Explicit Partnership with the National Guard

By: Arméstaben – 9 April 2025 kl: 14.42

Since the SPP agreement was signed last summer, the Swedish Armed Forces have hosted several visits from the New York National Guard – most recently, Major General Michel Natali and his delegation, who showed particular interest in the Swedish Armed Forces' ability to conduct river crossings.
"This is really a start point for us and a conjunction with the Swedish army. We’ve found some points of common effort that we can pursue in the future for our mutual readiness", says major general Natali.

Nationalgardet från New York/New Jersey besöker Ing 2 vid Dalälven
Nationalgardet från New York/New Jersey besöker Ing 2 vid Dalälven
Major General Michel Natali Photo: Martina Gustafsson/Försvarsmakten
Nationalgardet från New York/New Jersey besöker Ing 2 vid Dalälven
Däcksbro 300 Photo: Martina Gustafsson/Försvarsmakten
Nationalgardet från New York/New Jersey besöker Ing 2 vid Dalälven
The American delegation met with Colonel Emelie Liberg, commander of the Göta Engineer Regiment Photo: Martina Gustafsson/Försvarsmakten
Nationalgardet från New York/New Jersey besöker Ing 2 vid Dalälven
The Major General with officers from the Göta Engineer Regiment Photo: Martina Gustafsson/Försvarsmakten

The American visit took place as part of the State Partnership Program (SPP), which specifically means that a U.S. state’s National Guard and the armed forces of a selected country are paired together to build relationships aimed at enhancing the capabilities of both parties. For the Swedish Armed Forces, this meant cooperation with ‘the Empire State’, that is, the state of New York and its National Guard, which has around 16,000 soldiers.

Cooperation on capabilities

Much of the cooperation involves exchanging capabilities. One such capability that the Göta Engineer Regiment excels at is what is known in military terms as "wet gap crossing" – a critical skill, for example, for a mechanized brigade looking to advance in the Nordic region. Therefore, a visit to Dalälven was on the programme as the Göta Engineer Regiment was training this there.

"Our state has an engineer battalion with no bridging capability. So our engineers are primary horisontal engineers, they build roads, they do route clearence. We also have vertical engineers and combat engwhich are more engaged in construction of structures. The Göta Engineer Regiment bridging capability combined with our horisontal and vertical engineering capabilities would complement one another", says major general Natali.

Collaboration is key

During the visit, Major General Natali also met with Deputy Army Commander Per Nilsson to discuss Sweden's first year in NATO and how the Swedish army plans to double its size. Further and more in-depth cooperation between the Swedish army and the New York National Guard was also discussed.
"Sweden is Nato's newest member and I feel that our collaboration will just enhance Sweden’s integration moving forward."