Colorado and the central European country of Slovenia have had a strategic military pact for the past thirty years. So what does the Slovenian minister of defense do on a visit to Colorado to commemorate the anniversary?
Go to Cabela's, of course.
Go to Cabela's, of course.
"They don't have gun stores [in Slovenia]," says Lieutenant Colonel Ryan Brock of the Colorado National Guard, which is part of a nationwide partnership program that pairs state branches with countries abroad.
One of the other big stops on the thirtieth-anniversary tour — which went down from July 14 to July 17 — was a visit to another American institution: Walmart.
"I think his protocol officer wanted to show him what Walmart was," Brock says. "[Šarec] was very intrigued about the fact that at Walmart, you can get groceries, you can get clothes, you can get guns," Brock says. "He was really surprised that they have stores like that here in America."
Continuing the shopping spree, Šarec also made a trip to the Outlets at Castle Rock, where some of his staff bought T-shirts and other souvenirs to take home. "They always want to go to outlet malls because things are so much cheaper here than they are over there," Brock says.
Another highlight of the stay — Minister Šarec's first in the Centennial State — was a tour of the historic Argo Gold Mine and Mill in Idaho Springs on July 16. "During consultations with the Colorado National Guard and the Slovenian Embassy in the USA, the idea of visiting the Argo Gold Mine in Idaho Springs was born," explains a spokesperson for Šarec. "The Argo Gold Mine was one of the largest gold ore mines in the world at the time it was opened, and therefore represents one of the technological highlights of its era."
Brock took the Slovenian defense minister, Marjan Šarec, to the Cabela's in Lone Tree because it was near the Inverness Hotel where Šarec was staying. "I was telling him, 'Honestly, this is probably one of the smallest Cabela's in America.' And he was just so surprised by that," Brock recalls.
One of the other big stops on the thirtieth-anniversary tour — which went down from July 14 to July 17 — was a visit to another American institution: Walmart.
"I think his protocol officer wanted to show him what Walmart was," Brock says. "[Šarec] was very intrigued about the fact that at Walmart, you can get groceries, you can get clothes, you can get guns," Brock says. "He was really surprised that they have stores like that here in America."
Continuing the shopping spree, Šarec also made a trip to the Outlets at Castle Rock, where some of his staff bought T-shirts and other souvenirs to take home. "They always want to go to outlet malls because things are so much cheaper here than they are over there," Brock says.
Another highlight of the stay — Minister Šarec's first in the Centennial State — was a tour of the historic Argo Gold Mine and Mill in Idaho Springs on July 16. "During consultations with the Colorado National Guard and the Slovenian Embassy in the USA, the idea of visiting the Argo Gold Mine in Idaho Springs was born," explains a spokesperson for Šarec. "The Argo Gold Mine was one of the largest gold ore mines in the world at the time it was opened, and therefore represents one of the technological highlights of its era."
Šarec is a former actor and comedian who began his career in politics after winning the mayoral election for the town of Kamnik in 2010. In 2017, he narrowly lost the Slovenian presidential election, but he was elected prime minister in 2018. He has been Slovenia's minister of defense since June 2022. According to the spokesperson, the minister is also "very interested in history, and especially in technical history."
The Thursday before the Argo tour, a security detail — which included two Slovenian special forces members, showed up to scope out the site, according to Dustin Littleton — who is in charge of business development for the Argo. Šarec arrived the following Sunday in a motorcade after having lunch at the Tommyknocker Brewery & Pub — where Lieutenant Colonel Brock learned that Slovenians have their own version of the legend of Tommyknockers.
"The Minister's visit was also honored by the mayor of Idaho Springs," according to the spokesperson for Šarec. Mayor Chuck Harmon says he and Šarec bonded during the Argo tour, since Šarec had once served as a town mayor.
"I don't care where you're mayor, people are the same," Harmon tells Westword. "Everybody that was with the defense minister, including the defense minister, spoke pretty good English, and they were so down to earth and just so approachable. You felt comfortable talking to him about anything."
