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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PORT OF SPAIN 001123 
 
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DEPT FOR WHA/CAR 
 
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SUBJECT: THE DELAWARE/T&T PARTNERSHIP: TRANSFORMATIONAL DIPLOMACY IN 
ACTION 
 
 
¶1.  SUMMARY: Delaware Governor Ruth Minner's recent visit to T&T 
under the auspices of DOD's State Partnership Program was 
extraordinarily successful.  The Delaware/T&T partnership should 
serve as a model not only for expanding military to military 
relationships but for effecting transformational diplomacy of the 
best sort in a civilian context.  In the case of Delaware and T&T, 
reciprocal visits, joint military training and collaborative 
planning on shared problems and interests such as crime prevention, 
drug interdiction, disaster preparedness and response and education 
refute the popular Caricom view that the US ignores the Caribbean 
region.  In addition, this and other state partnerships can be 
effective tools for expanding the foreign affairs constituency 
within the US and consequently increasing public support for US 
foreign policy goals.  END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2.  The September 12 to 15 visit to Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) by 
Delaware Governor Ruth Minner and members of her administration was 
the latest outcome of a program which appears to be a model of 
transformational diplomacy.  The visit was undertaken under the 
auspices of the State Partnership Program, an initiative founded in 
1993 by the National Guard Bureau, a component of the US Department 
of Defense (DOD).  The program, which pairs up State National Guard 
elements with countries around the world, is primarily designed to 
foster and encourage military-to- military relationships, but also 
makes funds available for broadening state/country contacts and 
activities over time through the promotion and inclusion of 
military/civilian exchanges and even civilian/civilian programs and 
initiatives. 
 
¶3.  Delaware's partnership program with T&T got underway in July 
2005 and has thrived beyond either partners wildest expectations. 
Whereas many state/country partnerships never progress beyond the 
military-to- military relationship, the Delaware/T&T partnership has 
broken through that psychological barrier already.  In less than 15 
months, over a dozen "engagements" have taken place.  These have 
included orientation visits to T&T by senior Delaware National Guard 
officers and reciprocal visits to Delaware by high ranking officers 
of the T&T Defense Force.  Exchange visits have taken place by 
Delaware and T&T officials responsible for port security as well as 
by teams charged with emergency management and disaster response and 
preparedness.  Other engagements have focused on engineering topics, 
on reserve force training, on air operations and air guard 
development, and on senior non-commissioned officer (NCO) leadership 
development.  In a government-to- government exchange, a delegation 
from the GOTT Ministry of National Security has visited Delaware; 
and, in an initiative designed to boost cultural ties, the T&T 
Defense Force Steel Orchestra has even performed in Delaware. 
 
¶4.  Governor Minner was accompanied by an impressive array of both 
military and civilian officials from her administration, including 
the Delaware National Guard Adjutant-General, National Guard Army 
and Air Force Chiefs of Staff, the State Attorney General, Director 
of Homeland Security and Director of Budgets and Management, among 
others.  They called on the President, the Prime Minister, The 
Minister of National Security, The Minister of Education and the 
President of the Senate, and observed the Upper House of Parliament 
in session.  Governor Minner took a helicopter tour of the Point 
Lisas Industrial Estate, the engine of T&T's oil/gas-driven economy, 
while the military members of her delegation visited the 
headquarters of the T&T Defense Force. 
 
¶5.  In their one-on-one exchanges with GOTT officials and in round 
table discussions, the Delaware visitors laid plans for Delaware/T&T 
collaboration in the areas of national security and 
counter-terrorism, particularly as these relate to the Cricket World 
Cup Tournament to be hosted by the Caribbean nations in March/April 
2007; drug interdiction; drug demand reduction; criminal 
rehabilitation; education; and natural disaster preparedness and 
response (Note: both Tobago and Delaware have suffered hurricane 
damage in recent years).  In addition, plans are afoot to have small 
law enforcement units undergo reciprocal training in Delaware and 
T&T.  Finally, in Tobago, the hub of T&T's tourist industry, the 
Delaware delegation discussed with local officials the possibility 
of establishing a Delta Airlines link between Delaware and Tobago's 
own International Airport by way of Atlanta (Note: Delta is 
scheduled to inaugurate regular non-stop flights between Atlanta and 
Trinidad's International Airport on December 1). 
 
¶6.  At a reception for the Delaware delegation hosted by the 
Minister of National Security, the warmth of the relationship 
between the Delaware delegation and the GOTT Officials was palpable, 
matching the substantial reciprocal benefits which both parties 
recognize have already flowed and will continue to flow to them from 
this partnership.  According to Major Jason Schrank who serves as 
the Traditional Commander Activity (TCA) Coordinator at post, the 
lion's share of the funding for the Delaware/T&T partnership comes 
from Southern Command as well as partially from DOD's National Guard 
 
PORT OF SP 00001123  002 OF 002 
 
 
Bureau and Delaware's State Treasury. However, the GOTT made a 
substantial contribution to cover the cost. 
 
¶7.  COMMENT: According to Major Schrank, the majority of the 
countries in Southern Command's area of responsibility participate 
in DOD's State partnership program.  However, the Delaware/T&T 
partnership is generally regarded as one of the most dynamic in the 
region and one bringing great synergistic benefits to both partners. 
 In addition, post believes that this partnership fulfills a number 
of other bilateral and broader foreign policy objectives: it is a 
prime illustration of transformational diplomacy in action; it is 
one more example which helps us counter Prime Minister Patrick 
Manning's recent criticism that the US has tended to ignore T&T and 
the Caribbean region; and the state partnership program, if 
implemented as effectively as the Delaware/T&T partnership, can 
serve as an important tool for increasing public support for US 
foreign policy goals.  END COMMENT.