Massachusetts Guard, Paraguay build trust through leadership exchange

ASUNCION, Paraguay - Sixty members of the Paraguayan Armed Forces attended a noncommissioned officer professional development event in partnership with the Massachusetts National Guard Sept. 15-18.

The bilateral engagement capped more than three years of coordination and collaboration among senior enlisted leaders from Massachusetts and Paraguay. Organizers designed the multiday event to build the essential leadership skills noncommissioned officers need to guide their formations, support their leaders and care for their troops.

Senior NCOs from the Massachusetts National Guard gave presentations and facilitated discussions about motivation, stress management, change management and the important role of NCOs in the military. Throughout the engagement, participants and presenters shared experiences, discussed challenges and exchanged best practices for leading troops.

"For me, the most important and significant lesson on leadership was that of trust," said Miguel Sanchez, an NCO in the Paraguayan Army. "Trust builds beyond a brotherhood; it builds to efficiently accomplish the mission. For me, this lesson touched me very deeply, because I see the real personal value that I have in my role."

By pairing presentations with open discussions conducted entirely in Spanish, the event gave NCOs from both countries an opportunity to strengthen professional relationships.

U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Brian Vargas, a cyber systems operations NCO assigned to the 102nd Intelligence Wing, said everyone who attended willingly participated and brought insightful stories and perspectives.

"We had different career fields, from special forces and combat engineers to aircraft crew chiefs and engine mechanics. The different points of view made the discussions insightful and meaningful," said Vargas.

The NCOPD initiative centers on the mutual objective of professionalizing the enlisted force and expanding NCO development in both partner nations. By focusing on decision-making, troop welfare, and leadership attributes and behaviors, the engagement aimed to strengthen the capabilities and readiness of enlisted leaders.

"Sharing military bonds is foundational to human relationships and leadership structures that a make a military unit effective," said U.S. Army Master Sgt. Hercules Lobo, an infantry leader in the Massachusetts Army National Guard. "The NCOs bond together as the backbone of leadership by turning orders into tactical actions. They are the trainers and mentors to junior service members, guardians of the welfare of their soldiers, airmen and sailors and enforcers of standards to uphold discipline, traditions and daily military standards. NCOs are the primary architects of a strong military."

For the presenters, the bilateral exchange also reinforced core military principles.

"What I took away was that this State Partnership relationship should be one of the top priorities for the Massachusetts National Guard," said Vargas. "The Paraguayan military was so grateful in us being there, and I feel like we can help them grow even more. In collaborating with them, I myself am reinforcing the values instilled in me throughout my career and in my professional military education."

The engagement highlights the enduring partnership between Massachusetts and Paraguay through the Department of War National Guard Bureau State Partnership Program. For more than 25 years, collaboration between the partners has evolved to address modern security challenges and support the strategic objectives of Massachusetts, Paraguay and U.S. Southern Command.

Planning is underway for future State Partnership Program NCOPD exchanges. The first NCOPD engagement established a framework for subsequent joint training events aligned with the long-term bilateral security cooperation roadmap between Massachusetts and Paraguay.