OCTOBER 2008 ISSUE #16
Trainings at NCO School
NATO-Georgia Commission
Meets at Defence Ministers
level in Budapest
The NATO-Georgia Commis-
sion (NGC) met for the first time
at the Ministerial level since it
was created on October 10 in
Budapest, Hungary. During the
meeting, Defence Ministers dis-
cussed the Alliance’s assistance
to Georgia in recovering from the
recent conflict.
After the opening remarks,
delivered by the NATO Secretary
General, Jaap De Hoop Scheffer,
the floor was given to the Defence
Minister of Georgia, Davit Kezer-
ashvili. On behalf of the Georgian
government Mr. Kezerashvili ex-
pressed gratitude to the members
of the Alliance for their strong
support and assistance:
“A little more than three
weeks ago, we hosted the North
Atlantic Council in Tbilisi, on its
first, and I’d say historic visit to
Georgia, which has clearly dem-
Defence Minister of Georgia, Davit Kezerashvili and NATO Secretary
General, Jaap De Hoop Scheffer
onstrated your steadfast support
for my country’s sovereignty and
territorial integrity, as well as the
spirit of solidarity of our 26 al-
lies to the Georgian people.”
In his speech, the Georgian
Defence Minister underscored the
importance of the NATO-Geor-
gian Commission: “We regard the
Commission as catalyzing mech-
anism for NATO-Georgia coop-
eration that will also further speed
up the defence reformation pro-
cess in my country. Along with
the Commission, other tools of
cooperation, such as the Intensi-
fied Dialogue and IPAP and
PARP process continue to co-ex-
ist, which we are going to use to
the maximum extent possible.”
According to Davit Kezerash-
vili, Georgia is going through tur-
bulent times, and faces significant
threats and challenges on its way
to realize its longstanding aspira-
tion to become a full-fledged
member of the Euro-Atlantic
family of democracies.
“Despite the immense diffi-
culties that we face, the Govern-
ment and its people are ever-more
united and determined to contin-
ue supporting the Georgian
State’s transition into a mature
democracy. Nobody can derail us
from this path. The Euro-Atlan-
tic values that we Georgians share
with the nations that you repre-
sent make this process irrevers-
ible.”
The Georgian delegation, led
by the Defence Minister, in-
formed Alliance members about
the consequences of Russia’s mil-
itary aggression, and discussed
ongoing reforms in the defence
field. NATO Ministers reiterated
the Alliance’s support for Geor-
gia’s territorial integrity, and
stressed the importance of fulfill-
ing commitments under the
ceasefire agreement.
Ministers of NATO countries
called upon Georgia to continue
reforms in the defence sphere and
expressed readiness to provide
assistance in the defence and se-
curity field, as well as security
sector reform and airspace man-
agement. Finally, NATO Minis-
ters reiterated the Alliance’s sup-
port for Georgia’s territorial in-
tegrity and a commitment to con-
tinue supervising the process set
in hand at the Bucharest Summit.
The NATO-Georgia Commis-
sion was established in September
2008 during a visit of the North
Atlantic Council to Tbilisi, and
provides an important additional
framework for deepening political
dialogue and practical cooperation
with Georgia. The proposal to set
up the NATO-Georgia Commis-
sion was made in the wake of the
conflict between Georgia and Rus-
sia in early August 2008. A Frame-
work Document establishing the
new body was signed by NATO’s
Secretary General and the Geor-
gian Prime Minister on 15 Sep-
tember in Tbilisi. The inaugural
session took place immediately af-
terwards, during the visit of the
North Atlantic Council to Georgia.
The NATO-Georgia Commis-
sion will deepen the political di-
alogue between NATO and Geor-
gia, and will supervise the pro-
cess set in motion at the Buchar-
est Summit in April 2008, in or-
der to solidify Georgia’s member-
ship aspirations and to coordinate
assistance for the country’s recov-
ery after the recent conflict with
Russia.
Thea Chonishvili
The Georgian Armed Forces
is still healing its wounds from
the war, but it has been able to
recover at a high speed. The con-
flict with Russia displayed many
defects and their eradication be-
came necessary. In this case, the
NCO School is no exception. It
is clear that the preparation and
their professionalism of Junior
Commanders is important in the
modernized Armed Forces, and
in this respect we are able to say
that we often surpassed our ene-
my. Of course, this is just a small
comfort when placed in the over-
all context of the war.
