Georgia-US Launch ‘Most Ambitious’ Defence Readiness Program
By Gvantsa Gabekhadze
Monday, May 21
The Ministry of Defence of Georgia and the US Department of Defence have launched a joint military project for Georgia to boost the country’s self-defence capabilities.
The name of the project, which officially kicked off on Friday, is Georgia’s Defence Readiness Program (GSRP) and it will continue over the course of three years. Nine Georgian battalions will be manned, equipped and trained.
“It is the most ambitious Georgia-US project which will boost Georgia’s defence capacities and provide higher security for each citizen of the country,” the Georgian Defence Minister Levan Izoria stated in his address at the NATO standards Combat Training Center (CTC) built in Vaziani, on the outskirts of Tbilisi, for the trainings.
The 43rd battalion of the 4th Mechanized Brigade of the Georgian Armed Forces is the first that will undergo trainings with the help of American instructors.
Each battalion will be trained for three months and the trainings will last until 2021.
The first phase of the trainings will be carried out under the supervision of American instructors.
From 2020 only Georgian instructors will lead the exercises.
On May 17 and 18, Commander, US European Command (EUCOM), General Curtis Scaparrotti visited Georgia to formally recognize the start of the Georgia Defense Readiness Program.
General Scaparrotti reaffirmed the US commitment to Georgia’s sovereignty and aspirations to become a member of NATO.
“Bilateral programs such as the GDPR demonstrate that proven partnerships are built upon shared values, experiences and visions,” Scaparrotti said. “This GDPR training program contributes to the security of the Black Sea region, and thus, the stability of the greater European security environment.”
