Blue Pacific Events Keep Nevada Bilateral Affairs Officer Busy

SUVA, Fiji - A glance at the packed schedule of events in July and this fall underlined the importance of a bilateral affairs officer in the Nevada National Guard.

For Nevada's longtime Army aviator, Maj. Zackary Taylor-Warren, a busy summer schedule provided little time to prepare only three months after taking the new position in Fiji. Nevada has three State Partnership Program nations in the strategically crucial South Pacific: Tonga, Fiji and Samoa.

"There is a lot more going on in the Blue Pacific than most people realize," he said.

Only three months into his new role, Taylor-Warren assisted a three-country tour for leaders of the Nevada National Guard, including Maj. Gen. Ondra Berry, Nevada adjutant general, and Brig. Gen. D. Rodger Waters, Nevada joint staff director.

On the docket: a visit for the King of Tonga's 65th birthday and the 50th anniversary of the Tongan Navy and a fleet review of ships from Australia, New Zealand, Tonga, Japan, China, Samoa and the United States.

While in Tonga, the team met with the Chief of Defence Staff for His Majesty's Armed Forces to discuss the partnership. The group also met key leaders in Wellington, New Zealand and visited the U.S. Embassy in Fiji, the Republic of Fiji Military Forces Territorial Forces Brigade and Fiji National University.

"This has definitely been the new experience I was looking for," Taylor-Warren said. "Every day brings a new challenge. The days are long, but I know that the work I am doing is meaningful to our partner nations."

Taylor-Warren's primary role as the BAO is the Soldier on the ground coordinating Nevada's State Partnership Program engagements. He also serves as the deputy chief for the U.S. Embassy Suva's Office of Defense Cooperation, focused on security assistance and cooperation in the Pacific region.

The Department of Defense National Guard Bureau State Partnership Program has built international relationships for more than 30 years and now includes 96 partnerships with 106 nations.

"Nevada's State Partnership is one of a few programs with three or more partner nations," Taylor-Warren said. "We are unique, however, in that our program is regional in nature, and we can leverage that to increase our effectiveness with each partner."

Taylor-Warren most recently worked as the Nevada Army National Guard's logistics management officer and CH-47 maintenance test pilot at the Army Aviation Support Facility in Stead, Nevada. Before that, he was the company commander of B Company, 1-189th General Support Aviation Battalion, and 2-147th Assault Helicopter Battalion's chief of operations during deployments to Iraq and Kuwait.

"I always knew that the State Partnership Program was active in Nevada and had even given tours of our Army Aviation Support Facility to our partners," he said. "When the opportunity to apply for BAO came up, I jumped at it."

That workload gets even busier as 56 nations prepare for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Apia, Samoa, Oct. 21-26.

According to CHOGM's website, Nevada's newest partner, Samoa, will be the first small island developing state from the Blue Pacific to host the group.

Additionally, the 53rd Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting will be hosted by Tonga and chaired by the Prime Minister of Tonga, Hon Hu'akavemeiliku Siaosi Sovaleni, Aug. 26-30.

"From the moment he took over his duties as the BAO, Maj. Taylor-Warren has knocked it out of the park and done an amazing job for us," said Maj. Dustin Petersen, Nevada SPP director. "The work he and the SPP team are doing is making a difference in bridging our relationships in the South Pacific."

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