Maine–Montenegro National Guard Partnership

[3] The partnership aims to develop self-sustaining relationships between the Montenegrin Ministry of Defense and the Maine National Guard as well as various civilian organizations in order to exchange knowledge in areas such as emergency management and disaster response, border and port security, economic security, peacekeeping operations and counter terrorism.

Ultimately, Montenegro sought NATO membership and saw the SPP as the best possible route to achieving that goal.

They absolutely are desirous of being members of NATO, and they see the State Partnership Program being what they consider a fast-track for that," said LTG Blum, then Chief of the National Guard Bureau.

It was widely reported that the partnership offered numerous benefits to Montenegro, including emergency management, English language training for Montenegrin soldiers, officer and noncommissioned officer development, civilian student exchanges and the transformation of the Montenegrin military to an all-volunteer force.

[7] Each year, Maine and Montenegro conduct numerous joint exercises in both locations that span across educational, law enforcement, medical, military, and emergency preparedness endeavors.

Members of the Maine National Guard and the Military of Montenegro participate in a State Partnership Program event on 20 March 2014 focused on the Military Decision Making Process of logistics units.
Group photo at the 15 November 2010 bilateral defense consultation. This meeting defined upcoming events in the development of the Montenegrin armed forces.
Members of the Montenegrin Special Forces participate in a tactical capabilities demonstration at the Danilovgrad Training Center in Montenegro for Maine National Guard leaders.
Brig. Gen. James Campbell, adjutant general for the Maine Army National Guard examines one of the recently acquired weapons for the Montenegrin Naval Forces.
5 members of the Montenegrin Military's cyber defense team meet Maine Governor Paul LePage on 7 November 2013 during the Vigilant Guard 14 Exercise. The large-scale event tested local, state, and federal disaster response capabilities from chemical defense to crowd control to cyber defense.
LTG Blum greets members of the Montenegrin Special Forces after their tactical capabilities demonstration at the Danilovgrad Training Center in Montenegro.