Malmstrom airmen tackle Norwegian Foot March in Helena area

Malmstrom Air Force Base turned a Norwegian military tradition into a local test of stamina, with Staff Sgt. Josh Wright estimating that 175 to 185 people signed up for the 2026 Norwegian Foot March. Participants took on an 18.6-mile ruck carrying at least 24 pounds of dry weight, a grind that put legs, shoulders and discipline to work long before the finish line.

Wright said it was the third time the march had been held at Malmstrom. He also said putting the event together required coordination across multiple squadrons and other base entities, underscoring that the challenge was as much about unit cooperation as it was about individual fitness. The route around the base was mostly flat, about 60 to 70 percent by his estimate, but the hills were steep enough to make the course punishing over the full distance.

That design is part of the point. The march is meant to test physical endurance and mental toughness, and airmen who entered knew that pace, posture and persistence would matter as much as strength. Wright said the best preparation was simple: get used to carrying the weight and prepare the feet, joints, shoulders and back for the strain. For some participants, the goal was to finish inside the official time standard and earn the Norwegian Foot March badge. For others, simply reaching the end was the win.

The event carries official weight well beyond Malmstrom. The Norwegian Armed Forces say the foot march began in 1915 as a military endurance test for soldiers in the Norwegian Army. Today, the 30-kilometer route still requires an 11-kilogram rucksack, and time standards vary by age and gender. The march is sanctioned through the Norwegian Embassy and tied to formal guidance from the Royal Norwegian Embassy Office of the Defence Attaché, giving it a direct link to an allied military tradition that still has relevance inside the U.S. Air Force.

Malmstrom’s 2025 coverage described the march as a way for airmen to earn the official Norwegian Armed Forces skill badge while demonstrating physical endurance, mental resilience and allied military tradition. Wright-Patterson Air Force Base reported about 335 military members, veterans and dependents in its 2026 march, showing that the event has broadened across the force. In Great Falls and across Lewis and Clark County, the Malmstrom version offers a clear look at what the base asks of its people: readiness, resilience and a culture built around finishing the hard thing together.