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Military of Georgia (country)

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The Georgian armed forces were established in the early 1990s from former Soviet Army units on Georgian soil, irregular militias, and Georgian personnel returning from other posts within the former Soviet Armed Forces.

As of December 2006, the actual number of the Georgian Ministry of Defense armed forces is 26,902 troops. The current Defence Minister is Davit Kezerashvili, and Chief of General Staff of the Armed Forces of Georgia is Colonel Zaza Gogava. On March 23, 1994, Georgia was one of the first former Soviet Republics to join the Partnership for Peace. Among the Partners Georgia was the first country who could submit the special documentation (May 2004) and on 29 October 2004 the North Atlantic Council approved the first Individual Partnership Action Plan (IPAP) for Georgia. If the IPAP is successful, Georgia will have good opportunity to accede to the Membership Action Plan (MAP).

The Georgia Train and Equip Program (GTEP) training was conducted using U.S. Special Operations Forces and U. S. Marine Corps forces from May 2002 to May 2004. During this time approximately 2,600 Georgian soldiers, including a headquarters staff element and 5 tactical units, received training. Another assistance program, the Georgia Security and Stability Operations Program (Georgia SSOP), was launched in January 2005 as a continuation of the (GTEP) of 2002-2004.

The Georgian government has announced a reform of the Georgian armed forces in order to comply with NATO standards. The government has planned to reduce the size of the armed forces and increase the number of professional soldiers to two thirds of the total manpower. Georgia has its peacekeeping force in Kosovo, and participates in the War on Terrorism in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Land Forces

The Land Forces of Georgia consists of the following units: four Infantry Brigades, an Artillery Brigade, a Separate Tank Battalion, Separate Light Infantry Battalion, Separate Air Defense Battalion, Separate Engineer Battalion Separate Signals Battalion and other units.

The strength of Land Forces comprise 25,570 personnel of which 2,879 are officers, 8,583 are sergeants/corporals (contracting) and 14,108 are conscripts, in addition there are 1596 are civilians. Many of the present Georgian military units and formations were formed from former Soviet Army formations of the Transcaucasus Military District, which became the Russian Transcaucasus Group of Forces in the early 1990s.

Georgian ground forces that contain outdated military weaponry and technologies from the former Soviet Union are budgeted to be fully replaced by new and improved US, Israeli and German systems in the 2008 - 2010 timeframe. The equipment removed from front line service would then be made available for the reserve army.

The modernization program consists of several phases. Step one is procurement and intigration of light infantry weaponry, specifically new M4 assault rifles . These will be distributed to all 5 special forces brigades. Next is the upgrading of TAM manufactured SU-25 ground attack aircraft of the airforce with advanced avionics provided via a partnership with Israel. The final, currently scheduled step will be the upgrading of fire control systems for all Main Battle Tanks, followed by the replacement of outdated armored vehicles and tanks with more modern western equipment.

Equipment

MBT

AIFV / APC

Artillery

Towed

Self-Propelled

Multiple Launch Rocket Systems

Mortars

Anti Air Defence

Air Force

Georgian Air Forces consists of Aviation and Air Defense.

The principle missions of the Air Forces are:

To control and defend air space of Georgia; conduct air intelligence and surveillance; provide support to the Armed Forces other Services; conduct air evacuation and search and rescue operations; and air movement of personnel and military cargo transportation.

Georgian aircraft mainly consist of up to 15 Su-25 "Frogfoot" ground attack planes. As for Georgian helicopter forces, they consists of: 10 Mi-24 "Hind" attack gunships, 25Mi-8 "Hip" assault/transport helicopters (can also be used for attack), and up to 10 UH-1H helicopters.

Georgian Navy

The mission of the Georgian Navy is to protect the sovereignty of Georgia within Georgian territorial waters on the Black Sea coast line, and to implement tasks by inter-operating with the other services. Georgia is a part of the Black Sea Naval Co-operation Task Group with Russia another littoral states.

During peacetime the Navy operates in a regular mode and is multi-functional. It supports civil structures, controls territorial waters, preserves a high level of combat training and readiness and conducts training and exercises.

