Approximately 80 Alaska National
Guardsmen are slated to participate in the U.S. Army Pacific exercise, Khaan
Quest 2012 (KQ12), a multinational training exercise held at the Mongolian
Armed Forces Peace Support Center near Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, August 11-23,
2012.

Khaan Quest 2012 is a U.S. Army
Pacific (USARPAC) sponsored exercise designed to strengthen the capabilities of
U.S., Mongolian, and other international forces in the Pacific region, to
enhance peace-support operations, training, and increase interoperability and
planning capabilities among the participating nations.

“Khaan Quest is a phenomenal
exercise that contributes to regional peacekeeping, while strengthening the
Alaska National Guard state partnership program with Mongolia,” said Maj. Gen.
Thomas H. Katkus, Adjutant General of the Alaska National Guard. “Alaska
National Guard members will participate in training events that bolster
military-to-military cooperation, while developing interpersonal relationships
with service members from Mongolia and other Asia-Pacific countries.”

This year’s Khaan Quest exercise consists
of a Battalion-Level staff exercise, Platoon-level Counter-Improvised Explosive
Device Training, Field Training Exercise Lane Training, Military First
Responder Training, Engineer Subject Matter Expert Exchange and a Medical
Humanitarian Civic Action Outreach Project.

KQ12 will host more than 1,000
soldiers from 10 countries to include 276 U.S. personnel and international
participants from South Korea, India, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Japan,
France, United Kingdom and Germany. Kazakhstan, Russia and China will send
observers to the exercise.