Kentucky National Guard Selected to Partner with Republic of Djibouti Published May 21, 2015 By Kentucky National Guard Public Affairs Kentucky Nation Guard Public Affairs FRANKFORT, Ky. -- The Kentucky National Guard has been selected as the U.S. partner to East Africa's Republic of Djibouti for the National Guard's State Partnership Program. Through the SPP, the Kentucky Guard will conduct military-to-military engagements in support of defense security cooperation goals. The program also works to strengthen partner nation's domestic response capabilities. The State Partnership Program is administered by the National Guard Bureau and guided by U.S. Department of State foreign policy goals. The SPP has been successfully building relationships for over 20 years involving 74 nations around the globe. With the inclusion of Djibouti, the National Guard will have 69 state partnerships in 75 countries. Djibouti is Kentucky's second partnership program. The Ecuador-Kentucky SPP was formalized in 1996. Since its inception, the partnership has completed 66 exchange events with Ecuador ranging from security, maintenance, emergency management, and Army and Air Force aviation. The Kentucky Guard's recent security rotation to Djibouti helped lay the groundwork for future SPP events. "During our deployment to Djibouti, our Kentucky Guardsmen were fantastic ambassadors to our global neighbors," stated Kentucky's Adjutant General, Maj. Gen. Edward Tonini. "We're honored to be selected for this SPP mission. We look forward to future operations with the Republic of Djibouti."