Today Defence

2011MINISTRY OF DEFENCE OF GEORGIA PUBLIC AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT

Visit to the Republic of Turkey

Georgian Defense Minister Bacho Akhalia held a meeting withhis Turkish counterpart, National Defense Minister Vecdi Gönülon May 12. The two colleagues discussed cooperation issues with-in the defence sphere between Georgia and Turkey. The bilateralmilitary cooperation between Georgia and Turkey covers a widerange of issues, including military education, logistics and issueswithin the military-technical sphere.

The Georgian Defense Minister expressed his gratitude to hisTurkish colleague for the support and practical assistance provid-ed by Turkey for the development of the Georgian Armed Forces.Bacho Akhalaia expressed hope that Georgian-Turkish coopera-tion will continue in the future as well.

Bacho Akhalaia was accompanied by a delegation from theGeorgian Defense Ministry on an official visit to Turkey. On 10-12 May, Turkey hosted the 10th International Defense IndustryFair 2011 (IDEF-11). The event was organized under the auspicesand support of the Ministry of National Defense and under themanagement and responsibility of the Turkish Armed Forces Foun-dation. The 10th International Defense Industry Fair was attendedby 621 local and foreign companies and company representativesfrom 48 countries, some of which are leaders in the defence indus-try. In addition to companies, 84 delegations visited the fair in-cluding 419 foreign delegation members from 70 countries. Amongguests were ministers, chiefs of armed forces and high-level mili-tary and civilian officials. The event is the best place to exchangeviews and the best opportunity to establish important business con-nections. The international exhibition is also an important plat-form for the development of regional cooperation within the mili-tary industry. The participants have an opportunity to get the new-est information about technological achievements and programs.They also have the opportunity to view the latest modern militaryequipment and armaments.

Visit to the Republic of ArmeniaVisit to the Republic of ArmeniaVisit to the Republic of ArmeniaVisit to the Republic of ArmeniaVisit to the Republic of Armenia

The Minister of Defence of Georgia Bacho Akhalaia paid anofficial visit to the Republic of Armenia on April 19. In the frame-work of the official visit he met with his Armenian counterpartSeyran Ohanyan and the President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan. Anexpanded meeting was also held with the participation of the rep-resentatives of the Defence Ministries of Georgia and Armenia.The meeting was attended by the defence ministers, their deputies,the leadership of the Armed Forces and the heads of various de-partments. The main topics of discussion at the meeting were theongoing defence reforms, participation in international missionsand military education. The Georgian Defense Minister offered toshare with his Armenian counterpart his ten years of experienceparticipating in the international operations. He also informed hiscolleague about the plan to establish a regional training center inGeorgia, where Georgian military servicemen, military units at thebattalion level from Armenia, the countries of the Caucasus, theBlack Sea and the central Asian regions will be trained in interna-tional operations. According to the statement of the Georgian Min-ister of Defense, the preparation of units by joint exercises will bemore effective in terms of sparing time and financial resources incomparison to other European training centers. Bacho Akhalaiaexpressed his readiness to provide training to the Armenian mili-tary servicemen at Sachkhere Mountain Training School, whichhas been awarded the status of a NATO “Partnership for Peace”training and educational centre. The Armenian Defense Ministryshowed the Georgian delegation the Vazgen Sarkisyan MilitaryInstitute and briefed them on the educational system of the mili-tary personnel and their living conditions.

Visit to the Republic of Azerbaijan

Minister of Defense of Georgia Bacho Akhalaia paid an offi-cial visit to the Republic of Azerbaijan on May 17. The Georgianminister held meetings with his Azeri counterpart Colonel GeneralSafar Abiyev and President of Azerbaijan Ilham Heydar OgluAliyev.

During the meetings, the main topics discussed were the reli-able and stable relations within the region and the defence reformsachieved between Georgia and Azerbaijan, including military ed-ucation. Georgian Defense Minister Bacho Akhalaia offered hisAzeri counterpart the opportunity to train the military servicemenof the Azerbaijani Armed Forces at the Sachkhere Mountain Train-ing School.

The Georgian side expressed its readiness to share their experi-ence of participating in the international peacekeeping missions totheir Azeri colleagues. In the framework of the visit, the Georgiandefense minister laid a wreath at the cemetery of Heydar Aliyevand went sightseeing in Baku.

Visit to the Republic of Poland

Georgian Minister of Defense Bacho Akhalaia paid a two-dayofficial visit to Poland on June 1. The Georgian defense ministerheld face to face meetings with his Polish counterpart BogdanKlich. The delegations of the both countries also held meetingswith each other. The main topics during the meetings were theinternational peacekeeping missions, the partnership with NATOand the support given to Georgia on the NATO integration path.Special attention was paid to the common plans in the frame-work of the European Union.

According to Minister Klich, these plans will be the main work-ing topics for Poland during its future presidency of the Europe-an Union. “You know that Georgia enjoys full support of Polandon its NATO integration path. Next year Poland will take up therole of the rotating presidency of the Council of the EuropeanUnion. Georgia will have the full support in this direction as well.During the meeting today, we discussed all the above-mentionedimportant issues. The main topics of discussion were the NATO-led ISAF operation and strengthening [our] cooperation in themilitary educational field between Georgia and Poland,” declaredthe Polish defense minister.

Representatives of the Polish and Georgian defense ministriesagreed to deepen relations in the military education field. TheGeorgian defense minister offered to help his counterpart pre-pare the personnel of the Polish Armed Forces in SachkhereMountain Training School in autumn. This school has been award-ed the status of a Partnership for Peace Program Centre. BogdanKlich offered to send an expert to the National Defence Acade-my of Georgia next year who to deliver a course on the peace-keeping missions.

The Georgian defense ministry delegation held meetings withmembers of the National Defense Committee in the Sejm and thehead of the National Security Bureau of the Republic of Poland.

22222 2011MONTHLY SUPPLEMENT OF GEORGIA TODAY

Official Visits

Celeste Wallander

in Cadets Military Lyceum

On February 1, the US Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense,Doctor Celeste Wallander, visited Georgia with the purpose to at-tend the Georgian Defense Conference (GDC). Doctor Wallandertogether with the Deputy Defense Minister Nodar Kharshiladzevisited Cadets Military Lyceum. The US deputy assistant secre-tary of defense with her accompanying delegation became acquaint-ed with the Lyceum, its infrastructure, classrooms, dormitory build-ings, recreational and dining facilities, as well as its basketball andfootball stadiums. “We came to Georgia to visit the cadets’ acad-emy as part of the Office of the Secretary of Defense visit to Geor-gia. We witnessed a very impressive Georgian cadet’s academy,which was very modern. We visited the classrooms and recreationalfacilities. We were overall very impressed and we think it can bea very important piece of Georgia’s focus on institution buildingin the Georgian armed forces, which we think will help Georgiawith its Euro-Atlantic integration,” said the Pentagon’s CountryDirector for Georgia and Moldova, Mark Simakovsky.

Lieutenant General Jurgen

Bornemann visits Georgia

Lieutenant General Jurgen Bornemann, the Director Generalof International Military Staff of NATO met with the Chief of theJoint Staff of GAF Major-General Devi Chankotadze on Febru-ary 1. The key topics of bilateral discussion included cooperationin the field of education, peacekeeping operations and defencereforms in the defence system of Georgia. After the meeting,NATO’s top military official took a tour of the Krtsanisi NationalTraining Center accompanied by Deputy Chief of the Joint Staff,Colonel Arsen Tsukhishvili.

The NATO general also met with the personnel of 33 Battal-ion of III Infantry Brigade, which is currently being prepared torotate the 32nd Battalion servicemen (after 6 months of service)in Afghanistan. Jurgen Bornemann had the opportunity to seethe Simulation Center located at the Krtsanisi Training Base.

“I am visiting Georgia at a very interesting time when the re-lationship between Georgia and the North Atlantic Treaty Orga-nization is entering a new stage. I am visiting Georgia in order totake part in the Annual Defence Conference tomorrow where theGeorgian authorities represent their first findings of their Nation-al Defence review and I am very much looking forward to listen-ing to how Georgia is developing its own armed forces. Of course,I am also here to discuss the status of cooperation between Geor-gia and NATO. I can tell you and report to you that we had a verysuccessful year in 2010 where a lot of cooperation activities hadbeen implemented and we are looking very much forward to con-tinuing this cooperation with Georgia this year. Of course, that isthe reason why we are here in the training centre. One of thefocuses of cooperation between NATO and Georgia is the partic-ipation of the Georgian Armed Forces in the NATO-led ISAFoperation in Afghanistan. It is a great pleasure for me to considerthat Georgia has sent troops to this NATO-led operation. Georgiais the second largest non-NATO contributor and with this, Geor-gia is supporting the NATO operation in Afghanistan in a veryefficient and excellent manner,” said the General Director of in-ternational Military Staff in an interview with journalists.

333332011 MONTHLY SUPPLEMENT OF GEORGIA TODAY

Official Visits

Visit of James Appathurai

On an official visit to Georgia, James Appathurai, the NATOSecretary General’s Special Representative for the South Cauca-sus and Central Asia met with the Defense Minister Bacho Akhalaiaon April 7. Topics of discussion at the meeting were Georgia’s con-tribution to the NATO-led ISAF peacekeeping mission in Afghan-istan, the preparation for the Berlin Ministerial, the ongoing re-forms in the Defense Ministry and the various activities carriedout within the framework of the NATO- Georgia partnership. JamesAppathurai held meetings with the Georgian Minister of ForeignAffairs Grigol Vashadze and Vice-Premier Giorgi Baramidze. Healso visited Ivane Javakhishvili State University where he met stu-dents and academic personnel. Within the official visit, NATO’stop official also met with Giga Bokeria, the Head of the NationalSecurity Council and members of the Georgian Parliament.

