The
Georgia Train and Equip Program
(
GTEP
) was an American-sponsored 18-month,
$
64-million program aimed at increasing the capabilities of the
Georgian
armed forces
by training and equipping four 600-man
battalions
with light weapons,
vehicles
and communications. The program enabled the US to expedite funding for the Georgian military for
Operation Enduring Freedom
.
[1]
On 27 February 2002, the US media reported that the U.S. would send approximately two hundred
United States Army Special Forces
soldiers to Georgia to train Georgian troops.
[2]
The program implemented
President Bush
's decision to respond to the
Government of Georgia
's request for assistance to enhance its counter-terrorism capabilities and addressed the
situation
in the
Pankisi Gorge
. The program was planned to be a 20-month long, $64 million effort.
[3]
The move drew protests from many
Russians
.
[4]
On 1 March 2002, in response to the domestic outcry, Russian president
Vladimir Putin
met with Georgian president
Eduard Shevardnadze
in
Kazakhstan
and pledged his support for the American military initiative.
[5]
The program began in May 2002 when
American special forces
soldiers of the
10th Special Forces Group
began training select units of the Georgian Armed Forces, including the 12th Commando Light Infantry Battalion, the 16th Mountain-Infantry Battalion, the
13th "Shavnabada" Light Infantry Battalion
, the 11th Light Infantry Battalion, a mechanized company, and small numbers of Interior Ministry troops and border guards.
[6]
The goal of the program was to boost the proficiency of Georgia's security forces in areas including
border security
,
anti-terrorism
, disaster response.
[7]
Responsibility for training Georgian forces was eventually handed off to the
U.S. Marine Corps
in conjunction with the
British Army
. British and American teams worked as part of a joint effort to train each of the four infantry battalion staffs and their organic rifle companies. This training began with the individual soldier and continued through fire team, squad, platoon, company, and battalion level tactics as well as staff planning and organization. Upon completing training, each of the new Georgian infantry battalions began preparing for deployment rotations in support of the Global
War on Terrorism
.
[8]
As part of the program Georgian troops were issued new uniforms, boots, weapons, and other articles of equipment.
[9]
Although GTEP formally ended in April 2004, US military assistance to Georgia continued through the
Georgia Sustainment and Stability Operations Program
. Part of this program involved preparing
Georgian units
for operations in US-led
Multinational Force Iraq
. That program ended in September 2007.
See also
[
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]
References
[
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]
External links
[
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