A multinational military exercise involving more than 350 soldiers from 10 countries concluded at Fort Harrison this week, capping a training event that brought together forces from across U.S. Central Command's area of responsibility for joint field exercises, medical response drills, cybersecurity scenarios, and operational coordination work.

The exercise, called Regional Cooperation 2026, was led by U.S. Central Command and used Fort Harrison — the Helena-area installation that serves as home to the Montana National Guard — as its host site. Col. Lee Breard served as the U.S. Army commander for the event. The participating nations worked through real-world scenarios designed to build interoperability, the military term for the ability of allied forces to communicate and operate effectively alongside one another.

Regional Cooperation is an annual exercise series that rotates among partner nations, and hosting it at Fort Harrison puts Helena on the map for a week as a hub of international military coordination. The scenarios covered a broad range — from tactical field operations to medical triage and cyber defense — reflecting the modern understanding that military readiness requires competency across domains, not just combat skills.

For the Helena community, the exercise represented a notable influx of international military personnel on the city's east side. Fort Harrison is a regular fixture of Helena life, and events of this scale are relatively uncommon at the installation.