odc activities 2010
Illinois National Guard Bilateral Embedded Staff Team
9 February 2010
(FAR LEFT ) Sergeant Major Eric Walls, (LEFT) Colonel Tracy Nelson, Chief of the Illinois Army National Guard’s Bilateral Embedded Staff Team, (CENTER) Ambassador Feinstein, (RIGHT) Lieutenant Colonel Drew Dukett.
Members of the Illinois Army National Guard’s Bilateral Embedded Staff Team (BEST) visited the Ambassador on February 5, 2010. Colonel Tracy Nelson, Chief of BEST, met with Ambassador Feinstein informally to inform him of the cooperation efforts that the team has accomplished with the Polish Land Forces 1st Armored Brigade. The BEST will deploy to Afghanistan with the Polish 1st Armored Brigade this Spring. The Illinois National Guard has maintained a State Partnership Program with the Republic of Poland since 1993 and has conducted over 136 bilateral events. The events focus on improving the planning and procedures utilized by Brigade Level Soldiers and Leaders when conducting overseas operations in combat areas.