STUTTGART, Germany -- Pausing briefly from the fight in Afghanistan, several members of the Marine Corps’ Regimental Combat Team 2 flew to Germany to meet with the command element of the Republic of Georgia’s 32nd Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) here, Aug. 30-Sept. 1, prior to the battalion’s deployment.
“We’re here to provide real world experience to the 32nd LIB,” said U.S. Marine Capt. William Scarper, regimental supply and logistics officer with RCT-2. Scarper, along with the rest of his regiment, has been working closely with Georgia’s 31st LIB in Afghanistan since February. “We are also here to gauge their abilities, and continue to refine the training and equipment requirements we have already provided the 31st LIB for future and present operations.”
The 32nd LIB is the second of four battalions to undergo training through the Georgia Deployment Program (GDP). The GDP is a Marine Corps-led initiative designed to prepare Georgian troops to operate alongside U.S., NATO and other multinational forces as part of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan. The GDP-ISAF is a two-year training program, which began August 2009.
“As a fighting force, they’re great,” Scarper said of the Georgian troops. “They are outstanding when it comes to reacting, and we are watching them develop into a more proactive force as far as long-term planning too.”
The three-day conference, which provided the perspective and experience of a team already engaged in combined combat operations overseas, carried great value, according to Georgian Maj. Shukri Meskhi, supply and logistics officer for the 32nd LIB.
“We now have a better understanding of how we will be linked, and how we will work with the U.S. system,” said Meskhi. “In working groups and during briefs, we’ve reviewed everything from equipment lists to operational concepts for orders and convoys.”
The conference comes on the heels of a visit to GDP-ISAF troops in Hohenfels, Germany, Aug. 25, by the Georgian Armed Forces Deputy Chief of Staff, Col. Arsen Tsukhishvili. According to Tsunkhishvili, he was pleased by the battalions’ progress both in training and overseas, but he noted the particular challenges of fighting in Afghanistan would require adaptation of tactics and equipment.
“For instance, in Georgia we’re prepared for a particular type of terrain,” noted Meskhi. “Afghanistan is another world, but through their experience our (U.S. Marine) instructors have identified specific challenges and developed methods to overcome them. Our training was good, and we are ready.”
Georgian Maj. Tereladze Phridoni, battalion commander for 32nd LIB, agreed, and noted what it would take for the battalion to walk away from their deployment successfully.
“Our success will come as we work with the local people in Afghanistan, and with the Afghan National Police and Afghan National Army to support the objectives of the Afghan government,” said Phridoni.
The GDP-ISAF is not the first time the U.S. Marines have trained with Georgian Forces. Georgia was one of the first countries to offer its full, unconditional support to the U.S. in the fight against terrorism. As a result of the partnership, on Dec. 15, 2002, U.S. Marine Forces Europe assumed control of the Georgia Train and Equip Program (GTEP) from Special Operations Command, Europe. Georgia Train and Equip Program, too, was a time-phased training program focused on enhancing the capabilities of the Georgian military.
In essence, the GTEP, which also lasted two years, was designed to protect the Georgian force’s homeland from terrorist threats while promoting peace, security and stability in Georgia and the Caucasus region. Then, in 2005, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili offered to send troops to Iraq. Thus, the Georgia Sustainment and Stability Operation Program (GSSOP) was born.
The GSSOP was, also, a time-phased, two-year training program. While GTEP was geared toward providing Georgia the capability of meeting an internal terrorist threat, the GSSOP was focused on training the Georgian military to prepare and execute stability operations in Iraq. Many of the Georgian Soldiers who are preparing to deploy to Afghanistan are veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom.