Norway's Home Guard trained nearly 5,000 soldiers across Oslo and Akershus from 14 to 18 September. It was the year's largest Home Guard exercise, according to the Norwegian Armed Forces.
Exercise Hovedstad 2026 marked the first time in many years that the entire Heimevernet-02 (HV-02) district had trained as a single force, according to Forsvaret. The exercise focused on command and control of multiple units, urban movement and logistics, and checkpoint procedures.
"The Home Guard must train where our missions will be carried out," district commander Kai Morkestrand said. "To protect the capital region, we need to know the terrain and be able to lead and coordinate many units at once."
Innsatsstyrke Derby, HV-02's rapid-reaction force, ran a serial called "Derby RELOC" during the exercise, moving key personnel through central Oslo by motorcade to practise secure relocation procedures, Heimevernet said on Instagram.
The exercise was coordinated with police and local municipal leadership and was not linked to any specific incident or threat, Forsvaret said.