This mood is palpable in the
NCO school, which started the
new academic year with a re-
newed curriculum. Preparation
courses for squad commanders
began on October 13 at the NCO
school, attended by 120 students
and headed by the Senior Lieu-
tenant, Murman Khundadze. The
head of the course told Defense
Today that the tuition format has
been changed, and that students
will be trained in communica-
tion, first aid, tactics, fire support
and command exercises over a
period of 15 weeks. At present
the students are training in the
drill exercises, and Mr. Khun-
Reforms in the
Educational
Sphere Continue
Chief of Educational
Department of Joint Staff
of Georgian Armed Forces,
LTC Vladimer Chachibaia
What’s next?
dadze gave us permission to at- clever commander. When asked
tend. Among the students there why he moved to the NCO
are representatives of the Bri- School, Aluda answered that de-
gades, as well as the National spite his patriotism, his educa-
Training Center Krtsanisi and tional background and experi-
Sachkhere Mountain Training ence played the major role in his
School. choice (Aluda has graduated
Later, we visited the Chief of from Major Sergeant Courses in
the NCO School, Captain Zurab the United States of America).
Khvichia, who enthusiastically According to Aluida, he serves
introduced us to the new person- where he and his leadership
nel. It’s important to mention that deem it necessary for his coun-
the course is being conducted in try.
accordance to recently approved Soon the training was over,
Military Regulations. The Chief and we had a brief conversation
of the NCO School expressed his with the students, who were hav-
appreciation for the newly ap- ing a rest after a hard day. David
pointed Commandant of the Mikeladze is from the 13th Bat-
Hammelburg Infantry Com- talion of the 1st Brigade. In his
manders Training School, Gen- opinion, the commander’s edu-
eral Blotz, who supports us in the
preparation and retraining of
Georgian instructors of the Geor-
cation is essential, because only
patriotism isn’t enough for the
Georgian Army. Giorgi Choma-
gian NCO School on the basis
of bilateral cooperation.
We met NCO personnel in the
khidze is from the Separate
Company of the 5th Brigade. He
is very proud, because the lead-
field where instructors were ership expressed confidence in
training their students using drill him and sent him to the NCO
exercises. The exercise was courses. George said he would
headed by the NCO School Ser- justify their confidence in him,
geant, Aluda Kopaliani who was and return to his Brigade with
a sergeant of one of the success- higher qualification. Let us wish
ful Brigades. During combat op- great success to these instructors
erations in August, he showed and their students.
himself to be a courageous and Malkhaz Topuria
INSIDE
Estonian Defence
Ministry Delegation
meets Georgian
Colleagues
Defence Secretary
Robert Gates Reaffirms
the U.S. and NATO
Pledge for Georgia’s
NATO Aspirations
2 MONTHLY SUPPLEMENT OF GEORGIA TODAY
Reforms in the Educational Sphere Continue
Chief of Educational Department of Joint Staff of Georgian Armed Forces, LTC Vladimer Chachibaia
The Georgian Armed Forces contin-
ues the process of strategic development.
In a short while a new wave of profes-
sionals who are undergoing trainings in
various educational centers and institu-
tions will join the ranks of the Georgian
Army.
We interviewed the Chief of the Ed-
ucational Department of the Joint Staff
of Georgian Armed Forces, LTC
Vladimer Chachibaia, concerning the
ongoing reforms in the educational sec-
tor.
The August events revealed certain
shortcomings, despite positive results as
well. Consequently, we have decided to
send special groups to Georgian mili-
tary units, where they will study and
analyze mistakes made during the war.
This will help us to streamline the de-
velopment process of the Georgian
Army. Besides the tactical side that I
have just discussed, there are also oper-
ational and strategic directions. The
combat operations in August disclosed
other weak sides as well, which are not
related to personal flaws in the military
servicemen, but instead a lack of rele-
vant education. Thus, the leadership of
the Georgian Armed Forces took a de-
cision to establish an operational level
training course for 2010. In my opin-
ion, the most important thing is to have
the right management of personnel. We
must know from the very beginning how
many majors should be trained and how
many captains should serve in this or
that unit. This will be the major goal of
the new staff and command school.