The strength of the Navy is 1780, of which 590 are officers, 900 are NCOs, 200 are conscripts, and 90 are civilians.

La Combattante II
armed with 2 Exocet MM.38 systems, 2 OTO-Melara 76 mm/L62 guns and modified anti-aircraft guns
- 4 in use, another 3 ordered from the French Navy

Р 269 Lindos
armed with 2 c802 anti-ship missile batteries and AK-630M defensive guns
- 5 in use, another 8 ordered from Ukraine

National Guard of Georgia

Georgian National Guard was established on December 20, 1990 and was manned by volunteers. It represents the first Georgian armed formation, which became the base of the foundation for modern Georgian Armed Forces. The Guard actively participated in the conflicts existed on the Georgian territory (Samachablo, Abkhazia).

The National Guard consists of 20 554 personnel; the main missions of National Guard are:

  1. Support civil government in crisis situations (natural, technological, ecological);
  2. Register mobilization recourses, study and deliver;
  3. Convene, select and man of citizens on the basis of the agreement, for the units, subunits and bases of the Armed Forces;
  4. Provide ceremony activities.

Participation of Georgia in international peacekeeping missions

Georgian Armed Forces have been participating in peacekeeping missions (the Balkans, Persian Gulf) since 2000.

Units participating in peacekeeping missions are manned by professional soldiers, the duration of the mission is six months and participation is voluntary. The readiness assessment criteria are, as follows: health condition, physical fitness, professional skills and experience.

About 200 Georgian troops are deployed in the Balkans (Kosovo), and approximately 850 were serving under Coalition Command in the Persian Gulf (Iraq). Their preparedness and training skills are evaluated on high level by international experts. On July 2007 Georgia sent an extra 1,400 troops to Iraq; that brought the total number of troops in Iraq to 2,000.

Hence, owing to participation in international peacekeeping missions the military members are able to obtain practical experience and to show readiness to cooperate with NATO and with other partner countries' forces.

Russian military in Georgia

Russian military presence is a major challenge in the country. At the time of the 1999 Istanbul Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) conference, Russia had four major military bases in the country: Vaziani, Gudauta, Akhalkalaki, and Batumi. As part of the Final Act of the CFE Treaty, signed at the conference on 19 November 1999, Russia & Georgia agreed that 'The Russian military bases at Gudauta and Vaziani will be disbanded and withdrawn by 1 July 2001.' The base in Vaziani was withdrawn relatively quickly in the late 1990s. Russia claims that the Gudauta military base in Abkhazia had already been withdrawn in the letter and spirit of the agreement, but no international monitoring has been allowed there, and Airborne Forces officers have said it is being used as a rest facility for the Russian peacekeeping force in Abkazia.

No agreement was reached over the bases at Batumi and Akhalkalaki, despite vehement Georgian opposition to their continued presence- Georgia, at one time, threatening to block access to the facilities. Russian negotiators insisted for years that about $500 million USD and 15 years would be required for the removal of the two bases. Finally, after US pressure, an agreement over Batumi and Akhalkalaki was reached in 2005. The Akhalkalaki base and the Russian military headquarters in Tbilisi were evacuated in 2007 and in 2008 respectively. Batumi base was supposed to be completely withdrawn in 2008 but was handed over to Georgia ahead of schedule on November 13, 2007. A significant portion of the equipment from the bases withdrawn from Georgia has been moved to the Russian 102nd Military Base in Gyumri, Armenia.

A Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) peacekeeping force, comprised entirely of Russian troops, is deployed in the Abkhazia region of Georgia together with a United Nations military observer group (UNOMIG); a Russian peacekeeping battalion is deployed in South Ossetia.

The breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia have their own armed forces (Military of Abkhazia, Military of South Ossetia) and are dependent on Russia's support in terms of equipment and specialists.

Flags

These are the Georgian military flags as of 2004.

References

Further reading

  • Richard Woff, 'The Armed Forces of Georgia', Jane's Intelligence Review, July 1993

External links



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