The UK Defence

Minister Visits Georgia

The Defense Minister of the United Kingdom for InternationalSecurity Strategy, Gerald Howarth paid an official visit to Georgiaon June 6. The main purpose of his visit to Georgia was to strengthenrelations within the defence sphere between the two countries. TheUnited Kingdom’s minister for international security strategy heldmeeting with Georgian Defense Minister Bacho Akhalaia. Duringthe meeting, both sides focused on the existing security situationin the region, Georgia’s integration to NATO and the ongoing re-forms in the defence sphere. In the framework of the official visit,Gerald Howarth also met with the First Deputy Defense MinisterNodar Kharshiladze and the leadership of MoD and Joint Staff ofthe Georgian Armed Forces. He also visited the NATO-GeorgiaProfessional Development Program (PDP) Center and held meet-ings with the program manager and participants.

After the meeting Gerald Howarth made a statement for themedia: “I am delighted to be visiting Tbilisi and to reaffirm mycountry’s support for Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic aspirations. The UKcontinues to provide Georgia with assistance to make the neces-sary reforms for NATO membership. Therefore, I am pleased toannounce today that the UK will provide a new full-time securitydefense advisor, who will work within Georgia’s Ministry of De-fence. Georgia remains an important friend of the United King-dom. We fight alongside each other in Afghanistan and I want topersonally thank the people of Georgia for the sacrifices made inpursuit of global peace and stability”. The basic field of coopera-tion with Great Britain is educational sphere. Within the frame ofBritish Military Advisory Training Team (BMATT) Georgian in-structors undergo annual training on the international peacekeep-ing operations issues in Military Academy in Viskovo (Czech Re-public). The representatives of the Georgian Defence Ministry arealso able to undergo command and staff, English language andinternational relations training courses in Great Britain.

James Stavridis Visited Georgia

NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe Admiral JamesStavridis paid a two-day official visit to Georgia. The U.S. Admi-ral visited the Georgian Defence Ministry August 25. The NATOCommander was received by the Minister of Defence of GeorgiaBacho Akhalaia. Defence Minister briefed the NATO’s SupremeAllied Commander Europe about the ongoing reforms in defencesphere. At the meeting the sides discussed Georgia’s participationin ISAF (International Security Assistance Forces) operation. AsAdmiral James Stavridis declared after the meeting, he is very proudof the Georgian soldiers who are taking part in ISAF operation. “Iam very happy to be here today in Tbilisi, in Georgia to say thankyou to the Republic of Georgia for the outstanding participation inAfghanistan. We are very proud of the soldiers from Georgia whohave fought alongside the rest of the NATO coalition,” declaredStavridis. “Admiral Stavridis is NATO’s highest ranking militaryofficer and at the same time the Commander of the United StatesEuropean Command. We discussed the ISAF operation and Geor-gia’s participation in the mission. You are aware of the fact thatGeorgia is not only one of the largest but also one of the mostimportant contributors to the operation,” declared Defence Minis-ter Akhalaia after the meeting.

Secretary of the U.S. Navy Ray Mabus

at the Defence Ministry

Secretary of the U.S. Navy Ray Mabus paid a two-day officialvisit to Georgia. Secretary of the U.S. Navy was hosted by theGeorgian Defence Minister Bacho Akhalaia on November 18. Atthe meeting the Georgian Defence Minister briefed the Americanofficial about the ongoing defence reforms in Georgia. U.S. – Geor-gian bilateral cooperation in defence sphere, Georgia’s NATO in-tegration prospects and Georgia’s participation in ISAF (Interna-tional Security Assistance Force) were the topics of discussion atthe meeting. Secretary of the U.S. Navy Ray Mabus visited theKrtsanisi National Training Center and attended the military train-ings of the Georgian and U.S. military servicemen.

Visit of Bulgarian Chief of Defence

Chief of Defence of Bulgaria General Simeon Simeonov paid athree-day official visit to Georgia. On June 21 Chief of Joint Staffof Georgian Armed Forces Major-General Devi Chankotadze helda meeting with General Simeonov along with the delegation mem-ber of the General Staff of the Republic of Bulgaria. Within themeeting the Georgian and Bulgarian counterparts discussed issuesover the ongoing reforms and cooperation perspectives in defencesphere. The sides expressed their willingness and readiness to shareexperience in military education. Later Chief of Defence of Bul-garia paid tribute to the honor of the heroes fallen in the war forthe territorial integrity of Georgia and decorated the memorial ofthe heroes with wreath at Mukhatgverdi Military cemetery. Thedelegation from the Republic of Bulgaria visited the squadron inMarneuli region as well.

Speech of NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussenand the Georgian Defence Minister Bachana Akhalaia at the home-coming ceremony of the Georgian servicemen who served in ISAF

Minister, Excellencies, soldiers, ladies and gentlemen, I am veryhonored to have the opportunity to say a few words at this ceremonyto welcome back from Afghanistan the brave soldiers of the 33rd lightinfantry battalion.

For many years Georgia has been a major contributor to our com-mon effort to ensure that Afghanistan will never again be a safe ha-ven for terrorists and extremists.

Nearly a thousand Georgian troops are serving in Afghanistan to-day. They are doing a great job. And you, members of the 33rd lightinfantry battalion have done a great job. Your duties in Helmand prov-ince were particularly demanding but you met that challenge suc-cessfully and displayed considerable courage. You are not only a creditto your battalion and your brigade, but you are a credit to your entirecountry.

The Georgian government has announced its intention to make afurther engagement for our common effort. Once those troops are inplace Georgia will be the largest non NATO contributor. For a coun-try of just over 4.5 million people that is an enormous achievement.And it is the contribution for which all NATO is extremely grateful.

We’re now entering a crucial period in our engagement in Afghan-istan. We have broken the momentum of the insurgency. The transi-tion of our security responsibilities to the Afghans is on track to becompleted by the end of 2014. And you have all been the key part ofthe progress we have made. We will continue to stand by the Afghanpeople throughout transaction and beyond.

We will continue helping them to establish the country as stable,peaceful and increasingly prosperous member of the internationalcommunity of nations. And I am confident that Georgia will be thepart of this continuing commitment.

Afghanistan is a very demanding mission for all our nations andfor all our militaries. But it is also a vitally important mission for thesecurity of all our nations and that of all our citizens.

Your service in Afghanistan is also vitally important in anotherway. It makes the personnel of the Georgian Armed Forces betterprepared to work alongside their colleagues from NATO in other mis-sions too, and this is a key part of your countries preparations forNATO membership. So you have not only Afghanistan standing onits own feet, but also help Georgia to move closer to Alliance mem-bership. And this is one more reason for you to be very proud of whatyou have accomplished.

Let me thank each and everyone of you in the 33rd light infantrybattalion once again for your outstanding contribution to the progressof our common endeavor in Afghanistan. And let me close by payingtribute to the Georgian soldiers who have paid the highest price inthat endeavor. We must make sure and we will make sure that theirsacrifice has not been in vain.

Defence Minister Bacho Akhalaia

Dear Mr. Secretary-General and distinguished guests,I have the honor to welcome you and the members of North-At-

lantic Council in Georgia. So I am pinning my hopes to the fact thatthe aforementioned visit will be another step forward in the deepen-ing of NATO-Georgia relationship.

I reckon that our soldiers have contributed a lot in the way of themission’s accomplishment and that they have fulfilled their duties tothe highest level. At the same time, they are procuring a lot of experi-ence by which they are strengthening the Georgian Armed Forces.

We have already conducted the fourth rotation under the US Com-mand and right now we are in the middle of pre-deployment exercis-es. As you should be aware, in the year to come, another battalionwill take part in the ISAF mission from Georgia.

In parallel with the operations conducted by NATO, we are forcedto be acting in a very heavy and grave security settings, which is verydemanding in terms of the fact that we have to proceed with the re-covery from the damages inflicted by the August War and on the oth-er hand, we have to continue the transformation of the defence sphere.

And finally, I’d like one more time to emphasize that participationby Georgia in the activities of the alliance is another manifestationthat Georgia is ready to become a full- fledged member of the NorthAtlantic Alliance.


Military Parade 2011On the 26th of May, Independence

Day was officially announced by therecorded voice of the prominent Geor-gian poet Akaki Tsereteli.

The military parade, which was ded-icated to Georgia’s Independence Day,was commanded by the Chief of JointStaff of the Georgian Armed Forces(GAF), Maj.-Gen. Devi Chankotadze.