With regard to this we, planned seri-
ous activities for 2009 that will support
the formation of this type of education-
al institution.
Serious changes are also being pre-
pared at the tactical level. We all saw
what problems emerged during the evac-
uation of the wounded. That’s why we
decided to prepare the commanders of
medical and reconnaissance platoons,
which had not been considered before.
As you mentioned, new education
courses will be established in 2010.
Will this institution be created on the
base of the National Defence Acade-
my?
Major changes must be made to the
National Defence Academy. Admission
procedures of the personnel will be the
same. Any high-school graduate will
have the opportunity to continue their
career in the rank of an officer, as well
as those military servicemen who have
served in the Georgian Armed Forces on
the basis of the contract for no less than
three years and are under 30. We’ll help
them to become professionals.
As far as I know, the training
courses were conducted on a stage-by-
stage basis. Are there any novelties in
this direction?
The principle are the same. In order
to become a professional officer, the stu-
dent must go through various stages of
training, among them BCT (Basic Com-
bat Training), Officers’ Candidate, Light
Infantry Platoon Training Course and
Specialization Course.
The public is well aware of the
President’s new initiative regarding
the preparation of officers. Several
hundreds of officers were enrolled in
the Georgian Armed Forces through
this program. What is planned for this
year?
In spite of the August events, the
Georgian Armed Forces still continues
to develop, and subsequently so does the
program initiated by the President. Ad-
missions for the “Alfa” Group of Offic-
ers Training Course will start on Novem-
ber 10. Interested persons can get de-
tailed information about the enrolment
procedures on the official web-site of the
Defence Ministry, and on the TV Com-
pany “Sakartvelo.” Next year, in Feb-
ruary, we’ll start manning the “Bravo”
Group.
Besides the theoretical training,
what kind of practical exercises will
be included in the course?
Practical trainings will be given spe-
cial attention, but we won’t work only
in this direction.
The first thing that should be done is
standardization. Georgia uses the field
service regulations of various countries
that are less effective in most cases. It is
necessary to learn from the experience
of foreign countries and share those
components that are in conformity with
the Georgian character.
The advice provided by foreign ex-
perts is very valuable for the Georgian
Army, but I think it wouldn’t be wise to
automatically rely on that entirely.
We have talked about the Nation-
al Defence Academy, but what can you
say about the NCO School?
As for the NCO School, it will con-
tinue functioning with new momentum.
By the end of the current year, the
School will also have a new flow of
graduates.
Another novelty is the fact that the
NCOs will be prepared by Georgian in-
OCTOBER 2008 ISSUE #16
structors who have undergone relevant
training in the United States of Ameri-
ca. It is planned to send more students
to the military institutions of foreign
countries.
Now let me ask you a few words
about the Sachkhere Mountain Train-
ing School. The School prepared not
only the Georgian but several foreign
military servicemen as well. Are the
same kind of international trainings
planned in the future?
The Sachkhere Mountain Trainings
School fully complies with internation-
al standards. This was underscored by
the NATO Assessment Mission during
the visit in spring. The only imperfec-
tion that exists is the language barrier.
In the near future, we are planning to NCO School cadets during field exercise
send our best instructors to language
courses abroad. I am pretty sure that,
after eradicating this problem, Sach-
khere Mountain Training School will be
one of the most serious educational in-
stitutions, providing training to the for-
eign servicemen as well.
At this stage, we can prepare 30 for-
eign military servants, although this
number will be increased threefold.
Georgian Mountain instructors
were trained by foreign specialists,
and they received high evaluations
after their accomplishment of the
training course. How will the Geor-
gian Army use their professionalism?
Georgian servicemen were prepared
with a unique program. Besides the
Mountain Training in Sachkhere
mountain training, they underwent a
search and rescue course. Thus, their
potential will be fully realized. They
have the right to share their knowledge
with others, including those foreign mil-
itary who will attend the mountain train-
ing course in Georgia.
