FOR RELEASE: Wednesday, June 10, 2026
CONTACT: CONG Public Affairs Office, 720-250-1053, ng.co.coarng.list.militarysupport@mail.mil
CENTENNIAL, Colo. – Nearly two dozen members of the Colorado National Guard Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear Enhanced Response Force Package (CERF-P), Civil Support Team, and 140th Medical Group, 140th Wing are participating in NATO exercise Vigorous Warrior 2026, in Estonia June 8 to 20.
VW is NATO’s largest multinational medical exercise series.
VW26 will bring together approximately 2,000 participants from 32 allied and partner nations.
CONG teams will imbed with our state partners from the Slovenian Armed Forces Medical Unit Role 1 to provide CBRN medical, mass casualty decontamination, and technical rescue capabilities in support of NATO VW26. The CONG CERF-P will provide search and extraction, mass casualty decontamination, and command and control while the CST and 140 MDG will provide medical and medical search and extraction personnel to train on multinational medical support and civil-military cooperation in a realistic operational environment.
This year’s event was organized by the Estonian Defense Forces, the NATO Centre of Excellence for Military Medicine and the Estonian Health Board.
The Colorado-Slovenia partnership began in 1993 under the umbrella of the strategic State Partnership Program, which now includes more than 100 countries worldwide. Over more than three decades, Colorado and Slovenia have deployed six times together and conducted more than 500 military-to-military and military-to-civilian exchanges.
VW26 covers the full spectrum of military medical support in a conflict scenario, from planning to execution with a strong emphasis on cooperation between civilian and military medical systems. Participants will train casualty management at the point of injury, casualty stabilization, evacuation, higher-level medical treatment, and continuity of care between different medical units and nations. The exercise also provides an opportunity to test innovative technological solutions, contribute to capability development, and strengthen interoperability among Allied and Partner forces.
For more than 165 years, the men and women of the CONG have served our nation in wartime and as the first military responders in support of civil authorities during state emergencies. The CONG’s 5,500 Citizen-Soldiers and Airmen are Always Ready, Always There.