Massachusetts National Guard and Paraguay deepen partnership with leadership exchange

Noncommissioned officers from the Massachusetts National Guard and the Paraguayan Armed Forces gathered Sept. 15-18 for a professional development event focused on building leadership skills to guide formations, support leaders and care for troops.

Sixty members of the Paraguayan Armed Forces took part in the bilateral engagement, which capped more than three years of coordination and collaboration among senior enlisted leaders from both sides. The event highlighted a partnership that began in 2001 between the Massachusetts National Guard and Paraguay through the State Partnership Program.

Senior NCOs from Massachusetts led presentations and discussions on motivation, stress management, change management and the role of NCOs in the military. Participants exchanged experiences, tackled shared challenges and compared best practices for leading troops.

By pairing presentations with open discussion entirely in Spanish, the engagement gave NCOs from both countries a chance to strengthen professional relationships.

“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.”

U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Brian Vargas, a cyber systems operations NCO assigned to the 102nd Intelligence Wing, said attendees brought a wide range of perspectives to the conversations. “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,” Vargas said.

The exchange centers on the mutual objective of professionalizing the enlisted force and expanding NCO development across both partner nations. By emphasizing decision-making, troop welfare and core leadership attributes and behaviors, organizers aimed to strengthen the capability and readiness of enlisted leaders.

“Sharing military bonds is foundational to human relationships and leadership structures that 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 engagement 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.”

Over 25 years, collaboration between the Massachusetts National Guard and Paraguay has evolved to address modern security challenges and meet the strategic objectives of Massachusetts, Paraguay and U.S. Southern Command.

Planning is underway for future State Partnership Program NCO professional development exchanges. This first NCO professional development engagement establishes the framework for subsequent joint training events aligned with the long-term bilateral security cooperation roadmap between Massachusetts and Paraguay.