During his meeting with Slovenian Defense Minister Andreja Katič at the Pentagon today, Defense Secretary James N. Mattis thanked the minister for her country's friendship and security partnership with the United States and NATO.
Slovenia is a participant in the National Guard Bureau-managed State Partnership Program, which began in 1991. The program includes 73 security partnerships involving 79 nations worldwide. States' National Guard organizations partner with the armed forces or equivalent of a participant country in a mutually beneficial, cooperative security relationship.
Slovenia declared independence from the former Yugoslavia on June 25, 1991. In 1993, the National Guard Bureau chose Colorado's National Guard to partner with Slovenia as part of the State Partnership Program.
On March 29, 2004, Slovenia joined NATO.
On Feb. 3, 2016, Katič approved the deployment of Slovenian troops to Irbil, Iraq, as part of the coalition's campaign to defeat the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.
American-Slovenian Bond
During his meeting with Katič, Mattis praised “the bond that's been formed between Slovenia and the United States since your nation gained its independence in 1991. And I think that's a bond that's strengthened by our shared commitment to democracy, and of course, the trans-Atlantic unity is shown in the NATO alliance.”
Mattis thanked Slovenia for its participation in…
