As partners since 1995 under the US National Guard Bureau's State Partnership Program (SPP), Montana National Guard and the Kyrgyz Republic have focused on counter-narcotics and non-commissioned officer training and development.

The SPP enables partner nations and National Guard units to conduct joint exercises and military-to-military engagements.

The partnerships also serve as a forum for intercultural dialogue and as an opportunity for expertise sharing between Guard units and the militaries of partner countries.

The program evolved from the US European Command Joint Contact Team Program, which furnished former Soviet republics with US reserve component soldiers and airmen to aid in building and training militaries compatible with the growing and vibrant democracies.

Each US state or territory has its own National Guard unit, all 54 of which partner with at least one other nation as part of the SPP. As of May, the US National Guard is maintaining 89 partnerships with 106 partner nations.

Kyrgyz-Montana partnership

Montana has hosted training exercises that include forces from both Kyrgyzstan and other Central and South Asian nations.

These multinational exercises build relationships between nations as well as the individual service members participating in the program. They enhance global military coordination and operational military planning.

In June, the Montana Army and Air National Guard partnered with Kyrgyzstan for exercise Ak Shumkar 2025, focused on expanding partnerships and increasing interoperability among partner forces throughout Central Asia.

The Kyrgyz-led exercise covered various topics, including humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, aeromedical evacuation, search and rescue and border security.

In August 2023, Montana National Guard hosted Exercise Regional Cooperation 23 in Helena, Montana, with more than 230 participants from the United States, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

The 10-day exercise included a class on the Military Decision Making Process and a six-day, brigade-level Command Post Exercise (CPX).

The CPX simulated a scenario that included an unstable, fictitious nation and conflicting, fictitious entities.

Participants from all countries were integrated into staff sections and, aided by interpreters, worked together on border security, providing humanitarian aid, countering weapons of mass destruction and ensuring interagency cooperation.

Farm in the Dell International

The Montana-based NGO Farm in the Dell International (FDI) focuses on building sustainable farms that provide both homes and work for individuals with disabilities.

In the early 2000s, the Montana National Guard and FDI collaborated with Kyrgyzstan to build a home in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, for the developmentally disabled.

Montana guardsmen provided flights, supplies and labor to construct the home and train and assist the local community.

The home has now stood for more than two decades as a continuing symbol of international cooperation and the success of the SPP.