After the tour, everyone panned for gold. "They really loved the gold panning," Harmon says. "But here's the thing I found interesting: The defense minister is, like, really good at gold panning. I didn't ask him if he had ever done it before, but he sure had the technique down pretty darn good."
Harmon says he was also impressed by the kinds of questions Šarec asked during the tour — specifically about the chemicals used during the gold-refining process.
"I even learned something from their questions," Harmon says. "One of them asked how many people worked at that massive Argo mill. And since most of it was automated, there was only about a half a dozen people on a given shift. Now, I would have thought a hundred or something [people worked there] for a place that big. I live eight houses away from [the Argo], and I had always been under the impression that there was a massive number of people. So had they not asked that question, I still would have never known that."
The spokesperson for Šarec says the minister "enjoyed the tour of the mine."
Colorado and Slovenia commenced their military partnership on July 14, 1993. According to Brock — who served as a Bilateral Affairs Officer for the Colorado National Guard in the U.S. embassy in Slovenia between 2009 and 2011, which is why he was asked to help facilitate the thirtieth-anniversary trip — the pact came after the fall of the Soviet Union, with Slovenia and Colorado joining forces after Yugoslavia split up.
The partnership was "instrumental in developing capabilities and achieving interoperability between the two militaries and thus within the Alliance," says Šarec's spokesperson. "Over the years, cooperation has shifted to specific areas of strategic importance to us, including military exercises and training, military mountaineering and mountain warfare, military aviation, nuclear, radiological, chemical and biological defense, protection and rescue, and, in recent years, cyber security and defense."
The anniversary trip also included a visit to the Colorado National Guard headquarters in Centennial and a dinner with Governor Jared Polis.
The Thursday before the Argo tour, a security detail — which included two Slovenian special forces members, showed up to scope out the site, according to Dustin Littleton — who is in charge of business development for the Argo. Šarec arrived the following Sunday in a motorcade after having lunch at the Tommyknocker Brewery & Pub — where Lieutenant Colonel Brock learned that Slovenians have their own version of the legend of Tommyknockers.
"The Minister's visit was also honored by the mayor of Idaho Springs," according to the spokesperson for Šarec. Mayor Chuck Harmon says he and Šarec bonded during the Argo tour, since Šarec had once served as a town mayor.
"I don't care where you're mayor, people are the same," Harmon tells Westword. "Everybody that was with the defense minister, including the defense minister, spoke pretty good English, and they were so down to earth and just so approachable. You felt comfortable talking to him about anything."
After the tour, everyone panned for gold. "They really loved the gold panning," Harmon says. "But here's the thing I found interesting: The defense minister is, like, really good at gold panning. I didn't ask him if he had ever done it before, but he sure had the technique down pretty darn good."
Harmon says he was also impressed by the kinds of questions Šarec asked during the tour — specifically about the chemicals used during the gold-refining process.
"I even learned something from their questions," Harmon says. "One of them asked how many people worked at that massive Argo mill. And since most of it was automated, there was only about a half a dozen people on a given shift. Now, I would have thought a hundred or something [people worked there] for a place that big. I live eight houses away from [the Argo], and I had always been under the impression that there was a massive number of people. So had they not asked that question, I still would have never known that."
The spokesperson for Šarec says the minister "enjoyed the tour of the mine."
Colorado and Slovenia commenced their military partnership on July 14, 1993. According to Brock — who served as a Bilateral Affairs Officer for the Colorado National Guard in the U.S. embassy in Slovenia between 2009 and 2011, which is why he was asked to help facilitate the thirtieth-anniversary trip — the pact came after the fall of the Soviet Union, with Slovenia and Colorado joining forces after Yugoslavia split up.
The partnership was "instrumental in developing capabilities and achieving interoperability between the two militaries and thus within the Alliance," says Šarec's spokesperson. "Over the years, cooperation has shifted to specific areas of strategic importance to us, including military exercises and training, military mountaineering and mountain warfare, military aviation, nuclear, radiological, chemical and biological defense, protection and rescue, and, in recent years, cyber security and defense."
The anniversary trip also included a visit to the Colorado National Guard headquarters in Centennial and a dinner with Governor Jared Polis.
