Hohenfels, Germany -- Colonel James S. O’Meara, deputy commanding general for Marine Forces, Europe and Africa was accompanied by Col. Gregory M. Douquet visited the 12th and 32d Georgian Infantry Battalion during the final exercise of a six-month pre-deployment training cycle at the 7th Army Joint Multinational Training Command in Hohenfels, Germany, recently.
During this visit, O’Meara and Douquet met with Dmitri Shashkin, Georgian Minister of Defense and they sat through briefs, outlining the progress of the two Georgian battalions and were given an overview of their mission capabilities and mission outlook.
“It's all about mission success. The 12th and 32nd have trained hard, applied many lessons learned and are prepared,” said O’Meara.
“Many thanks to the Minister of Defense, 12th and 32nd battalion soldiers, Marine Corps Security Cooperation Group, members of U.S. Marine Forces, Africa and the joint team here at Hohenfels for a successful pre-deployment training program and final exercise,” added O’Meara.
The battalions were trained in an Individual to Battalion format; building on individual skills, graduating to fire team tactics, squad, platoon, company and finally culminating into full-ledged, battalion-sized maneuvers.
These soldiers are participating in the eighth and ninth rotations of the Georgia Deployment Program and as the program grows and succeeds, the Marines rely on lessons-learned from previous Georgian Battalion’s experiences in Afghanistan. These after action reports allow the GDP-I to become more comprehensive and focus training more on events the Georgian soldiers need based on their area of responsibility in Afghanistan and the perceived threats once they get there.
“The quality of the training at the GDPI-MRE is a testament to the commitment of our Georgian partners, the superior U.S. European Command (EUCOM) training facility at Hohenfels, and the joint and combined team that participates in the GDPI mission rehearsal exercise,” said Col. Gregory Douquet, Chief of Staff, Marine Forces, Europe.
“The GDPI- MRE was also a great opportunity to meet the new Georgian Minister of Defense Shashkini and the Deputy Chief of Defense, Col Lasha Beridze,” added Douquet.
The training these soldiers receive covers a large span of skill sets required to accomplish a variety of missions while deployed.
The training includes classes on Blue Force Tracker operator, CLIC (Company Level Intel Cell) Refresher, Biometrics (HIIDE) Operator Refresher, NEST (SLE) & PE, Evidence Collection/Detainee Processing, Vallon Mine Detector, SPARKS Mine Roller, Call for Fire Trainer, Drivers’ Training (MRAP, LMTV) and many more to include the counter-insurgency operations, close-quarters combat courses and other infantry specific training.
The MRE is the culminating event for the Republic of Georgia’s 12th and 32d Light Infantry Battalion prior to deploying to Afghanistan to conduct counterinsurgency operations in support of the Georgia Deployment Program – International Security Assistance Force.