Before the appearance of the Su-preme Commander-in-Chief of theGeorgian Armed Forces MikheilSaakashvili, the Chief of Joint Staff ofthe GAF gave the command for readi-ness for the military parade. He then re-ported to the Supreme Commander-in-Chief that the military personnel werelined-up, and then the president and thearmy greeted one another. Upon receiv-ing the order, Georgia’s military person-nel took “at ease” position. There was aminute of silence and then the presidentbegan his speech… By the end of thespeech, the president granted “BrillianceAwards” to the following people:

1. Rusudan Petviashvili2. Vakhtang Machavariani3. Tariel Chanturia4. Rezo Gabriadze5. Otar Zurabishvili6. Natela Zhordania7. Rejeb Zhordania8. Tamar Chkhenkeli9. Gogita Vashadze10. David Sakvarelidze11. David Lortkipanidze12. Arvidas Sabonis13. Tamar Kvesitadze14. Mamuka Gvaramia15. Genadi Qachibaia

The Vakhtang Gorgasali III Rank

Order was awarded toCorporal Sadghobelashvili Ilia1st Lieutenant Tsirdava Tengizand Major Kutkhashvili Slava

For the first time in the history ofmilitary parades and within the frame-work of the formal ceremony, the grad-uates of the National Defence Academytook the military oath. Ninety-four grad-uates, only one woman among them,knelt down and swore the oath of alle-giance. After the ceremony, they weregranted the rank of Lieutenant. After themilitary parade, they will continue serv-ing in the various units of the GeorgianArmed Forces.

After the oath-taking ceremony, theGeorgian National Anthem was per-formed. The anthem was sung by Geor-gian singer Nini Badurashvili and wasaccompanied by the Defence Ministry’smilitary band.

The commander of the military pa-rade gave instructions concerning theparade that meant the regrouping of per-sonnel, giving them direction of move-ment and the keeping of distance. Thestandard-bearers started moving in astraight line and the rest to the right.

The military parade was opened bythe column of standard-bearers led byDeputy-Chief-of-Staff of the GAF, Col.Arsen Tsukhishvili. The military person-

nel were carrying the flags of the Geor-gian state and various branches of theGeorgian Armed Forces. The columnwas manned with personnel from theceremonial company.

The standard-bearers were followedby the students of the Cadets MilitaryLyceum, who took part in the militaryparade for the first time. The CadetsMilitary Lyceum started functioning inthe beginning of the current academicyear (September 13, 2010). The educa-tional institution was formally unveiledby the president of Georgia. The idea ofthe reestablishment of the Cadets Lyce-um belongs to Mikheil Saakashvili.Right now, the Cadets Military Lyceum

comprises 297 students. It fully com-plies with international standards and thecadets enjoy free medical service, ade-quate messing, various kinds of uni-forms, as well as school equipment.Along with the general educational pro-gram, they are intensively familiarizingthemselves with military life and under-go rigorous physical preparation.

The march was continued by the mil-itary personnel of the Joint Staff andLand Forces Command.

They were followed by military per-sonnel from the Training and MilitaryEducation Command. Military units ofthe Land Forces also marched at theParade. Parade was led by the command-ers of military units of the I InfantryBrigade, II Infantry Brigade, III Infan-try Brigade, IV Infantry Brigade, Sepa-rate Light Infantry Battalion, I ArtilleryBrigade, II Artillery Brigade, Engineer-ing Brigade, Separate CommunicationBattalion, aviation sub-units of landforces, National Guard and special op-eration forces.

The parade also featured varioustypes of armored vehicles, among thema new armored vehicle “Didgori” thatappeared at the military parade for thefirst time, also Hammer Type ArmoredVehicle, Armored Vehicle “Cobra”, Ar-mored Vehicle “Wolf”, Armored-Vehi-cle, Armored Vehicle “Ejder”, ArtillerySystem “MTSA”, Artillery System “Gi-atsint”, self-propelled artillery system“DANA” Multiple Rocket Launcher“RM-70.

The parade was wrapped up by overflight of various types of aviation: Heli-copter UH-1H, Helicopter MI-8, Heli-copter MI-24, High Performance Jet “L-39”, Jet Aircraft SU-25.


“Didgori”

“Didgori” is a newly createdvehicle, just a few days old,though as its Georgian manufac-turers say, it is already experi-enced. The Didgori combat ve-hicle has been designed by Geor-gians after a thorough study ofcomparable models throughoutthe world. After its design, it wastested according to internationalstandards. Before its final forma-tion, several test models werecreated. They were tested ac-cording to various param-eters and the armor protec-tion has also been checkedseveral times. The Didgoricombat vehicle is a multi-function armored person-nel carrier that can also beused for intelligence purpos-es, convoy operations and mov-ing on a battlefield. The Didgoriis very maneuverable and fast,so it is very useful for SpecialForces. According to informa-tion provided by its constructors,it is more protected than requiredby NATO STANAG II. Thisclass provides protection from7.62/54 type armor penetrablebullets, although the exact pa-rameters of armor is kept secret.As for the bottom armor, it is cre-ated with the “sandwich” multi-layer system. It has three layers.The middle layer provides thepossibility to keep off the blastwave in case of mine explosion.The other two layers protect thecrew from fragmentation. Thetires are armored as well. Eachtire can resist up to ten shots. Ithas an extra layer of protection.Even if the tire is damaged, thevehicle can cover 50-60 kilome-ters at the speed of 80km/h. Sev-eral types of weapon systems can

be mounted on the GeorgianDidgori. At this stage, two kindsof vehicles are created. One issmaller with more maneuver-ability and another is larger insize. 7.62 mm “MINIGUN” sys-tems also called “Volcanos”which provide a high rate of fire

(12, 000 to 15, 000 rounds perminute) are mounted on one ofthem and a 12.7 mm machine-gun is mounted on the other.

· Crew – “Didgori 1” – 8+1(machine-gunner), “Didgori 2” –6+1 (machine-gunner) military

servicemen.· Speed – average speed

100-120 km/h· Fuel capacity – enables it

to cover 500 km· Weight – 7 tons· Designer of “Didgori-1” is

a famous car designer ZviadTsikolia

The constructors consideredthe technology that exists in thearmor industry of the world,namely, mine resistance, armor

quality, hardness, etc. For themost part, the armor of theDidgori is innovative, and theidea belongs entirely to Georgianconstructors. The creation of in-novative armor enabled theGeorgian constructors to designthe Didgori in a way to make itsweight 30% lighter compared tosimilar vehicles. In addition, itsarmor is firmer than the rest ofthe vehicles of the same class.The Didgori is equipped with

ultra-modern equipment andcommunications systems. Thecrew inside the vehicle can usethe internal radio communica-tion (i.e. contact the driver andcommander) within 5 km radi-

us. The vehicle is equipped withthermal cameras that enable thecrew to move with its search-lights turned off and at the sametime remain undetected by ene-my forces. The telescope systemcan also be mounted on the backplatform of the vehicle. It is

equipped with a night vision de-vice with a full rotation of 360ºand an optical zoom X36. Thecombat vehicle is equipped witha 10 watt Harris radio systemthat enables the crew to commu-nicate within 11 km radius.

It is possible to install vari-ous kinds of systems that willmake the Georgian Didgori moreeffective.

The intelligence vehicle hasadditional hatches; so the crew

can open fire without leav-ing the vehicle.

“This vehicle satisfiesthe requirements of sol-diers. It is fast and mo-bile. The main demandfrom our side, from sol-diers with regard to mil-itary equipment is thesecurity parameters. Inthis case, the level of se-curity is considered to be

at the highest level. The majoradvantage of Didgori is that it isGeorgian! It is produced in Geor-gia and it makes us feel proud,as well as its name!” – AlekoGorgadze, Master Sergeant of IVInfantry Brigade.

“Experience and views of theGeorgian soldiers, also, the prin-ciples of projecting and design-ing have been considered whilecreating this vehicle. This hashappened for the first time inGeorgia” – Zviad Tsikolia.

Production of its own militaryequipment is very important forany country. Compared to pro-curement, production is finan-cially beneficial. The mainte-nance inplace is also faster andrequires fewer finances. It can befreely counted as one more ad-vantage of Didgori.


Georgian Contingent on ISAF Mission

Defence Minister awarded the Georgian

military servicemen for participation in

international peacekeeping mission

An award ceremony for military servicemen of the III Infantry Brigade of theGeorgian Armed Forces was held in Kutaisi on July 6. “For participation in theinternational peacekeeping mission in Afghanistan”, service and state rewardswere granted to the 32nd Battalion and Infantry Company personnel who hadparticipated in the ISAF mission. The Defence Minister of Georgia, Bacho Akhala-ia, the leadership of GAF and the son of Colonel Ramaz Gogishvili, who haddied in Afghanistan, awarded the soldiers.

1,019 military servicemen received medals for participating in the internationalmission. Four soldiers were awarded the Vakhtang Gorgasali III rank order, and122 military servicemen were rewarded with the state and service medals.

principle, new company joins theNATO-led security operation in Afghan-istan every 6 months.

Each Georgian Peace Company, go-ing to deploy in Afghanistan, wentthrough training courses at the Sach-khere Mountain-Training School in fullcompliance with NATO standards fortwo weeks. During the trainings theGeorgian Armed Forces were speciallyprepared for counterinsurgency opera-tions.

Since April 2010, a total of 750 ser-vicemen of 31st Infantry Battalion ofIII Infantry Brigade of GAF were sentto the province of Helmand, the southprovince of Afghanistan. The Georgianpeace contingent was carrying out therea full spectrum of security operationsside by side with the US military forc-es. During November 2010, the 31stBattalion, been deployed in Afghani-stan, was rotated by the 32nd Battalionof III Infantry Brigade. SinceApril 2011, the 33rd Battalion had per-formed a peacekeeping mission in theAfghan province of Helmand. After sixmonths of service, in November 2011,749 military servicemen of 31st Bat-talion of III Infantry Brigade replaced33rd Battalion step by step. The Geor-gian peacekeeping battalion is perform-ing the security mission in Afghanistanas part of the US military contingent.It is already a second rotation for the31st battalion personnel, who are char-acterized with a high level of combatpreparation and experience.