One of the main military bases where
the Georgian military undergoes train-
ing is the Krtsanisi National Training
Center.
The base does not have a deficiency
of the material and technical means,
though, as far as I know, certain inno-
vations are scheduled in the future.
Regarding the Krtsanisi Training
Center, we have a general plan that en-
visages the development of a military
base infrastructure.
The base includes so-called simula- Fire exercise
tion centers, and we are planning its re-
furbishment. Currently we are negotiat-
ing with our partner and friend countries,
and soon the Krtsanisi National Train-
ing Center will have an individual sim-
ulation center, one for training staff. One
of our goals is to create a simulation
center for artillery trainings.
I’ll use this chance and ask you
about the aviation training course.
What can you say about the dynam-
ics in this direction?
In the field of aviation, there are two
basic directions: platoon commander’s
courses and aviation captain’s training
courses. In future, these profiles will be
expanded, but let’s talk about this later…
We talked quite a lot about mili- National Defence Academy student during field training
tary education, and I want to recall
some past events. Several years ago,
military lectures were delivered at
Georgian public schools. This model
does not exist any more, and the young
generation does not have an elemen-
tary knowledge of survival in extreme
situations…
In the future, if this system will be
restored it should be subject to intensive
monitoring. I presume that these types
of lectures are very-much needed and
necessary at public schools. We are not
talking about a large-scaled process. In
this case it will be more of a psycholog-
ical element that will enable them to act
consciously in extreme situations.
Shalva Londaridze During exercise in Krtsanisi National Training Center
OCTOBER 2008 ISSUE #16
Defence Secretary Robert Gates
Reaffirms the U.S. and NATO Pledge
for Georgia’s NATO Aspirations
U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and Georgian Defence Minister Davit Kezerashvili
Defense Secretary Robert Gates has
reaffirmed the U.S. and NATO pledge
for Georgia’s aspirations to join the Al-
liance at a meeting with Georgian De-
fence Minister Davit Kezerashvili in
Budapest. The bilateral meeting with the
U.S. and Georgian counterparts had tak-
en place prior to the beginning of the
informal meeting of NATO Defence
Ministers in Hungary.
The issues of bilateral military co-
operation between the USA and Geor-
gia and Georgia’s integration in NATO
were the main topics of discussion at the
meeting.
“I urge our allies to support the Mem-
bership Action Plan for Georgia in De-
cember, and to support Georgia’s efforts
to accomplish needed reforms” declared
the U.S. Secretary of Defense at the joint
news conference that took place imme-
diately after the meeting. “I had a very
productive meeting with my Georgian
colleague. We reaffirmed the US and
NATO pledge made in Bucharest to sup-
port Georgia’s NATO aspirations.”
Russia’s invasion of Georgia was one
of the main issues Mr. Gates addressed
in his speech: “We have sought a con-
Estonian Defence Ministry Delegation
meets Georgian Colleagues
The First Deputy Defence Minister,
Batu Kutelia, and the Chief of the Joint
Staff of GAF, Brigadier General Zaza
Gogava, held meeting with the delega-
tion of the Estonian Defence Ministry
on October 23rd.
The three-person delegation, repre-
sented by the Deputy Undersecretary for
Defence Policy of Estonian MOD, Sven
Sakkov, Head of International Cooper-
ation Department, Kristjan Prikk and the
advisor of the above-mentioned depart-
ment, Lissa Tallin, visited Tbilisi on
October 22.
The purpose of the visit was to gath-
er information on recent developments
in Georgia, and intensify bilateral co-
operation between Georgia and Estonia.
At the meeting with Batu Kutelia,
the two sides discussed the ongoing re-
forms in the defence field, as well as
regional security issues and Euro-At-
lantic integration prospects. The Geor-
gian Deputy Minister led a discussion
about EU participation in conflict res-
olutions.
structive relationship with Russia, but
unfortunately their behavior has under-
mined security in the region and raised
real concerns about Russia‘s intentions.
Russia’s invasion in Georgia in my view
has achieved, and will achieve, no stra-
tegic objective.”
The Secretary of Defense said he was
pleased that Russia appeared to be ful-
filling its obligations under the cease-
fire agreement on withdrawal. He un-
derscored the importance of the NATO-
Georgia Council at the Ministerial level
and evaluated it as a historic event, and
a sign of the Alliance’s firm commitment
to Georgian partners.
“We are unwavering in our support
for Georgia’s sovereignty, its indepen-
dence and its territorial integrity,” de-
clared Secretary Gates at the news con-
ference.
The Georgian Minister of Defense
underlined, “We had a very interesting
and result-oriented meeting with Secre-
tary Gates. We touched upon a lot of is-
sues during the meeting, including the
current situation in Georgia, threats and
challenges to the Euro-Atlantic securi-
ty, and plans of intensifying and deep-
The main topic of conversation with
the Chief of JS, Brigadier General Zaza
Gogava, was the post-war period. The
meeting was attended by the Head of the
Strategic Planning and Policy Depart-
ment -J5, Major Lela Chikovani. Trends
ening our bilateral relations and defense
cooperation. As you know, the United
States of America is Georgia’s strategic
partner and largest assistance-provider
with whom we share not only common
values, but also a common understand-
ing on many issues, such as energy se-
curity, democratic and NATO enlarge-
ment and the fight against terrorism.
During our meeting, Secretary Gates
once again reconfirmed the United
States‘steadfast support for Georgia’s
NATO membership, which remains our
top security priority.”
Later this month, U.S. and Georgian
Defense officials will meet in Washing-
ton to discuss bilateral defense cooper-
ation. Davit Kezerashvili informed the
audience about the upcoming event at
the end of his remarks: “We are plan-
ning to have bilateral defense consulta-
tions in Washington D.C. in the second
part of October, where we’ll streamline
our defense cooperation priorities and
outline in a more precise way the bilat-
eral defense cooperation projects to be
implemented in the future.“
Thea Chonishvili
of bilateral cooperation and options for
rehabilitating injured Georgian soldiers
in Estonia were also discussed. The
Georgian representatives expressed grat-
itude for Estonia’s assistance in the pro-
cess of removing landmines.
MONTHLY SUPPLEMENT OF GEORGIA TODAY
What’s next?
On October 23rd, the office of the
Georgian Foundation for Strategic and
International Studies (GFSIS) hosted a
debate about the Russian-Georgian con-
flict. The seminar, titled “What’s next,”
was opened and led by Mr. Alexander
Rondeli, President of GFSIS. Guests
included Helen Khoshtaria, Deputy
State Minister on European and Euro-
Atlantic Integration, David J. Smith,
Director of the Georgian Security Anal-
yses Center and Senior Fellow of Poto-
mac Institute for Policy Studies, Eric
Fournier, Ambassador of France to
Georgia and Revaz Adamia, former
Ambassador of Georgia to the UN.
In the beginning of the seminar, re-
porters generally evaluated the post-war
situation and agreed on one matter – the
war is not over. Participants of the sem-
inar expressed their opinions about a
possible re-escalation of the conflict, and
strategies that should be worked out by
Georgian and Western governments in
order to avoid Russian aggression in the
future. Guests underlined the necessity
for a further development of conflict
resolution in a diplomatic manner. But
as Ambassador Fournier mentioned,
“this is a very important, but also diffi-
cult process, which has just begun. De-
spite the problems during the Geneva
conference, the situation is still not un-
hopeful, especially if there will be a real
desire from both sides and a positive
involvement of the EU and the entire
world”.
The difficulty of the conflict reso-
lution process was highlighted by re-
cent Russian actions. Russia, in the
words of Ambassador Adamia, “invad-
ed Georgia, occupied its territories and
still is staying in several villages that
are officially controlled by the Govern-
ment of Georgia.”
Mr. Adamia also added that it is hard-
ly likely that Russia will change its rec-
ognition of conflict regions. On the con-
trary, it will continue pressuring other
countries to extend recognition to them
as well. It will also continue the repop-
ulation of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
Government Representative Ms.
Khoshtaria said that this conflict is a
challenge for the whole world, and not
just the problem for Georgia, that is why
diplomatic pressure from the West
against Russia is so important.
Unfortunately, opinions on the proper
diplomatic approach are varying. Mr.
Smith said that it is bad news that Eu-
rope seems to be back to the “usual busi-
ness” with Russia. In Mr. Smith’s mind,
this would be an absolute compromise
to Russia. As usual, any compromise to
Russia is a demonstration of weakness
and an opportunity for a further imple-
mentation of its plans. Mr. Adamia com-
mented that the recent conflict between
Russia and Georgia was just a small part
of the big picture, in which Russia is try-
3
ing to show the entire world that it is
regaining its superpower status.
What should Georgia do?
There were several points that were
repeatedly underlined. Firstly, the inten-
sification of dialogue with western part-
ners.
“Georgia should have as many
friends as possible,” declared Mr. Ad-
amia. Georgia alone cannot resist Rus-
sia, and Western support is very impor-
tant, especially as the West is also inter-
ested in maintaining the present inter-
national order, which in the eyes of Mr.
Adamia is under threat of destruction
because of Russian aggression. In this
respect, the international community has
to choose a new strategy, and should
start thinking about a new framework
of relations with Russia.
“It’s not a question of punishing Rus-
sia, it’s a question of denying objectives
that provide the reason for it waging this
war” - said Mr. Smith.
Secondly, all guests underscored the
importance of strengthening democra-
cy as the main asset of Georgia in its
struggle for independence, peace and
future development.
“A small country always has a small
chance to gain a victory by military pow-
er, so that commitment to democracy is
our special instrument to defeat imperi-
alism”, mentioned Helen Khoshtaria.
Another action that should be carried
out by the Government of Georgia is to
use already contributed international aid
in order to rebuild damaged infrastruc-
ture. Mr. Smith especially highlighted
the importance and necessity of recov-
ering Georgian military forces, and not
just infantry. Smith also marked the im-
portance of civil activeness in order to
disrupt Russian plans to intimidate
Georgia’s society and to provoke them
to change a democratically elected gov-
ernment through non-constitutional
methods, and change their mind about
Georgia’s foreign political orientation.
Smith also responded to the difference
of opinions in Georgian society about
the beginning of the August war, and the
actions of Government of Georgia.
“The war is not over yet, and it is no
time for an evaluation of the govern-
ment’s actions or for an investigation of
who shot first. It was not a provocation,
it was an invasion and every government
must respond adequately.”
The last recommendation was the
country’s rapid integration into NATO.
In this direction, it is especially impor-
tant to move Georgia into a new step of
integration with the alliance, particular-
ly to grant Georgia MAP at NATO’s
December Summit.
If Georgia does not achieve MAP,
what will be Russia’s next step?
Irakli Gurgenidze
Ana Alania
4 MONTHLY SUPPLEMENT OF GEORGIA TODAY
IPAP Assessment Team Visited Georgia
On October 20-24, NATO experts
paid an official four-day visit to Geor-
gia in order to evaluate the fulfillment
of Georgia’s Commitments under the
Individual Partnership Action Plan
(IPAP) and the Planning and Review
Process (PARP).
The NATO delegation was led by the
Head of Defence Policy Planning Direc-
torate, Mr. Frank Boland, who joined
NATO experts’ team on October 22. The
Head of NATO Defence Policy Planning Directorate, Mr. Frank Boland
delegation was represented by the De-
fence Policy Planning Directorate Coun-
try Officer in NATO, Mr. Bruce F. Bach,
the Partnership Coordination Cell Geor-
gia Country Officer of the NATO Al-
lied Command of Operations, Major F.
UK Delegations Visit Defence Ministry
The Defence Minister of Georgia,
Davit Kezerashvili, hosted representa-
tives of the Conservative Party of the
United Kingdom on October 23rd. Party
representative William Hague led the
four-person UK delegation. The meet-
ing was attended by the First Deputy
Defence Minister, Batu Kutelia.
The British guests discussed recent
political developments in Georgia, and
surveyed the effects of Russian aggression.
Post-conflict events, ongoing reforms in
the defence field and security priorities
were also discussed. The Georgian De-
fence Minister evaluated the UK support
as being positive. They reviewed projects
that had been implemented under the bi-
lateral cooperation frame, as well as fu-
ture plans for strengthening collaboration
between Georgia and the UK.
