BATURAJA, Indonesia — Super Garuda Shield 2026 concluded with a closing ceremony, Sept. 11, 2026, at the Baturaja Combat Training Center, marking the culmination of multinational training focused on strengthening interoperability, readiness and cooperation among participating nations.
The final day began with a cultural exchange on the Puslatpur parade field, where service members participated in traditional Indonesian dances, sampled local food and took part in sporting activities. The event gave participants an opportunity to share traditions and strengthen the personal relationships developed throughout the exercise.
The cultural activities were followed by a closing ceremony featuring a wing exchange where service members from partner nations who participated in a combined airborne jump exchanged airborne wings.
Super Garuda Shield 2026 was a joint, multinational exercise designed to strengthen interoperability, readiness and cooperation among participating nations through realistic training and shared experiences.
“We have trained together to sharpen our individual and collective skills, sharing tactics and techniques and fostering bonds that will extend beyond the limits of this exercise,” said Brig. Gen. Ed Matthaidess III, the Army forces commander for Super Garuda Shield 2026. “The trust, readiness and interoperability we built here strengthens our ability to stand together, and when the time comes, prevail together.”
Super Garuda Shield 26 brought together service members from the U.S., Indonesia and 13 partner nations for training designed to build the relationships and shared understanding required for multinational forces to operate together.
The exercise began with a combined airborne operation involving more than 200 partner-nation paratroopers. The airborne operation transitioned into a field training exercise for Combined Task Force 501, providing participating forces an opportunity to integrate capabilities and apply shared tactics, techniques and procedures in a multinational environment.
Throughout the exercise, service members worked alongside their partner nation in jungle field training, squad live fires and a combined joint land strike live fire. The exercise built familiarity with how each force operates while strengthening the relationships necessary to respond collectively to future challenges.
The closing ceremony reflected that progression. What began with forces from different nations arriving to train together ended with a multinational team that spent the exercise learning from one another, overcoming challenges, and building greater trust.
“We arrived here as strangers, forces from different nations,” said Matthaidess. “But we leave Super Garuda Shield as a stronger, more capable team; a partnership that understands each other and is better prepared to respond when it matters.”
The shared experiences demonstrated that interoperability is built not only through equipment and procedures, but through people training together, learning from one another and developing trust.
Super Garuda Shield 2026 reinforced those relationships and strengthened the participating forces’ ability to operate together — prepared to respond together and, when required, prevail together.
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