An opening ceremony was held as a commencement to Steppe Eagle 2013 at Iliskiy Training Center on Aug. 10. Participating nations include Italy, Kyrgystan, Lithuania, Switzerland, Tajikistan, and the United Kingdom. Steppe Eagle is an annual, multi-national exercise, which is conducted from the Kazakhstan Peacekeeping Brigade and Battalion, the Arizona Army National Guard, the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, and Third Army/U.S. Central Command. The exercise will help build strong alliances while allowing more than 1,000 participants from seven militaries to practice interoperability.