The above-mentioned battalionshave undergone 6 month intensivetraining in the Krtsanisi Training Cen-tre under the guidance of Expedition-ary Brigade of US Marine Corps. TheBattalion personnel have also gonethrough preparation in the US JointMultinational Readiness Centre(JMRC) based in the German city of

Georgia is one of the largest con-tributors per capita to the ISAF mili-tary operation ongoing under the aegisof NATO in Afghanistan. Initially, upto 50 military servicemen were de-ployed in the peacekeeping mission in2004, whose main duty there was toinsure security during local presiden-tial elections. Afterwards, from No-vember 2009, in the town of Ghor prov-ince, Chaghcharan, the Georgian doc-

tors have been performing peace mis-sion in the province integrated in theLithuanian contingent reconstructiongroup by 6 months rotation.

Since November 2009, first Georgianpeacekeeping company was deployed inKabul, Afghanistan to accomplish themission there as a part of the Frenchpeace contingent at the military base“Warehouse” of the Regional Com-mand’s HQs. According to the rotation

Hohenfels. They were instructed in de-fence, searching, cordon, convoy,evacuation operations as well as inskills of communication with leadersand population they will have to in-teract with during the mission. Geor-gian soldiers‘ preparedness level toengage in particular peace support op-erations in Afghanistan was positive-ly evaluated by both the Centre’s ex-perts and Trainers and Advisors Groupof US Marines.

Besides, since April, 2011 Georgianmilitary instructors have been carryingout peacekeeping mission in Kandaharprovince, Afghanistan as part of theFrench peace contingent.

Participation in international peace-keeping missions provides Georgiansoldiers with an opportunity to obtainpractical combat experience and to dem-onstrate the country’s readiness to co-operate with NATO and its partnerstates‘armed forces.


Your forces have been very success-ful in partnering with the Afghan Na-tional Security Force and with local Af-ghan Government leaders. Together theyhave conducted numerous operationsand implemented many initiatives toincrease security and stability. Yourtroopers’ effective interactions with theAfghan people have led to increasedconfidence in both ISAF and GIRoAsecurity forces. As an example, the areawhere they operate is southern MusaQaleh is now patrolled on foot, result-ing in better relationships with the Af-ghan people. Your troopers are truly cou-rageous in conducting these foot patrols,which place them at greater risk of in-surgent attacks.

Much of the credit for improved se-curity in southern Musa Qaleh is attrib-utable to the outstanding leadership ofyour battalion commanders: LieutenantColonel Phridoni Tereladze and MajorAlexander Tugushi. Both possesses su-perior knowledge of their areas of oper-ation, maintain good discipline of theirforces, and plan sound operations to re-duce the insurgents’ influence on thepeople.

Major General Richard Mills, Com-mander of Regional Command-South-west, has been very pleased with theleadership of both the 31st and 32ndBattalions. He informed me that yourtroopers are motivated and disciplined,and that they approach their missionwith a positive attitude. Other favorablecomments about your troops have beenechoed up and down the levels of com-mand, reinforcing their well-earnedreputation as tough, smart, and profes-sional.

Thanks again, for your Nation’s com-mitment to the Afghan people and thecampaign here. I look forward to con-tinuing our work together to help theAfghanistan Government provide amore secure and prosperous future forits people.

Very respectfully,David H. Petraeus,General, United States Army Com-

manderInternational Security Assistance

Force / United States Forces-Afghani-stan

Letter by General David H.

Petraeus to Georgian Defence

Minister Bachana Akhalaia

Hollywood Film Star and a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations HighCommissioner for Refugees Angelina Jolie visited Georgian military servicemen inthe military hospital in Germany. Georgian peacekeepers served under the US peacecontingent in Helmand province within the ISAF (International Security AssistanceForce) peacekeeping mission

The first lady of the United States Michelle Obama visited the injured Georgianmilitary servicemen who were transferred to the German Hospital from Helmand

Commander of the US Marine Corps General James Amos and Sergeant Major of the USMarine Corps Carlton Kent visited Georgian serviceman Alika Gitolendia, who waswounded in Afghanistan. Corporal of the 31st Battalion Gitolendia exploded on the IED(improvised explosive device) during his service in ISAF Mission

His Excellency Bachana Akhalaia

Dear Excellency,I greatly appreciate your Nation’s

contributions to the NATO ISAF mis-sion. The 31st (April-November 2010)

and 32nd (November 2010-present)Georgian Battalions have been integralto the growing success of our effortsto improve security and stability, spe-cifically in Nimruz and HelmandProvinces.

Hollywood movie star Tom Cruise visited Georgian military servicemen at the militaryhospital in Germany. During the visit the military hospital Tom Cruise took amemorable photo with private of the 33rd Battalion of the 3rd Infantry BrigadeAkhmed Saparov. The 33rd Battalion of the 3rd Infantry Brigade, where privateSaparov serves, has already left Afghanistan and been rotated by the 31st Battalion.Private Saparov will return to Georgia after the first course of his treatment

On June 9 during the NATO Defence Ministerial in Brussels Georgia’s Minister of Defence, Bacho Akhalaia and David Petraeus, theCommander of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) discussed the decision to send an additional Georgian battalion toAfghanistan. Bacho Akhalaia and David Petraeus also talked about the possibility of establishing a NATO- standard regional trainingfacility. General Petraeus welcomed the initiative to set up a facility that would provide pre-deployment training for internationaloperations

Georgian Defence Conference

The Georgian Defence Conferenceheld in February in the city of Batumi,like its predecessors, sought to give in-terested parties the opportunity to dis-cuss the existing security environmentin Georgia and the ongoing defence re-forms in its armed forced. At the Forum,organized by the Georgian DefenceMinistry, a wide range of delegationsfrom Georgia and foreign countries weregiven the opportunity to hold open dis-cussions on new challenges in the glo-bal security sphere.

The conference has become a year-ly tradition, and the number of dele-gates attending the event has grownyear to year. This year, the conferencewas proud to welcome distinguished,high-ranking representatives fromNATO, the USA and other partnercountries, as well as members of thediplomatic corps. The list of the guestsat the Conference also included repre-sentatives from Georgian governmen-tal and non-governmental agencies, theparliamentary majority and oppositionparties, and independent experts in thedefence and security sphere.

Within the framework of the two-dayconference, a range of important issueswere discussed, including NATO after

the Lisbon Summit, global security chal-lenges, defence reforms, the Georgianreserve system and defence transforma-tion and transparency. An emphasis wasmade on the new reserve and civil de-fence systems, and the Strategic ReviewDocument renewed by Georgian De-fence Ministry, which reports onprogress on aspects of national securityrelating to defence, and outlines theGeorgian Armed Forces plans for devel-opment up to 2015.

Delegates at the conference had agood opportunity to discuss not onlyGeorgian defence issues, but also broad-er security questions. The Vice-Minis-ter of National Defence of Lithuania,Vytautas Umbrasas told Defence Today:“I feel that this conference was very use-ful and very positive. I hope, as I heardfrom the [Georgian] Deputy DefenceMinister, it will continue to become alarger, broader and deeper event everyyear. I hope that next year will also havemany good speakers, meetings and op-portunities to discuss important securi-ty questions. It is very important forGeorgia, and for the region, and maybefor other regions as well,” Umbrasasexplained.

The conference was opened by the

Georgian State Minister for Europeanand Euro-Atlantic Integration, Mr. Gior-gi Baramidze. In his opening remarksthe minister spoke about the significanceof the meeting. The Chairman of theCivil Council on Defence and Security,Mr. Erekle Mchedlishvili, highlightedthe transparency and active participationof public society in the ongoing process-es in the defence sphere.

In his speech, NATO General Direc-tor of the International Military Staff,Lieutenant General Jurgen Bornemanndiscussed such topics as NATO’s newfunctions, current challenges and futurevision after the Lisbon Summit, as wellthe importance of the ISAF operationand Georgia’s participation in the mis-sion.

One of the major topics for the con-ference was Georgia’s new reserve sys-tem and issues concerning civil defence.The Deputy Head of J-5, a division ofthe Joint Staff of Georgia, LieutenantColonel Omar Begoidze, and memberof the parliamentary opposition, NickLaliashvili, shared their opinions on theissue. Major General William T. Nes-bitt made an interesting presentation onthe American reserve system.

The fifth panel of the conference dis-cussed defence transparency and thepublic’s contribution to the security de-cision-making process.

The UK Special Defence Advisor tothe Georgian Defence Ministry, Mr.Steven Glover, presented his vision ofBritish defence and security, and how itrelated to the Georgian strategic reviewdocument. The Head of the Planning andAnalysis Department of the Chamber ofControl of Georgia, Mr. Levan Alapish-vili, concluded the conference themati-cally, reviewing issues related to thestate budget and defence reforms.

The Georgian Defence Conference2011, held in Batumi, will be remem-bered for the attendance of many high-ranking dignitaries, interesting discus-sion, the sharing of experiences andplanning for the future. The conferenceis one more step forward for Georgia interms of deepening regional and inter-national cooperation in the securitysphere.

Bacho Akhalaia, Georgia’s DefenceMinister attended the NATO DefenceMinisterial Meeting of the North At-lantic Council (NAC) in NATO HQ,Brussels, on March 10-11. The meet-ing was opened by the NATO Secre-tary General, Anders Fogh Rasmussen.

The meeting was open to non-NatoISAF-contribution nations, and saw de-fence ministers from across the Afghanmission discuss ways of securing sta-bility in the war-torn country and out-line plans for the future.

At the opening of the meeting, Ras-mussen offered his condolences to thefamilies and loved ones of the ISAF andAfghan soldiers who have been killedor injured in Afghanistan. He told thosein attendance that it is thanks to thecourage and selfless sacrifice of thosewho have lost their lives, that consid-erable progress has been achieved bythe coalition forces: “We are puttinggreat pressure on the insurgency andare taking away many of the safe ha-vens that they have relied upon. Thishas helped to create a safer and moresecure environment in many parts ofAfghanistan. Our strategy is working”,declared Rasmussen. He thanked theAfghan national security forces fortheir close partnership and confirmedthat they are ready to gradually assumethe lead responsibility for the securityof their nation and their people.

Minister of Defence of Georgia, Ba-cho Akhalaia also delivered speech atthe meeting. Mr. Akhalaia briefed theaudience on the state of Georgia’s par-ticipation in the operation and the coun-try’s future plans in this regard. Geor-gia continues to be fully committed toISAF mission with 929 highly profes-sional soldiers currently deployed onthe ground in Afghanistan. While ad-dressing the audience, the Minister re-ferred to prospects for future coopera-tion. He underscored the fact that theISAF conference was taking placeagainst a background of a period oftransition within Afghanistan, and dis-cussed the coalition’s preparation ofAfghan national security forces: “Asyou know we are planning to send upto 20 artillery instructors to Afghani-

Defence Minister

attended NATO meeting

stan to assist the local military to beable to take control of the security sit-uation on the ground.”

In an interview with the media,Grigol Mgaloblishvili, Georgian Am-bassador to NATO, also underlined theimportance of sending instructors toAfghanistan: “The decision to send anadditional military contingent is veryimportant. This spring, 11 instructorswill be deployed in Afghanistan, andas for the [further 9 instructors] we arein the process of dealing with sometechnical details,” said the Ambassador.

The Defence Minister held individ-ual meetings with his British, Bulgari-an and other foreign colleagues withinthe framework of the Ministerial.

Participants at the meeting discussedthe new security challenges arising fromthe situation in Libya and the longer-term prospects for the Middle East. Inaddition to this, the two-day ministerialmeeting also saw a new concept on Cy-ber-Security approved by the delegation.

Ministers also took crucial steps to-wards the implementation of “Transi-tion” - the process by which securityresponsibility for Afghanistan is beinggradually transferred to Afghan lead-ership. As a result of the meeting, theAfghan government will now decide onthe areas in which the transition pro-gram will be implemented. Transitionwill commence only once it has beenapproved by the Afghan governmentand announced by President Karzai.

The Ministers also discussed andagreed upon the principles by whichTransition will be implemented. Theyemphasized the fact that Transition isnot an event but a process, and that itsignifies a gradual shift to a genuinesupporting role as Afghan NationalSecurity Forces (ANSF) capabilitiesdevelop. The Ministers, who werejoined by Afghan Defence MinisterAbdul Rahim Wardak, welcomed theprogress achieved with regard to thestrengthening of the ANSF, who areincreasingly taking the lead in jointoperations. Ministers expressed theirshared goal of seeing the ANSF take thelead and conduct security operations inall provinces by the end of 2014.

Georgian Defence Minister BachoAkhalaia attended the NATO DefenceMinisterial meeting. The North AtlanticCouncil (NAC) met at the level of de-fence ministers in Brussels, NATO HQon June 8-9. Within the framework of theNATO Defence Ministerial, the meetingof the North Atlantic Council has beenheld in the NATO HQ with non-NATOISAF contributing Nations. Throughoutthe meeting, defence ministers dealt withthe ways of securing stability in Afghan-istan and set out the future plans.

The defence meetings of the NAC atthe level of defence ministers wereopened by the NATO Secretary Gener-al, Anders Fogh Rasmussen. He beganhis opening remarks by paying tributeto the ISAF and Afghan forces that havebeen killed or injured in Afghanistan.“Afghanistan remains our largest oper-ation and our key operational priority.And we are making progress, in partic-ular in the areas of transition, training,and enabling the Afghans to take thelead,” NATO Secretary General said.According to Rasmussen, the Taliban areunder pressure everywhere, includingtheir former strongholds in Helmand andKandahar provinces. Secretary GeneralRasmussen took the opportunity on be-half of the ISAF family to thank outgo-ing ISAF Commander General DavidPetraeus for his dedicated service andextraordinary leadership. He thankedthe General for showing firm commit-ment to the Alliance and the ISAF mis-sion.

NATO Defence Ministerial in Brussels

The 48 NATO and ISAF defenceministers reaffirmed their long-termcommitment to Afghanistan which re-mains NATO’s top operational priority.Ministers were updated on the opera-tional situation from the Commander ofISAF, General David Petraeus, who ex-plained how progress against the insur-gency was enabling the transition toAfghans to start leading in seven dis-tricts and provinces in July, as planned.

“Transition is based on conditions,not the calendar. But I am confident thatwe can complete our handover of secu-rity to the Afghans by the end of 2014. This does not mean we are heading forthe exit. Our commitment to Afghani-stan will endure beyond that through ourlong-term partnership”- said NATO Sec-

retary General, Anders Fogh Rasmus-sen. As part of this process, ministershave agreed to work together with theAfghan authorities to define the relation-ship between NATO-ISAF and Afghan-istan after the transition is complete in2014 and in order to reassure the Af-ghans of our long-term commitment totheir country. This work will help clari-fy the likely evolution of security-sup-port to Afghanistan for the years tocome.

In the framework of the NATO De-fence Ministerial, the Georgian defenceminister held bilateral meetings with hisforeign counterparts. The meeting washeld with the Commander of Interna-tional Security Assistance Force (ISAF)David Petraeus.

The Georgian Defence and SecurityConference opened at the “Radisson BluIveria” Hotel on October 27. Georgianand international representatives dis-cussed the new challenges within the glo-bal security sphere, the ongoing defencereforms in Georgia and the achievedprogress at the conference organized bythe Ministry of Defence of Georgia. Theconference is an important forum for dis-cussion of defence and security issues.The Georgian governmental and non-governmental organizations, the parlia-mentary majority, representatives fromopposition parties, experts, high rankingofficials from international organizations,the defence counterparts of partner coun-tries and the diplomatic corps accreditedto Georgia attended the conference. Dur-

ing two days the conference participantsdiscussed important issues such as theNATO Agenda from Lisbon to Chicago,Georgia’s NATO membership perspec-tives, the Black Sea Region within theEuro Atlantic security dimension, thechallenges of the security sphere, the on-going reforms in the Georgian defencesphere, the main trends in military edu-cation, the view of civil society and itscontributions, democratic control and itsexisting challenges and the way ahead forthe ISAF mission.

Along with the forum, Georgian De-fence Minister Bacho Akhalaia and VicePrime Minister of Georgia and StateMinister for European and Euro-Atlan-tic Integration Giorgi Baramidze heldbilateral meetings with foreign visitors.

Georgian Defence and

Security Conference


The Cadets Military Lyceum beganits new academic year on September15. The military institution began theacademic year with several new inno-vations. This year the cadets will studya third foreign language (Turkish)along with other standard compulsoryforeign languages (English and Rus-sian). Second and third-year cadets willalso undergo a TOEFEL program.

The period to obtain and submitthe required documents for entranceinto the Lyceum Academy was fromJune 16 to July 4. After successfullyfinishing the basic educational phase(IX grade) in general educational in-stitutions, 769 students applied to theLyceum. After undergoing medical

Cadets Military Lyceum

examinations, only 618 perspectivestudents made it to the final entrancephase. Out of 618 applicants, 110students were selected on the basisof the testing results, conducted intwo stages - physical preparation andlogical aptitude skills. For the 2011-2012 academic years, a total of 352will receive their education at theacademy.

The educational process at the Ca-dets Military Lyceum is carried out onthe basis of the National Curriculumdeveloped by the Ministry of Educa-tion and Science and an additional mil-itary program. In parallel with the gen-eral educational program, additionalmilitary disciplines are also taught at

the Lyceum; these include fire, tacti-cal, engineer, physical and drillingpreparation, topography-navigation,first medical aid, humanitarian law onarmed conflicts and military history. In order to achieve an effective edu-cational process, seven departments ineach curriculum have been created inthe Cadets Military Lyceum.

The Cadets Military Lyceum is akind of boarding house providing thecadets with adequate accommodation,nutrition, medical service and text-books. Upon graduation the studentswill be awarded with certificates of sec-ondary education.

The Lyceum offers the best work-ing environment, based on a secure, in-teractive and respectful relationshipamong the personnel which is insuredby the set structure of the Lyceum.

The Cadets self-governance bodyis also functioning at the Cadets Mili-tary Lyceum and consists of variouscommittees – including the Lyceumadministration, the committee of pub-lic affairs, as well as sports and esthet-ical education. During the academicyear, cadet Olympiads and creative ed-ucational conferences also take place.The goal of the military school is todevelop the intellectual, cultural,physical and moral features of the ca-det and to enable the cadet to be ableto easily adapt to social life and en-gage in both the civil and military ser-vice of the country.

On February 25, the Georgian Pres-ident Mikheil Saakashvili delivered aspeech before the cadets of MilitaryLyceum and students of National De-fence Academy- “for you and anyGeorgian citizen, interested in the fu-ture military career, the history of ca-dets and their teachers will always re-main as a worthy example. And youtoo should become the model for thefuture generation not in the way toshare their tragic fate, but to create anindependent and powerful state”. Themeeting which was organized withinthe framework of “Occupation Week”was attended by the Defence MinisterBacho Akhalaia, descendents of theHead of the first Georgian Govern-ment Noe Jhordania and hero cadetsalong with Military Lyceum and De-fence Academy students.

Defence Minister of GeorgiaBacho Akhalaia visited cadets onJune 30 and attended the field ex-ercise. The students of CadetsMilitary Lyceum had been under-going practical field exercise sinceJune 19. Along with the comple-tion of the training, the 2010-2011academic year also finished, afterwhich summer holidays for the ca-dets began at the Lyceum.

The cadets were undergoingthe field exercise at the outset. They improved their theoreticalknowledge by the practical fieldtraining. During two weeks thecadets of Military Lyceum were undergoing tactical, marksmanship, engi-neering and medical preparation along with physical training. They also mas-tered in communication, military topography and army regulations. CadetsMilitary Lyceum started its functioning at the beginning of the academic year2010 on September 13.

Meeting with the Georgian President

Cadets visit Rustaveli Cinema Hall

On December 9, attendees of CadetsMilitary Lyceum visited Rustaveli Cine-ma Hall. The students saw the Georgianfeature film “Love Story”. Such kind ofcognitive-entertaining events are orga-nized every week. This initiative belongs

to the Defence Ministry. Along with get-ting additional information, such initia-tive gives possibility of certain relax-ation. Every week the students attendfilm shows and performances, visit mu-seums and other places of interest.

Minister of Defence Visited Cadets

Cadets Visit Defence AcademyOn December 10, students of the

Cadets Military Lyceum visitedDavit Aghmashenebeli NationalDefence Academy. Cadets werehosted by the freshmen of the De-fence Academy. They viewed theexisting infrastructure of the Nation-al Defence Academy – educationaland living facilities, conference hall,entertainment center, swimmingpool, indoor and outdoor sportsgrounds and library. Cadets firedfrom the simulation systems and hadsupper together with the students ofthe Defence Academy. They also re-ceived detailed information aboutthe admission requirements and liv-ing and educational standards of theDefence Academy.



National Defence Academy of GeorgiaThe National Defence Academy was

recently opened by the Supreme Com-mander-in-Chief of the Georgian ArmedForces, Mikheil Saakashvili. The Presi-dent of Georgia called the new militaryeducational institution a symbol of thecountry’s revival.

“The invader, which intervened inGeorgia three-years ago, annihilated thismilitary base. We however, have re-stored the base and have built an evenbetter military academy- one similar towhich Georgia has never had through-out its history,” said Saakashvili.

“Our country is in a very difficultgeopolitical situation,” added the Presi-dent. “There are not enough fingers tocount all the invaders who thoughtthroughout Georgia’s history that theyhad invaded this land and extinguishedthe existence of Georgia. Furthermore,many of the empires which invadedGeorgia [have since] disappeared. ButGeorgia turned out to be eternal,” thepresident continued. “As long as Geor-gia is alive, we will have the necessityto protect our country and therefore thenecessity to have armed forces”, Presi-dent Saakashvili said.

Saakashvili noted that several kilo-meters from Gori the occupying RussianArmy set up a military foothold in Geor-gia. “But let’s take a broader look… Thisplace is the heart of Georgia,” he said.

Mikheil Saakashvili also spoke aboutthe importance of Georgia’s participa-tion in the ISAF mission. He pointed outthat Georgia’s military contribution tothe Afghan operation provides the Geor-gian army “invaluable combat experi-ence” and to the country it provides the“solidarity and support” of its allies.

“Many people question what the

Georgian soldiers are doing in Afghani-stan and I often hear that the Georgiangovernment wants to score politicalpoints or that Saakashvili wants to keephis chair and that’s why he sacrifices thelives of our soldiers. Neither my chairnor my life is worth anything to me whenit comes to Georgia and its supreme in-terests,” Saakashvili said.

“The Georgian soldiers are in Af-

ghanistan because it makes the Georgianarmed forces stronger and because thisprovides invaluable combat experi-ence,” Saakashvili said. “I have heardfrom General Petraeus that the Georgianpeacekeeping contingent was the best hehad ever interacted with in Iraq and Af-ghanistan aside from the Americans.General Petraeus has told me that theGeorgian peacekeepers were distin-

guished by something which is unex-plainable, giving them preference overthe armed forces of other countries. Butin order to maintain a high combat readi-ness it needs permanent testing in a com-bat environment and constant training.”

He said that the first reaction on thequestion of whether Georgian troopsshould be in Afghanistan or not will ofcourse be “no, they should not.”

“But let’s think more deeply aboutthe challenges and threats currently fac-ing Georgia. The main question is if ourcountry really needs armed forces withsignificant combat experience or assis-tance from our powerful partners; cer-tainly we need these things, otherwisethe country will not be able to survive.And this kind of experience will onlybe obtained through participating in thepeacekeeping mission in Afghanistan. Ifwe want to function as a state we musthave armed forces, and if we wish tohave an army we should be in Afghani-stan,” he said.

“If we want to have the country, weshould have the army; if we want tohave the army, we should be in Afghan-istan.”

“And that’s not because of scoringpolitical points; I know that it is not pop-ular, but I also know that our ability toput our country’s long-term interestsabove our popularity is what makes usdifferent from political demagogues.”

“In a decisive moment, soldiers andofficers, who have gone through thisexperience, will serve Georgia, will pro-tect Georgia and will save Georgia.”

“By the way, these questions are notat all asked among soldiers and theirfamilies and I appreciate it very much,”Saakashvili added.

He also underscored that the newly-opened defence academy is one of thebest equipped, comfortable military ed-ucational institutions in the world. “Interms of higher-education, we createdthe highest standards for our militaryhere and that is one of the best parts ofGeorgian society. This academy willraise future well-known Georgian Gen-erals,” stated the President.

The Davit Agmashenebeli NationalDefence Academy of Georgia wasopened on September 16. The buildingcomplex of the renewed National De-fence Academy includes accommoda-tion buildings, a canteen, conference

hall, recreation center, gymnasium,swim-ming pool, open sport groundsand gyms, educational buildings, library,medical center and an administrativebuilding. The academy provides stu-dents with material and a technical base

with international standards by provid-ing accommodation, adequate messing,uniforms and medical service. The acad-emy graduate is awarded with a bache-lor’s degree and the military rank ofLieutenant. The institution will prepareofficers in the following specializations:infantry, engineering, logistics, tank,mechanized artillery, aviation, air-de-fence and communications.

The academy’s bachelor’s programsare provided by two schools: The Tech-nical Sciences school, which offers spe-cialties in the building of airdromes andhighways and information technologies,and the Business and Managementschool, which offers a program to attend-ees who are majoring in the specialtiesof general management, logistics andexpediting. In addition, the academywill have a master’s department. TheNational Defence Academy also plansto send its best students to high-levelinternational educational institutions via

an exchange program.Education at the academy is fully fi-

nanced by the Ministry of Defence ofGeorgia.

The institution was founded on May28, 1993. Under the decree of the Geor-gian government dated December 8,2010 and on the base of National De-fence Academy, LEPL “Davit Agmash-enebeli National Defence Academy ofGeorgia” was established as the onlyhigh level military educational institu-tion in Georgia.

The academy has received 150 stu-dents so far this year. They were enrolledafter passing national examinations aswell as physical and psychological tests.Professors and academic staff have al-ready been selected. Lectures will alsobe delivered by invited foreign tutors.The educational process to obtain abachelor’s degree will take four yearsand to earn a master’s degree- an addi-tional two years.


DEFENCE MINISTER OF GEORGIABACHO AKHALAIA:

“As you remember, three years ago, the Russians practically destroyed thewhole military facility. Only several buildings survived. Today we have openedthe rehabilitated National Defence Academy- which is another important step for-ward. Our soldiers are getting valuable practical experience in Afghanistan, whichalso needs to be consolidated theoretically. I assure you that academy will be theplace where the best officers will be brought up to be capable and to perform theirduties in a worthy way.”

RECTOR OF THE NATIONAL DEFENCEACADEMY, ANDRO BARNOVI:

We have already selected students after the entrance examinations held at theAcademy. They will get down to studying starting tomorrow. I can say for cer-tain that this is the only institution where the students will have all the opportu-nities to receive both military and civil education. I will not exaggerate if I saythat the academy is one of the best educational establishments on an internation-al level and everyone related to the academy-students, parents and military ser-vants, will be content with the offered educational environment.

SENIOR SGT.TORNIKE TVARADZE:

The attendees of the academywere selected on the basis of thesharp competition. I hope that theywill become valuable citizens andofficers of their country given theirphysical and mental characteristics,as well as the conditions offered bythe institute. They will be educatedand trained in the environment ofstrict discipline and advanced tech-nologies. We will not spare effortsto achieve this goal.

