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| Soldiers of the Georgia Army National Guard arrive in Tblisi, Georgia, for the three-week exercise "Immediate Response 2008." |
in Tiblisi to aid training
TIBLISI, GEORGIA – More than 300 Georgia Guardsmen have arrived here for a three-week exercise near Tbilisi, Georgia, to train with a key coalition partner in the Global War on Terror.
Soldiers and Marines from the United States, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Ukraine will conduct the joint training exercise Immediate Response 2008 at Vaziani Military Base and the surrounding area. The state of Georgia will be represented by the 1st Battalion, 121st Infantry, headquartered in Winder, as well as members of the 122nd Rear Operations Center from Glenville.
“This is a great opportunity not just to prepare for future missions in Afghanistan but to build the relationship our state has with the country of Georgia,” said Maj. Matthew Smith, commander of the 1st Battalion, 121st Infantry. “I’ve really enjoyed working with soldiers from the other Georgia as we’ve prepared for this exercise.”
Immediate Response is an annual, bilateral security cooperation exercise conducted between the U. S., NATO and coalition partners. It is a longstanding Joint Chiefs of Staff-directed exercise focused on interoperability training and theater security cooperation, and is designed to promote understanding and cooperation between military forces of the U. S. and our allies.
Highlights of the joint training include marksmanship, patrolling and combat lifesaving exercises. One day is devoted to getting sergeants together from the various countries so they can train together on the particular challenges of being non-commissioned officers. The U.S. Army has particularly strong NCO traditions and culture.
“The training will be a great developmental opportunity for the Republic of Georgia because they have a young NCO corps, and they stand to learn a lot from our NCOs,” said Maj. Matthew Smith, 1st Battlion, 121st Infantry.
“It’s also a great opportunity for our NCOs, because they’ll learn how to work with their counterparts in a foreign country, and how important it is to understand the cultures and customs of our allies,” said Command Sgt. Maj. Calvin Wilcox, 1st Battalion, 121st Infantry.
Georgia has provided consistent support to coalition Global War on Terrorism operations and is the third largest force contributor to Operation Iraqi Freedom, behind the U.S. and United Kingdom.
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