The next day, another delegation
from the United Kingdom of Great Brit-
ain and Northern Ireland paid an offi-
cial visit to the Defence Ministry of
Georgia. Three members of the delega-
tion were received by the Head of Inter-
national Relations and Euro-Atlantic
Integration Department, Ms. Nino
Bakradze.
Graduation Ceremony Held for Artillerists
and Captain Career Courses
A Graduation Ceremony for Artil-
lerists and Captain Career Courses was
held in the National Defence Academy
on the 24th of October. The event was at-
tended by the First Deputy Defence Min-
ister, Batu Kutelia, Chief of JS, Briga-
dier General Zaza Gogava and Chief of
the National Defence Academy, Col.
Roin Pailodze. The Leadership of Emer-
gency Situation Division of the Ministry
of Interior officers, which also underwent
the courses, were present at this event, as
well as the foreign military attachés ac-
credited to Georgia.
38 officers were granted diplomas for
Ozkose, the Land Force Planner of the
NATO Allied Command of Transforma-
tion, LTC Iain Cassidy; LTC Hans Hug-
gers and LTC. Jerome Mallard and Mr.
Dave Johnson.
During the visit, Georgian Defence
Minister David Kezerashvili held a
meeting with Mr. Boland. At the end of
the visit, we had opportunity to meet Mr.
Boland and ask him to make brief pre-
liminary evaluations.
“The assessment which we have car-
ried out during the course of this week
has been essentially positive. Across a
whole range of different areas, not only
the military area, but also the more po-
litical areas including judicial reform,
The UK delegation was represented
by the Director of South Caucasus and
Central Asia Group of MoD, Captain
Malcolm Crayford, the South Caucasus
Section Desk Officer, Trudy Anderson
and Defence Attaché of the UK to Geor-
gia, LTC Nick Ridout.
The visit aims to strengthen future
cooperation between the two partner
countries, as participants discussed the
consequences of Russian aggression and
accomplishing the Captains Career
Courses, and 11 artillerists took the oath.
The artillerists were commissioned to the
rank of lieutenant. Courses started on
May 4th and ended on October 13th. Of-
ficers were trained in maneuver, artillery,
logistic and engineering disciplines. Of-
ficers of the emergency situation division
of the Interior Ministry participated in
courses as well. During the six months,
training sessions were conducted in tac-
tics, giving operative commands to pla-
toon and battalion staff, combat training,
planning, and organizing military service.
11 artillerists received training in theo-
electoral reform and practice,” noted
Mr. Boland. “In the case of Georgia at
this moment, with these very difficult
circumstances you face in the aftermath
of the conflict, there are some addition-
al tasks, which are important, which
have to be taken foreword quickly, in
particular the review of your security
arrangements, so proceeding the Stra-
tegic Defence Review that was com-
pleted in 2007.”
The Head of the NATO Defence Pol-
icy Planning Directorate also talked
about the importance of the creation of
a NATO-Georgia Commission. Mr.
Boland emphasized that the NATO-
Georgia Commission is extremely im-
portant, saying, “It is the sort of issue
NATO has not agreed with very many
countries. So the fact that we have
agreed it with Georgia, and we have
agreed to have this in these difficult po-
litical circumstances, is in itself extreme-
ly important.”
Mr. Boland addressed Georgia’s per-
spective in December as well: “The path
to NATO membership involves reforms
in a whole range of areas, and there are
number of mechanisms by which we can
move forward jointly toward reform.
MAP is one of them, but only one of
them. Through the PARP process,
through the IPAP process, and now
through the NATO-Georgia Commis-
sion we have other mechanisms which
can take foreword this reform agenda.
IPAP for example did not exist when we
created the MAP process in 1999. As for
my prognoses for December, when
NATO foreign Ministers will meet, I
don’t know, and I’m not going to spec-
ulate. Ministers will take their own de-
other post-war developments.
