisa J. Hou, in the presence of the Minister of Defense Mr. Michalis Giorgalla and the Ambassador of the United States of America to Cyprus Ms. Julie Fisher, in in the context of an official visit to Cyprus by officials of the State of New Jersey from March 28 to 30, 2023.
The ceremony was attended by the former Minister of Defense of the Republic of Cyprus, Mr. Charalambos Petridis, political and military leadership, high-ranking officials of the State of New Jersey, as well as the Director of European and NATO Affairs of the USA, Mr. Andrew L. Winternitz.
Through the State Partnership Program, the partnership between the New Jersey National Guard and the National Guard is initiated. The goals of the cooperation, among others, are to develop expertise and capabilities in specific military areas such as communications, intelligence, cyber defense, medical procedures, explosive device disposal, military, personnel training, leadership development, disaster response support, and research. and rescue.
Let us recall that on Thursday, January 05, 2023, the Chief of the National Guard, Lt. Gen. Demokritos Zervakis, had a telephone conversation with Brigadier General Lisa J. Hou, of the New Jersey National Guard, Chief Officer for the State Partnership Program (SPP). , between the National Guard and the State of New Jersey.
This is essentially another step in closer cooperation between Cyprus and the USA, which in recent months have given tangible signs of a shift in their policy in the Eastern Mediterranean.
A turn that brings them closer to Nicosia and further away from Ankara.
The most symbolic move in recent months was the lifting of the arms embargo to the Republic of Cyprus, while the move by the US to send stealth fighters stationed in Crete to fly over the occupied Karpasia of Cyprus based on a NOTAM issued by the Cypriot Authorities.
It is also no coincidence that the ongoing military cooperation between the National Guard and the US Armed Forces.
From February 11 to 17, 2023, the small-scale special operations exercise named "SILVER FALCON SOFEX" was co-organized by the National Guard and the Armed Forces (AF) of the United States of America, as part of the wider exercise "SILVER FALCON - 2023". - 2023", with the participation of personnel and means of the US Air Force Command and the European Command of the US ED (USEUCOM).
The broader purpose of the exercise was the co-training of the staff in dealing with emergencies and especially those related to crisis management and civilian evacuation support operations. In particular, the scenario of "SILVER FALCON SOFEX - 2023" included various types of individual and group combat fire - heavy weapons, basic instructions of patrol operations and tactical movements of units in various scenarios, as well as staff practice in operations to clear a fortified location.
