Hanuman Guardian | Forging Lethal Partnerships: 1-2 SBCT Soldiers & Royal Thai Army Execute Modern Urban Warfare Training

18 March 2026

From Staff Sgt. Adam Meyer, 205th Theater Public Affairs Support Element

LOP BURI, Thailand — U.S. Army Soldiers assigned to 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, 1-2 Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 7th Infantry Division trained alongside the Royal Thai Army during military operations in urban terrain training as part of Exercise Hanuman Guardian, strengthening interoperability and readiness between the two long-standing allies.

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Soldiers from 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, 1-2 Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 7th Infantry Division exit UH-60 Black Hawks during Military Operations in Urban Terrain (MOUT) training, March 14, 2026, at the Special Warfare Training Center in Lop Buri, Thailand.

LOP BURI, Thailand (March 13, 2026) — Soldiers from 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, 1-2 Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 7th Infantry Division exit UH-60 Black Hawks during Military Operations in Urban Terrain (MOUT) training, March 14, 2026, at the Special Warfare Training Center in Lop Buri, Thailand. Hanuman Guardian is a bilateral training exercise between the U.S. Army and the Royal Thai Army in the Kingdom of Thailand. Now in its 17th year, the exercise enhances readiness through realistic training while reinforcing the enduring U.S.–Thailand alliance, one of America’s oldest partnerships, dating back to 1833, and a shared commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific. (U.S. Army Reserve photo by Staff Sgt. Adam Meyer)

Soldiers from 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, 1-2 Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 7th Infantry Division begin tactical movements during Military Operations in Urban Terrain (MOUT) training, March 14, 2026, at the Special Warfare Training Center in Lop Buri, Thailand. Hanuman Guardian is a bilateral training exercise between the U.S. Army and the Royal Thai Army in the Kingdom of Thailand. Now in its 17th year, the exercise enhances readiness through realistic training while reinforcing the enduring U.S.–Thailand alliance, one of America’s oldest partnerships, dating back to 1833, and a shared commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific. (U.S. Army Reserve photo by Staff Sgt. Adam Meyer)

U.S. Army Soldiers assigned to 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, 1-2 Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 7th Infantry Division, along with Royal Thai Army soldiers pull security during a force-on-force platoon attack in a Military Operations on Urbanized Terrain (MOUT) Training exercise, during Hanuman Guardian in Lopburi, Thailand, March 14, 2026. Hanuman Guardian is a bilateral training exercise between the U.S. Army and the Royal Thai Army in the Kingdom of Thailand. Now in its 17th year, the exercise enhances readiness through realistic training while reinforcing the enduring U.S.–Thailand alliance, one of America’s oldest partnerships, dating back to 1833, and a shared commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific. (U.S. Army Reserve photo by Staff Sgt. Richard Cole)

Soldiers from 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, 1-2 Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 7th Infantry Division provide security while approaching the objective during Military Operations in Urban Terrain (MOUT) training, March 14, 2026, at the Special Warfare Training Center in Lop Buri, Thailand. Hanuman Guardian is a bilateral training exercise between the U.S. Army and the Royal Thai Army in the Kingdom of Thailand. Now in its 17th year, the exercise enhances readiness through realistic training while reinforcing the enduring U.S.–Thailand alliance, one of America’s oldest partnerships, dating back to 1833, and a shared commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific. (U.S. Army Reserve photo by Staff Sgt. Adam Meyer)

In the exercise conducted March 14, 2026, UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters inserted the combined forces near a mock urban village at the RTA’s Special Warfare Training Center. The U.S. forces led the initial push, clearing buildings and neutralizing opposing forces. Once the primary objective building was secured, the RTA surged forward to assault and clear the second half of the site. After the area was completely secured, the RTA deployed military working dogs to conduct explosive detection sweeps, confirming no hidden explosives or threats remained.

U.S. Army Lt. Col. Mike Wallace, commander of the 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, highlighted the value of the partnership and exercise as a whole.

“It's (HG) been mutually beneficial for both nations. This is an important relationship with our oldest ally in the Pacific, and we keep pushing each other every year to demonstrate that we are ready to deter (threats) and defend our nations.”

Together, the joint U.S.-Royal Thai infantry teams are a precise, adaptive and extremely lethal force in today’s modern urban warfare.

Hanuman Guardian is a bilateral training exercise between the U.S. Army and the Royal Thai Army in the Kingdom of Thailand. Now in its 17th year, the exercise enhances readiness through realistic training while reinforcing the enduring U.S.–Thailand alliance, one of America’s oldest partnerships, dating back to 1833, and a shared commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific.