Military Operation "Hunter III"
Thursday, December 26
The military servicemen of the 31st Light Infantry Battalion of the III Infantry Brigade who were under the command of the "Task Force Belleau Wood" conducted a military operation. The operation dubbed "Hunter III" was aimed at diminishing the influence of insurgents active in the area of operation.
According to various processed data, the influence of the insurgents on the local population was relatively high in the village of Char-e Baya compared to other populated areas. During last months, various attacks were carried out using light caliber and IEDs from nearby territories of the village on the patrol route of the coalition forces. Due to the above-mentioned reasons, the leadership of the 31st Battalion decided to conduct a military operation with the purpose to neutralize enemy activities and prevent future planned attacks of the insurgents.
"Charlie" and "Alpha" companies of the 31st Battalion carried out the task with the support of the U.S. Marines. The battalion commander led the operation from the field-mobile command center and the commander of the "Task Force Belleau Wood" observed it from the air command center.
The Georgian military servicemen were tasked to arrange the patrol base around the village, isolate it, carry out search and cordon operations and talk to the local population. Georgian military service members also met the local population and rendered humanitarian assistance and delivered warm clothes to them. "Shura" was attended by the commander of the 31st Battalion, LTC Giorgi Meshveliani, and the Commander of the "Task Force Belleau Wood,” Daniel Sullivan.
The operation "Hunter III" lasted 30 hours and consisted of four phases. Along with 250 Georgian military servicemen, 52 U.S. Marines were involved in the operation. The Explosive Ordinance Detachment (EOD), Radio Battalion, military working dogs and members of the Afghan National Army (ANA) participated in the operation. More than 50 MRAPs, several UAVs and combat helicopters also supported the operation.
The operation "Hunter III" was assessed as a successful operation after an analysis.