Illinois National Guard’s state partnership signing ceremony earlier this year “highlights the strength of NATO and the enduring alliance between Portugal and the United States,” according to the state’s adjutant general.
Maj. Gen. Rodney Boyd, adjutant general of Illinois and commander of the Illinois National Guard, formally signed the agreement in January of this year — but the newest National Guard State Partnership Program (SPP) between the two armed forces has been years in the collaborative making.
“The conversation started several years ago within the State Department,” said Maj. Andrew Ducker, the ILNG SPP director. “We decided to submit for the partnership with Portugal because we knew we could facilitate their capability requests, but also because it’s partner-building, not just us providing. Everything is an exchange.”
The SPP began in the early 1990s as a way to strengthen military readiness and capabilities of both the U.S. and its partnering nations while also cementing international ties and relations. Ran by the National Guard Bureau, the program has netted 107 partnerships with 116 nations around the world thus far.
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ILNG began its debut SPP partnership with the eastern European nation of Poland in 1993. It proved fruitful enough that when the chance to connect with Portugal appeared, ILNG leaders jumped at the chance, learning of their successful pairing in 2025. The agreement was formalized by the Ministry of National Defense of the Portuguese Republic and the ILNG with a January 12 ceremony in Lisbon.
“It was fantastic,” said Ducker, who attended in person. “The Portuguese were very excited for this new partnership and wanted to get straight after the work.”
One of the first major goals of the partnership involves each nation’s cybersecurity defenses, and the growth is already underway. Some Portuguese soldiers, for example, attended the most recent Cyber Shield, the DOW’s largest annual unclassified cyber defense exercise, alongside the ILNG. Other training areas planned include medical readiness and disaster relief — a major reason why wildfire-prone Portugal signed up for SPP in the first place. And though Illinois doesn’t see many major fires, they are able to call upon other states’ National Guard units when necessary to help meet their SPP partner’s needs.
“We brought in Idaho [National Guard] and held some virtual conferences with them, as well as Idaho civilian authorities,” Ducker said. “We have started working that collaboration to bring over some subject matter experts to help Portugal in preparation for wildfires.” To that end, each nation will take turns sending guardsmen back and forth to the other for trainings, meetings, exercises and more multiple times a year.
Boyd pointed out that, like real-life relationships, every SPP partnership differs slightly from the next. Poland, for example, shares an eastern border with Russia. War and everything accompanying it, then, are constantly in modern play, unlike Portugal, which only shares a border with Spain, another American ally.
“We’re going to send engineers over to Poland next year to help them as they are thinking about building a wall across their eastern flank,” Boyd said. “Whereas you look at Portugal, they don’t face so much of a threat, but they still have some needs with domestic disaster response, and search and rescue. Because we’re such a select organization, we can accommodate both our [SPP] partners in their needs.”
Portuguese military leaders similarly hold the ILNG in high regard.
“We are confident this is a significant step forward,” said Chief of Staff of the Portuguese Armed Forces Gen. José Nunes da Fonseca in a press release. “It represents a commitment by two allied nations that share responsibilities in promoting cooperation, collective security and international stability. Both the Illinois National Guard and the Portuguese Armed Forces will be committed and proud to serve together in honor of the United States of America and Portugal.”
Boyd added that the partnership is critical for NATO.
“Together, the Illinois National Guard and the Portuguese Armed Forces remain prepared to deter threats to NATO security now and in the future,” Boyd said in earlier reporting.