(GlobalPost) Noga Tarnopolsky - Behind the political facade, technical and professional teams from the U.S. and Israel work side by side to an extent otherwise almost unknown between sovereign states. Consider this: The only foreign posting of the U.S. National Guard Bureau is at the headquarters of Israel's Home Front Command in central Israel where Col. Alicia Tate-Nadeau, 49, has been embedded with Israeli forces for two years. The relationship is mutual: Israeli Lt. Col. Ariel Blitz, 38, is the HFC's sole representative abroad, stationed at the U.S. National Guard headquarters in Arlington, Virginia. Both military bodies serve the primary task of assisting civilian populations during times of extraordinary peril. 31 joint events were held in fiscal year 2013, according to Rose Richeson, the National Guard Bureau spokeswoman. They worked together to prepare Israel's emergency field hospital mission in the Philippines. Col. Tate-Nadeau explained: "My job was the bilateral work between the United States and Israel, to enable Israel to move in their advance party and later their main body, getting initial contacts on the ground, using our people to find out who to talk to and make it all run a little smoother."
2013-11-29 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive