Farewell Ceremony of Peacekeeping Company to Afghanistan
Thursday, December 18
The 4th Mechanized Brigade of the GAF held a farewell ceremony on the drill grounds of the Vaziani 4th Mechanized Brigade.
The solemn ceremony started with the Georgian National Anthem performed by the military band of Defence Ministry of Georgia. The personnel of the company of the 4th Mechanized Brigade and the invited guests held a minute of silence to the memory of Georgian military fallen for Georgian territorial integrity and in international missions.
High-level officials of the Ministry of Defence and General Staff attended the ceremony as well. Military Attache of German Federation, LTC Bernard Hopp, and Military Representative of the NATO Liaison Office, COL Maximilian Eder and NATO Defence Attaches also attended the farewell ceremony.
Defence Minister of Georgia Mindia Janelidze and Chief of General Staff of the GAF, Major General Vakhtang Kapanadze addressed the soldiers. “This mission has great importance for stability of the region as well as for the security of our country. This mission helps our country to get closer to North-Atlantic Alliance and enhance interoperability with NATO. Our military are well prepared and received high scores during exercises. We are confident they will carry out the mission successfully and Georgia’s contribution will appreciated once again”, declared Mindia Janelidze.
At the end of the ceremony Chaplain of the 4th Mechanized Brigade, Farther Gabriel blessed the military personnel.
The combined company of the 4th Mechanized Brigade will carry out their mission under the German Command in Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan.
The Georgian military underwent 13 weeks training in Georgia, as well as 5 month long training on the “Wildflecken” and “Hammelburg” military which consisted of several phases. The Georgian military underwent individual training at the platoon and squad level under the command of German instructors. The Georgian Company along with the Bundeswehr military is also going through combined and situational training. German instructors positively assessed the preparation level and combat readiness of the Georgian military.
