Major General Terry M. Haston, who is in charge of the US Army National Guard in Tennessee, was received Tuesday in Sofia by Bulgarian Defense Minister Gen. Anyu Angelov.

Major General Terry M. Haston was appointed Tennessee's 75th Adjutant General on 1 January 2010. He is responsible for the supervision of the Military Department of Tennessee that includes the Army National Guard, the Air National Guard, the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency, and the Tennessee State Guard.

Angelov has presented to Haston the government's White Paper on defense and armed forces, and its Plan for the Development of the Armed Forces, which were drafted recently.

"We now have an up-to-date basis for a new, more efficient structure of the armed forces for operations in Bulgaria and abroad. The Bulgarian land forces are starting to be trained in a new way, based on maneuverable battalion groups. We will be glad to exchange experience and ideas," the Bulgarian Defense Minister said at the meeting.

He also presented to Haston the plans for a Reservists Act, which will stipulate the creation of a territorial reservist units placed under the local authorities so that they can help the local population in the event of natural disasters and crisis situations.

Angelov emphasized that Bulgaria wishes to draw from the experience and know-how of the Tennessee National Guard.

Major General Haston has expressed his "excellent impressions" from the Bulgarian soldiers, and from the Novo Selo training ground, which is used jointly by the Bulgarian and US armies as part of Task Force East, and Bulgaria's national military training complex "Charalitsa."

The situation in Afghanistan, where the Tennessee Army National Guard has a serious role within NATO's ISAF operation, was also a topic of the talks between Angelov and Haston. Both generals have expressed a will to explore new forms of cooperation.

General Haston has also met with Bulgaria's Head of Defense Gen. Simeon Simeonov; on Wednesday, he will meet with the head of the Bulgarian Joint Operational Command Gen. Atanas Samandov, the head of the Bulgarian Army Gen. Stefan Vasilev, and of the Bulgarian Air Force Gen. Konstantin Popov.

As part of the Bulgarian-US military cooperation and partnership, Bulgaria is paired with the state of Tennessee (which is similar to Bulgaria in size and population) under the State Partnership Program of the US Department of Defense.

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