[ETAN-key] Hawaii ties with Indonesia growing

[John M Miller]

Posted on: Friday, January 25, 2008

Isle ties with Indonesia growing

By <mailto:wcole at honoluluadvertiser.com>William Cole

Advertiser Military Writer

National Guard Bureau Chief Lt. Gen. H Steven Blum said yesterday 
that a program linking state Guard troops with other countries is 
growing and that partnerships with Pacific nations could be crucial.


Hawai'i National Guard soldiers will participate in a military 
exercise in Indonesia in April, the Southeast Asian nation will take 
part in a hurricane exercise here in March, and Indonesian 
noncommissioned and junior officers may train at Hawai'i National 
Guard facilities.

The military-to-military engagement is part of Hawai'i's emerging 
relationship with the world's largest Muslim country, and stems from 
the National Guard Bureau's efforts to link U.S. states with foreign countries.

Only four of the National Guard Bureau's 58 state partnership 
programs are in the Pacific, but that number is expected to grow, 
Army Lt. Gen. H Steven Blum, chief of the National Guard, said yesterday.

Speaking at the end of a two-day workshop in Hawai'i, Blum said a new 
partnership had been established between Bangladesh and Oregon, and 
he expects as many as five new partner nations in the next two years.

"The partnerships in the Pacific may be, in the long term, the most 
important that we have," Blum said, citing the region's increasing 
importance to global issues and economies.

Blum made his comments at the inaugural Pacific state partnership 
workshop, held at the Hilton Hawaiian Village.

The National Guard state adjutant generals from Hawai'i, Alaska and 
Washington state held a news conference with defense chiefs from 
Indonesia, Thailand, Mongolia and the Philippines.

Hawai'i established the relationship with Indonesia last year, and in 
June Gov. Linda Lingle traveled to Jakarta. Hawai'i and Guam also 
have partnerships with the Philippines.

Maj. Gen. Robert G.F. Lee, who heads the Hawai'i National Guard, 
yesterday said his soldiers will again participate in the Indonesian 
exercise Garuda Shield in April.

That will be followed by Indonesian military and civilian personnel 
traveling to Hawai'i in March for an annual hurricane exercise. Both 
exchanges will involve "small numbers" of personnel, he said.

Lee also said Brig. Gen. Erwin Barley, the Indonesian defense attache 
to the U.S., wanted non-commissioned and junior officers to train at 
the Guard's "warrior training center," and that the U.S. Pacific 
Command authorized the exchange.

About 80 U.S. soldiers, including some Hawai'i Guard soldiers, flew 
to Indonesia last April for Garuda Shield in a resumption of 
brigade-level, army-to-army training.

U.S. military ties with Indonesia were cut by the Clinton 
administration in 1999 over human rights concerns. The Bush 
administration restored full military relations with Indonesia in 2005.

The state partnership program was started in the early 1990s.

Blum said National Guard troops are effective because "they bring not 
only very, very fine military skills to the partnership, but each and 
every one of these citizen soldiers brings in civilian experience, 
civilian-acquired skills ... and the ability to interact with other people."

Reach William Cole at 
<mailto:wcole at honoluluadvertiser.com>wcole at honoluluadvertiser.com.



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John M. Miller         Internet: fbp at igc.org
National Coordinator
East Timor & Indonesia Action Network (ETAN)
PO Box 21873, Brooklyn, NY 11202-1873 USA
Phone: (718)596-7668      Fax: (718)222-4097
Mobile phone: (917)690-4391  Skype: john.m.miller
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