More than 1,200 defense personnel from 23 nations trained in peacekeeping operations during the 22nd iteration of Khaan Quest on the outskirts of Mongolia’s capital in June 2025.
The annual exercise at Five Hills Training Facility near Ulaanbaatar serves “as a vital platform for enhancing professional knowledge and strengthening practical skills,” Maj. Gen. Sunreviin Ganbyamba, the Mongolian Armed Forces chief of general staff, said at the opening ceremony.
Khaan Quest was launched as a bilateral initiative of the Mongolian Armed Forces and the United States Marine Corps in 2003, a decade after Mongolia shed nearly 70 years of communist rule. It has evolved into a multinational exercise featuring field training and command post drills focused on reinforcing U.N. peacekeeping standards.
“We face increasingly complex security challenges, from regional conflicts to humanitarian crises,” said Lt. Gen. Joel B. Vowell, deputy commanding general of the U.S. Army Pacific. “Khaan Quest prepares us to meet these challenges, equipping us with the skills and trust needed to operate in volatile environments. This work is about upholding the values of freedom, justice and human dignity, protecting vulnerable populations and creating conditions for lasting peace.”
The 2025 participants also included: Australia, Bhutan, Canada, China, Egypt, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, New Zealand, the Philippines, Qatar, South Korea, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Turkey, the United Kingdom and Vietnam.
“Over the last two decades, the Khaan Quest exercise has evolved into a highly significant and impactful multinational training event, bringing together more than 21,000 military professionals from 67 different countries,” Ganbyamba said.
About 40 Indian Army Soldiers, primarily from the Kumaon Regiment, participated in the two-week drills. The Army said it “remains steadfast in its commitment to global peace, stability and international cooperation and also continues to play an active and constructive role in advancing United Nations peacekeeping efforts around the world,” the South Asian news agency ANI reported.
Along with Vietnam People’s Army personnel, Hanoi sent senior defense officials to Mongolia during Khaan Quest for bilateral talks on peacekeeping operations and military cooperation, according to the People’s Army Newspaper.
To rehearse theater operations, the U.S. Army’s 125th Finance Battalion contracted local providers for logistics support during Khaan Quest.
“When you don’t have time or freedom of movement to resupply, being able to procure goods and services locally enables forward commanders to maintain their operational tempo and extend their operational reach,” Lt. Col. Jeremy Eckel, battalion commander, said in a news release.
U.S. Ambassador Richard Buangan highlighted the “courage and commitment” of Mongolian peacekeepers in protecting civilians from attackers in April 2025 as part of the U.N. Mission in South Sudan. “All those peacekeepers came through Khaan Quest to test their skills,” he noted at the opening ceremony.
“Every year this exercise demonstrates the strength and resolve of all the countries involved to seek peace and prosperity through friendship and trust,” Buangan said. “Khaan Quest doesn’t just build the capacity of Mongolia’s military in peacekeeping, but also that of partner countries who are investing military and security assistance to calm the world’s troubled hot spots.”

Published Date:2025-07-08