The Institute for Security Governance (ISG) West Africa Regional Program Lead, Dr. Whitney Grespin, presented at the United States Army Special Operations Command’s (USASOC) Geostrategic Symposium at Fort Bragg, N.C. Dr. Grespin engaged and shared her academic and practical expertise with USASOC and U.S. Government interagency stakeholders.

On December 13-14, a delegation comprising DSCA Deputy Director Mr. Michael Miller, DSCA Chief of Staff Mr. Steven Derscheid, DSCU President Dr. Celeste Gventer, and DSCU Vice President Dr. Jason Fritz met with the leaders and staff of DSCA outstations, the Institute for Security Governance, and the Defenses Resource Management Institute on Naval Support Activity Monterey.

During their visit, the DSCA & DSCU delegation had the opportunity to meet Major General Mamat OA Cham, the Chief of Defence Staff of The Gambia Armed Forces, who was at ISG to participate in the two-week Executive Program in Defense Decision-Making resident course.

Welcome the New Year with a new issue Institute’s quarterly newsletter – The ISG Heron – highlighting our work in Security Cooperation and Institutional Capacity Building as well as the people who contribute to this important mission.

In this issue, ISG:

• Celebrates ISG’s Fourth Secretary of Defense Maintenance Award win
• Spotlights the DSCU Presidential Visit to ISG & DRMI
• Reminisces about ISG’s Successful On-Site in Monterey
• Welcomes five new, impressive Regional Advising and Functional Leads
• Delves into how the Royal Jordanian Navy is Securing and Protecting its Maritime Borders
• Highlights ISG’s Support for 2023 Exercise Keris Aman

We are proud to announce that DSCU / ISG’s Resident Advising Program (Ministry of Defense Advisors) in Kyiv, Ukraine has been honored with the 2023 Secretary of Defense Maintenance Award for Sustainment Training, Advice, and Assistance of Foreign Military Forces, Ministerial category.

At the Annual Secretary of Defense Maintenance Awards ceremony in San Diego, Mr. Erik Stohlmann, ISG Regional Advising Principal for Europe, represented the Institute’s winners, accepting the award presented by Assistant Secretary of Defense for Sustainment, the Honorable Christopher Lowman.

The U.S. Institute for Security Governance (ISG) made its inaugural visit to Sri Lanka in February 2020, just before the onset of the global pandemic. During this visit, ISG (part of Defense Security Cooperation University) identified the potential for an Institutional Capacity Building (ICB) project in collaboration with the newly established Sri Lankan National Defense College. This project, which ISG was able to support virtually during the COVID-19 period, provided ISG and Sri Lankan counterparts with an opportunity to build trust and rapport, despite pandemic limitations on in-person interaction. ISG also gained a greater appreciation for Sri Lankan defense priorities and strategic decision-making culture – organizational insights that would position ISG to be a more thoughtful and effective partner when travel restrictions were lifted in late 2021.

A team from the Defense Institute of International Legal Studies (DIILS) recently traveled to Senegal to conduct a seminar on Human Rights and the Law of Armed Conflict with members of the Senegalese military.