VASIANI, Georgia -- Georgian soldiers from Phase IIIE of the Georgia Train and Equip Program completed their final training exercise Thursday with a combined mechanized company live fire attack at the Vasiani training area.
The two-day culminating event tests the skills each soldier has learned during the past 100 days, from basic individual weapons skills to company live fire tactics.
“The Georgians used mechanized tactics, combined with infantry tactics to successfully assault an objective,” said Gunnery Sgt. Richard W. Cover, mechanized team chief.
The attack began with five T-72 tanks and three BMP armored personnel carriers navigating through the rolling terrain to establish a support by fire position approximately 400 meters from the company objective. Those eight vehicles, along with three squads of infantrymen suppressed the objective with 125-millimeter tank main gun rounds, 73-millimeter BMP main gun rounds and nearly 3,000 small arms rounds.
“The support-by-fire position is a critical element to any attack,” said 1st Lt. Daniel R. Nolan, GTEP training officer. “Without it, the assaulting unit is critically exposed.”
While the support by fire position suppressed the objective, seven BMP’s dismounted their infantry and prepared to assault through the objective.
The mortars section, made up for four 120-millimeter mortar tubes, provided suppressive fire for the advancing infantry by peppering the objective with white phosphorus rounds. After five minutes of suppression, the infantry began advancing to the objective, stopping to breech an obstacle with bangalore tubes and fire off two rocket propelled grenades.
The remaining T-72’s established a blocking position behind the assault element to secure the company’s withdrawal route.
The attack involved numerous moving parts and depended heavily on succinct communications between each unit.
“The attack was a great success,” said Cover. He believes the Georgian Combined Armor Company now has the knowledge and experience, “to utilize the tactics we’ve taught them,” on the battlefield.
“We took a unit of soldiers and trained them in basics - marksmanship, tactics - then we took them all the way to a company sized attack,” said Nolan. “What we did in 100 days was pretty amazing,”
The 100-day training cycle was designed to enhance the tactical capabilities and professionalism of the 267-man company. The prospect of deploying to Iraq in the near future, and knowing fellow Georgian soldiers have already deployed there in support of the Global War on Terrorism, has touched each aspect of training.
“This final exercise, the culmination of all the training,” according to Cover, proves, “They have the ability.”