Do commanders in special sites defend province?

[Huntsman]

Quick n00bie question:

If I send a commander into a special site (eg combat training, summoning site) do they (and their troops) still defend the province if attacked?

ANd what about other commander actions? Like searching, praying, etc?

TIA

All actions that are not "Hide" or "Patrol" or "Sneak" or some derivitive of that (Move and Patrol) are default to "Defend"

So searching, entering sites, researching, casting rituals, all those are considered "Defend" for the purposes of deciding how they defend (in or outside a castle).