United States Hosts Jordan for First-Time Exercise Eager Lion 2026 at Fort Carson, Colorado

Key facts

• US Central Command (CENTCOM) and the Jordanian Armed Forces launched the biennial exercise Eager Lion 2026 at Fort Carson in Colorado, the first time the United States has hosted the event.
• The two-week exercise, now in its 12th iteration, brings together more than 200 military personnel from Jordan and the United States, including National Guard personnel from Colorado and Illinois.
• Eager Lion 2026 features operational scenarios focused on planning and coordination in counterterrorism, air defence, maritime security, cybersecurity, and disaster response.
• Colorado and Jordan were paired in 2004 under the US National Guard Bureau's State Partnership Program, which was established in 1993 to foster international security ties.
• CENTCOM dismissed IRGC claims that a Panama-flagged oil tanker struck a naval mine in the Strait of Hormuz, stating the tanker El Gaia was struck by an Iranian missile last month and again by an Iranian drone off the coast of Oman over the weekend.
• Tehran implemented transit restrictions in the Strait of Hormuz in March 2026 in response to joint US-Israeli military strikes executed on February 28, which initiated the current regional conflict.