LASHA NOZADZE (student) - Itturned out to be quite difficult to enterthe academy. My motivation to studyat the academy is to make an officer’scareer and to get ready for future mil-itary service. I hope that everythingwill be as I expect and I will be pre-pared to serve my country.

GIORGI MESKHORADZE (stu-dent) -The National Defence Academyoffers every opportunity to the attend-ees to become a well-educated and dig-nified citizen. I hope that we will seizethis opportunity and will be well-pre-pared for the future service of the coun-try.

ZVIAD KOPALEISHVILI (stu-dent) - My wish is to be a military ser-vant-worthy officer and citizen of mycountry. In addition, I would like toget a good education. The NationalDefence Academy is the very institu-tion where I will be able to achievemy goal.


Military Exercise “Vaziani 2011”

In the frame of NATO Partnership forPeace Program (NATO/PfP) Georgiahosted the exercise VIKING 2011 inApril.

The aim of the exercise was to deep-en cooperation, interoperability andcredibility between NATO/PfP coun-tries’ military, civilian, international andnon-governmental organizations.

VIKING 2011 was conducted virtu-ally through a computer assisted simu-lation network. The main purpose of thetraining was to improve cooperationduring peace support and crisis responseoperations.

The organizers of the exercise creat-ed special software for the gaming. Ac-cording to the scenario, through peacesupport operations, coalition forces weretrying to achieve peace in an inventedcountry, “Bogaland”. The situation wasvery close to reality. Events and inci-dents were modeled on current conflictenvironments (Africa and Central Asia).

In VIKING 2011, the participants,both military and civilians, represent 24nations. The main organizer of the train-ing was the Swedish Kingdom. Themain headquarters were located in Swe-den, with brigade-level HQs function-

Open Day - Viking 2011Open Day - Viking 2011Open Day - Viking 2011Open Day - Viking 2011Open Day - Viking 2011ing in Georgia, Austria, Germany, Ire-land and Ukraine.

From the Georgian side, the trainingwas under the command of ColonelZurab Tomauri, Chief of the Operation-al Preparedness Division of J-3 Opera-tional Planning Department, JS. Themain advisor from the Swedish part wasMajor Durbion Johansson.

The First Deputy Minister of De-fence Nodar Kharshiladze, DeputyChief of the Joint Staff of GeorgianArmed Forces Lieutenant-ColonelLasha Beridze, various foreign ambas-sadors and military attaches attended theofficial closing ceremony of the exer-cises. “Along with the Georgian ArmedForces personnel, representatives ofNATO countries and the Swedish Min-istry of Defence took part in the multi-national exercise VIKING 2011. Dur-ing training an accent was made on theimprovement of such aspects as civil-military cooperation in crisis situationsand interoperability with internationalforces”, declared Nodar Kharshiladze.

Representatives of the diplomaticcorps attended the final part of the exer-cise. They assessed the training processpositively. “It is very important that

Georgian soldiers are learning not onlymilitary affairs but also mechanisms ofcooperation with civilian organizations.For me as a civilian, it was very impor-tant to use humanitarian and civilianaspects in the exercise”, stated the

Lithuanian ambassador, Mr. Jonas Pa-slauskas.

Officers of the Swedish and UnitedStates armed forces attended the exer-cises in the capacity of advisors. The listof guests invited to the command and

staff exercise involved officials from theInterior and Foreign Ministries as wellas from various international and non-governmental organizations. Around130 military servicemen and civilianswere also involved in the training.

The task-oriented field exercise “Va-ziani 2011” was held on Vaziani firingrange. The military exercise involved var-ious units of the Georgian Armed Forces.

The goal of the field exercise was toimprove the interoperability of the com-bined forces in defensive combat and tostreamline command and control in thesubordinate units.

The military training included fourphases. The first two phases includedpreparation period and field tactical ex-ercises. The third phase of the excises –battalion-level field-tactical training –was held on April 30.

A special program was developed forthe military exercise. According to theprogram scenario, the major aim of theexercise was to prevent the enemy fromgaining a bridgehead for the main forcesand from developing its offensive further.

“Vaziani 2011” was a large-scale ex-ercise participated in by the aviation,infantry, artillery, engineering and tankunits of the Georgian Armed Forces. Intotal, the field exercise involved 678military servants and 79 various piecesof military equipment.

The exercise was commanded by theDeputy Chief of JS of GAF, LTC Gior-gi Kalandadze, responsible to report tothe Supreme-Commander of GAF,

Mikheil Saakashvili, Defence MinisterBacho Akhalaia and Chief of JS of GAF,Gen.-Maj. Devi Chankotadze.

President of Georgia MikheilSaakashvili attended the military exer-cise with his younger son Nikoloz. Hecongratulated Georgian military service-men on the Georgian Armed ForcesAnniversary: “I would like to congratu-late you on the successful completionof this military exercise. Today we havewitnessed once more that in spite of theeffort of our opponent forces to demol-ish our Armed Forces, demoralize ourcombat personnel – our officers, oursoldiers, our corporals, our sergeants –we have managed to maintain their com-bat spirit and strength, but also managedto continue and hasten the moderniza-tion process recently. We don’t have anyillusions about who is our enemy. Ofcourse, the rival is hypothetical in eachexercise. But all of us know very wellwho intervened in Georgia, who is oc-cupying certain Georgian territories,who has further aggressive plans to-wards Georgia. You all know quite wellthat you are the main defenders of Geor-gia. Of course, when a country is in trou-ble and under attack, each citizen be-comes a soldier; each citizen becomes aprotector of his motherland. But you are


Open Day – “Agile Spirit 2011”On July 22, the opening day of the

military exercise “Agile Spirit 2011”was held at the Vaziani Training Area.

The combined military exercisecode named “Agile Spirit 2011”, withthe participation of U.S. Marines andthe 4th Infantry Brigade of the Geor-gian Armed Forces, began on July 18.

The focus of the exercise was to in-crease interoperability between theGeorgian and US forces and exchangeand enhance each other’s capability incounterinsurgency and peacekeeping

operations.The Defence Minister of Georgia

Bacho Akhalaia, the U.S. Ambassadorto Georgia John R. Bass, and other rep-resentatives of the Diplomatic Corpsattended the military exercise.

Ambassador Bass briefed those at-tending on the importance of strength-ening the bilateral cooperation betweenthe two countries: “I am pleased to behere to participate in this distinguishedvisitors’ portion of the exercise. Thisis an important part of our ongoing de-

fence cooperation between the UnitedStates and Georgia. Today, for this pe-riod of the exercise- for these twoweeks- we have US marines trainingalongside Georgian soldiers and alsohelping train Georgian soldiers for thetypes of mission that frankly both setsof soldiers are going to be experienc-ing in Afghanistan. It is fully consis-tent with our commitment to supportthe deployment, training and success ofGeorgia in the coalition in Afghanistanand to address the common challengesthat we are facing there to help stabi-lize Afghanistan and to defeat the Tali-ban and to bring the stability in thatregion and in the world.”

The scenario of the military-fieldexercise “Agile Spirit” provided to thesoldiers was as close as possible to thereal situation troops will face – the in-cidents are simulated according to theongoing conflict (Afghanistan). Theexercise was conducted by Georgiansoldiers and US Marines together.They were carrying out “convoy, cor-don and search operation.” They werealso trained to clear buildings of ter-rorists, seizing and disarming insur-gents.

The Defence Minister BachoAkhalaia spoke on the importance ofthe joint exercise, “The participation ofthe Georgian military servicemen insuch exercises is very important. Themain goal of the exercise is to raisecombat capability of those battalionswhich are taking part in this joint exer-cise. In this case, American as well asGeorgian soldiers are undergoing train-ing together under the equal circum-stances. Consequently, the Georgian

Army will have high quality combatunits, and that is the product of suchexercises and trainings”.

The large-scale exercise involved350 Marines from the Marine Corps’Black Sea Rotational Force 11 basedin Constanta, Romania, an Anti-Terror-ism Battalion based out of Bessemer,Ala. and 450 military servicemen fromthe Georgian 4th Infantry Brigade.

Head of Operational Preparation Di-vision, J-3 Operational Planning De-partment of the Joint Staff of the GAF’Colonel Zurab Tomauri’ was com-manding the exercise on the Georgianside and on the US side - LtCol. Nel-son S. Cardella, commanding officer,Black Sea Rotational Force 11.

“Our Marines are eager to train withthe Georgian Armed Forces to contin-

ue to build on an already strong part-nership between our two countries,”said LtCol. Nelson S. Cardella, com-manding officer, Black Sea RotationalForce 11. “We are grateful to the Geor-gian Armed Forces and to the peopleof Georgia for hosting this importanttraining and contributing so much toregional and international security.”

“We are very glad that Georgia hoststhis military exercise this year as themilitary of both countries are workingtogether. Such kind of joint exercisesare necessary for them. I hope that eachparticipant of the exercise will success-fully carry out their tasks,” declared theDeputy Chief of Joint Staff of GAF, ColGigi Kalandadze. The combined exer-cise “Agile Spirit 2011” was officiallyclosed on August 1.

The First Deputy Minister of De-fence, Nodar Kharshiladze, visited Sa-chkhere Mountain Training School onJuly12. Along with the Ambassador ofFrance to Georgia, Erik Furnie, the Dep-uty Minister opened the PfP (Partnershipfor Peace) status board. SachkhereMountain Training School received PfPstatus several months ago. Thus, newstandard training courses will belaunched there in summer and autumn.

