Readout of the 45th U.S.-Jordan Joint Military Commission

July 17, 2026 |

On July 15, Assistant Secretary of War for International Security Affairs Daniel Zimmerman and Jordan's Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Major General Yousef Al Hnaity co-chaired the 45th U.S.-Jordan Joint Military Commission (JMC) in Amman, Jordan, reaffirming the mutual commitment to the enduring strategic partnership between the United States and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.

The JMC serves as the premier bilateral forum for aligning U.S. and Jordanian defense policies and advancing mutual security objectives. Assistant Secretary Zimmerman underscored the National Defense Strategy imperative to empower allies and partners to take primary responsibility for their defense. He highlighted Jordan's indispensable leadership in advancing regional and international security and stability efforts and in protecting our people and our assets.

The delegations discussed a broad range of issues that are vital to both countries' shared strategic interests, to include enhancing interoperability between U.S. and Jordanian forces and fostering critical warfighting competencies to address mutual security challenges. They also discussed a range of regional policy priorities and opportunities for increased military cooperation, including on integrated air and missile defense and counterterrorism.

The 45th JMC concluded with both nations expressing a mutual commitment to strengthen the U.S.-Jordan defense partnership.

Allies Come Together in the Indo-Pacific for Exercise Valiant Shield 26

June 22, 2026 | By Commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet |

U.S. Pacific Command joint forces, along with allied and partner forces, kicked off Exercise Valiant Shield 2026 today in the Indo-Pacific region. 

The training exercise will run until July 1 and take place in the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, Japan and at sea around the Mariana Islands Range Complex. 

Valiant Shield 26 is a multinational, biennial field training exercise focused on integrating interoperability training in a multidomain environment. This training builds real-world proficiency in sustaining joint forces through detecting, locating, tracking and engaging units at sea, in the air, in space, on land and in cyberspace. 

Exercises such as VS26 enable all U.S. forces and allies across the Indo-Pacific region to integrate and train in precise, lethal and overwhelming scenarios that demonstrate the strength and versatility of the joint and combined force.  

With the involvement of U.S. Space Command and U.S. Transportation Command, VS26 is expanding the multidomain, cross-combatant command collaboration required for any large-scale exercise or operation. The exercise prepares the joint and combined force to rapidly respond to crises and contingencies across the spectrum of operations — from humanitarian assistance and disaster response to armed conflict. 

"Valiant Shield demonstrates our enduring commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific," said Navy Adm. Steve Koehler, commander of U.S. Pacific Fleet. "Exercising advanced multidomain capabilities with our allies ensures we continue to seamlessly innovate and operate together, project combat power together and prevail over any challenge — together." 

The exercise assists U.S., allied and partner forces in developing regional and global power projection capabilities. Integrated training provides a full range of options to succeed in the defense of U.S. interests and those of like-minded nations around the world. 

This year marks the 11th iteration of Exercise Valiant Shield, which began in 2006. It is also the second time the Japan Self-Defense Forces has been heavily integrated in the planning and execution.   

Since 2024, Valiant Shield has become a multilateral joint field training exercise, further integrating allies and partners into the multidomain environment. While it started as a unilateral U.S. exercise, it has evolved to meet the demands of the security environment, incorporating new technologies and strategies.