The Georgian representatives ex-
pressed their appreciation for the
strong support demonstrated by the
UK. Ongoing joint projects regarding
logistics, military education, and civ-
il and military personnel management
were discussed as well. Current de-
fence reform policy and bilateral col-
laboration prospects were also dis-
cussed at the meeting.
retical and practical issues during the 41
weeks, and military servicemen will be
distributed across various units. The
Chief of the Joint Staff, Brigadier Gen-
eral Zaza Gogava, and First Deputy De-
fence Minister Batu Kutelia congratulat-
ed graduates personally. “I’m proud of
these two graduations. Although due to
the difficulty of the training program not
everybody was able to graduate, those
who finished these courses will be sent
to different military units, and in the fu-
ture they will be able to develop their
professional skills.”
Malkhaz Topuria
cisions, based on a whole range of dif-
ferent parameters, and they will decide
how important that is for that time.”
NATO assessment teams pay regu-
lar visits to Georgia to evaluate its IPAP
performance. This has been the second
visit of a NATO assessment team to
Georgia so far this year.
Georgia started to implement the In-
dividual Partnership Action Plan (IPAP)
with NATO in October 2004. IPAP is a
mechanism of partnership and coopera-
tion with NATO. States were able to
declare their desire to implement this
document after the NATO Prague Sum-
mit in 2002. Georgia became the first
country to cooperate with NATO in the
framework of IPAP in 2004.
IPAP involves cooperation between
Alliance and partner countries in such
spheres as political, security and defence
issues. Questions relating to public in-
formation, science, environment, civil
crises management, administrative, in-
formation security and resource man-
Georgian Pilots Return after
Training in Ukraine
Cadets of the Georgian Air Force
have completed another training course
in Ukraine. During the 8-month course,
Georgian pilots studied theory and prac-
ticed at the Kharkov Aviation Institute,
including lessons with the L-39 military-
training plane.
This training is provided by the
Ukrainian government, based on a trea-
ty signed by the Ukrainian and Geor-
gian Ministries of Defence. There were
150 soldiers sent to Kharkov, some of
who returned to Georgia, and now they
are taking their training flights at the
Marneuli Air base. We were able to in-
terview 3 of them.
“I’m very happy, because I have got-
ten everything that I had dreamed of since
my childhood” declared Vladimer Jalaga-
nia, Sergeant of the Georgian Air Force.
“All the theoretical knowledge which
we where able to get in Ukraine, we are
now trying to put together with practice
here at Marneuli Airbase” mentioned
Sgt. Jalagania.
“Starting on January 2008, we tried
very difficult and interesting theoretical
trainings in Ukraine. After passing ex-
ams, we are now getting ready to have
OCTOBER 2008 ISSUE #16
agement are addressed as well.
An effective implementation of IPAP
is the most important stage towards
Geaorgia-NATO relations. On it signif-
icantly depends Georgia’s MAP grant-
ing and as a result, its chances of NATO
membership.
IPAP complies with 4 chapters: Po-
litical and Security Issues (Chapter I),
Defence, Security and Military Issues
(Chapter II), Public Information, Sci-
ence, Environment and Emergency
Planning (Chapter III), Administrative,
Information Security and Resource Is-
sues (Chapter IV).
PARP is a technical document and
involves “Partnership Goals” (PG). PG’s
are chosen by partner country in terms
of necessities for the development of the
Armed Forces. Partnership Goals are
scheduled and are important to imple-
ment. The first assessment of the PARP
document was held in 2001, and has
been conducted annually ever since.
Nino Gogochishvili
practical flights and see how we can live
up to the hopes pinned on us by our com-
manders,” pilot Archil Javakhishvili, 1st
Leutenant of the Georgian Air Force,
said in pride.
After the conversation, he enthusi-
astically showed us his L-39, which was
waiting for him in the hangar. It was a
nice surprise to find that the pilot was a
woman. 2nd Sergant Ekaterine Kvlividze
is one of the female pilots in the Geor-
gian Air Force.
“In the framework of the program,”
said Eka, “we were able to have 25 hours
of practical flights on the virtual train-
ing machines,” Eka also told us that the
program which they have taken is a full
academic program, but done with a high
level of intensity. During our visit to
Marneuli Airbase, we also heard that the
Ukrainian colleagues were nicely sur-
prised by the level of preparedness of
the Georgian cadets.
It fills you with pride when you hear
such things about your soldiers, and it
helps us to feel safe, when such profes-
sionals are always ready to serve our
country.
David Jokhadze