While visiting Sachkere Militarybase the guests were briefed on the de-velopment process and scheduled train-ings at the school.

Under PfP status, the school will trainthe military units of NATO and its partner

Sachkhere Mountain Training SchoolMountain Training School, as well asGeorgian personnel.

The mountain exercises are conduct-ed in six various specified training ar-eas. Each area’s terrains are prepared bythe French and Georgian mountain in-structors where safety measures are par-amount. The training will be mainly con-ducted by Georgian military servicemen.The school instructors were preparedunder a three-year program run by theFrench mountain instructors group.They underwent summer, as well as win-ter training courses. Since 2009, themountain instructors have been improv-ing their skills at the High MountainTraining School in France (EMHM).

countries’ armed forces. In September, theinstructors of Mountain Training Schoolwill conduct the mountain training basicsummer course for the military service-men of NATO countries. The central partof the course consists of the practical ex-ercises. Its aim is to provide soldiers withbasic mountaineering skills and enablethem to master operating in a mountainenvironment. The exercise will be con-ducted in English and the students will beprovided with the appropriate mountain-eering equipment during training.

Under the schedule of training, mili-tary servicemen from Poland, CzechRepublic, Lithuania, Latvia and Estoniawill undergo training in Sachkhere

the major front and decisive line of ourdefence, the most important guarantorof the country’s future.

This is why we continue the full sup-port of our Armed Forces, and modern-ization at maximum rates, and we willcontinue until the Georgian Armed Forc-es are very well trained, equipped withhigh standards and ready to carry out alltasks and overcome all challenges thatwe face.

“I would like to express gratitudeonce more and continue working in thisway. I know that the Georgian ArmedForces have undergone a range of seri-ous reforms recently. I keep an eye onthis process and work on its improve-ment enduringly. Of course, each month,each week, each day should be innova-tive for the development of the Geor-gian Armed Forces for the welfare of ourpeople”.

Georgian Defence Minister BachoAkhalaia also congratulated the Geor-gian soldiers on their professional dayand commented on the importance of themilitary exercise: “Today’s event is veryimportant for each of us. Today we haveheld one of the ordinary exercises coin-cided with the Anniversary of Georgian

Armed Forces. Within its context theexercise is close to real combat opera-tions. So this training really takes aftercombat activities”.

One of the most important compo-nents of the training was the assessmentteam. Military servicemen from theTraining and Military Education Com-mand monitored the exercise on the bat-talion, company, platoon and squad lev-el.

The head of the exercise DeputyChief of JS of GAF, LTC Giorgi Kalan-dadze explained the details of the train-ing: “In the exercise we introduce inno-vation by which the units participatedin the training were shown on an elec-tronic map by CTP. This means that wecan see interactions between our unitsand the enemy online by UAV. By thissystem we also have the possibility ofcontrolling Georgian airspace and air-craft activities wholly in the operation-al region. The exercise was held success-fully. I can sum up that our units areready for a fast reaction.”

In connection with the anniversaryof the Georgian Armed Forces Day, 200military servicemen were given serviceawards.


2011 Season of Basketball Club “Armia”

The 2011 season became very success-ful for “Armia”. The basketball clubgained all titles of Georgian tournaments.

“ARMIA”- GEORGIANCUP WINNER

On the 1st of February “Armia”became the winner of the ninth GeorgianBasketball Cup. In the final match, whichwas organized in Tbilisi Sports Palace,with difference of 20 points “Armia” de-feated the team of Ministry of InternalAffairs by the score 71:51 and becamethe owner of the first title. The Final wasquite tense and spectacular. “Armia”player Giorgi Sharabidze became the bestshooter and Anatoly Berishvili becamethe best player of the competition.

“ARMIA” – SUPER LEAGUE CUPCHAMPION

After the title of Georgian Cup Cham-pion the Basketball team “Armia” gaineda title of Super League Cup. The Finalmatch was held on May 24, where“Armia” beat “TSU” by the score of65:61. During the interesting and deci-

sive match, Giorgi Sharabidze (securing16 points to the team) and Davit Sak-varelidze (securing 14 points to the team)showed the best play among the “Armia”players. In the tournament, in which theFinal matches continued until one of theteams gained three victories, “Armia”won 3-1. At the awarding ceremony the“Armia” players were provided withmedals and the Super League Cup.

Within the Georgian Basketball Su-per League “All Stars” show-game wasorganized in Kutaisi Sports palace onApril 29. The four “Armia” players ofplayed against the “Nugzar Cheishvili’sTeam”. After the interesting and tensegame the match ended in draw with thescore 115:115. In the show-game“Armia” player Kote Tugushi showed thebest play in the “three scores tournament”and maintained the Victory title.

“ARMIA”- SUPERCUP WINNER

“Armia” gained the Super Cup namedafter Otar Korkia” on May 29. The tour-nament, where “Armia” competed with

the cup finalist team of the Ministry ofInternal Affairs “MIA”, ended by thescore 79:63 and became owner of the“Otar Korkia Super Cup”. The best man-ager of the 2010-2011 basketball seasonbecame the couch of the “Armia” LevanMoseshvili and was awarded by the“Giorgi Avalishvili’s Prize”. The bestplayer of the season became the captainof the team Kote Tugushi. The memberof “Armia” Giorgi Sharabidze was namedas “The Best Young Basketball Player”and was awarded by the “Zviad Mi-kadze’s Prize”.

After this victory the basketball club“Armia” became the owner of the thirdtitle.

The ongoing season turned up to bevery important for “Armia” as the bas-ketball team took part in Euro Challengecompetition as well. Within the FIBAEurope League “Armia” held in and outmatches against the three European bas-

ketball clubs: “Besiktas”, “Leiden” and“Göttingen”. On the sixth tour of Euro-Challenge Tournament “Armia” playedagainst “Leiden” in Van Sport Hall. Thegame turned up to be very interesting andtense. The Champion of Georgia lost the

game with 17 point difference after whichit stopped competition within the Euro-Challenge Championship. It is also worthto mention that during the ongoing year“Armia” added some new foreign play-ers.


The ongoing year turned up to bequite successful for Defence Ministryrugby team “Armia”. Thus, the teamis newly created “Armia” finished itsdebut season with big achievementsand showed the best results within theongoing championships. “Armia”players gained all Champion titles.

“ARMIA” - THE SUPERLEAGUE WINNER

Within the Super League tournamentDefence Ministry rugby team “Armia’became a Champion of Georgia. OnNovember 5, in the Final match “Armia”played against “Aia” Kutaisi. The matchwas quite interesting and tense. In thefirst period Kutaisi rugby team had no-ticeable advantage but in the secondperiod “Armia” mobilized itself and fin-ished the game in its favor by the score29:22. From the “Armia” team two trieswere grounded by Giorgi Tkhilaishviliand Giga Gagoshvili.

“ARMIA” – THE GEORGIANCUP HOLDER

After gaining the title of SuperLeague Champion, Georgian DefenceRugby team “Armia” made a double andbecame the Georgian Cup winner onNovember 26. The last match of theongoing season between “Armia” and“Kochebi” was held on “Avchala” sta-dium. The entire game went on with the

Rugby Team “Armia” Successful Debut

superiority of “Armia” players. Theygrounded two balls against the rivalteam. The Final match ended with thevictory of “Armia” by the score 26:16.

“ARMIA” – WINNER OFSEVEN-MAN RUGBY

Defence Ministry Rugby club“Armia” became a Champion of Geor-gia in Seven-man rugby on December4. The third round of the championshipin seven-man rugby was going on at the“Shevardeni Training base” during twodays. The first day of the GeorgianChampionship went on in favor of“Armia”. Defence Ministry Rugby teambeat “TBC” by the score 53:0, “Deve-bi” 64:0, “Batumi” 47:0. After the thirdround “Armia” became a semi-finalist.In the semi-final, Defence Ministry Rug-by team gained victory over “Lokomo-tivi” by the score 19:5. In the final matchof the ongoing tour “Armia” played ver-sus “Batumi”. A very interesting matchwas won by “Armia” players by thescore 43:0. The best player of the Cham-pionship was named “Armia” playerGiorgi Shkinini. But a member of“Armia” team Aleksandre Tuchashviligrounded the most balls.

Rugby team “Armia” made its debuton the 27the of March and achieved aconvincing victory in the first phase ofthe Georgian Rugby Championship. Thetournament with participation of 16teams was held in Tbilisi at the rugbystadium “Shevardeni” on the 26-27th ofMarch. “Armia” players beat the rugbyteam of Kutaisi “Aia” with the score19:14 and gained the title of the “SpringChampion”.

The rugby team “Armia” was estab-lished under the support of DefenceMinistry of Georgia. The head coach ofthe team is a veteran rugby player Ni-koloz Chavchavadze.


Reserve Service

Ministry of Defence of Georgia expresses readiness to train people willing to undergo voluntary reserve service on a stageby stage basis. According to the Georgian law in force “On Military Reserve Service”, only those citizens are allowed toenlist in voluntary reserve who does not have to undergo compulsory reserve service. Interested candidates should contact 2 75 26 44; 577 393 700; 577 393 701; 577 393 702 or send information to the e-mailaddress: [email protected]. The information must include name and surname of the interested candidate, date of birth,place of residence and telephone number.The representatives of the Ministry of Defence are carrying out registration, after which comes gathering of voluntaries andproviding them with detailed information. The last stage will be trainings.

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