Georgia Deploys More Troops in Iraq

159 GTEP soldiers left for Iraq.

Georgian increased its military presence in Iraq, after 159 soldiers left for Baghdad on April 7, as a Georgia’s contribution to Iraqi Freedom Operation. Around 55 servicemen, including mine-clearing experts and doctors are expected to join them after month.

Georgian unit replaced the combined unit of a 70 mine-clearing experts and doctors, which returned from Iraq in March after six months of deployment in the town of Tikrit. New unit of Georgian servicemen will be deployed in the towns of Baghdad, Tikrit and Baiji.

“Mission that you are embarking on today will not be easy, but you are well-trained and well-prepared to face what lies ahead of you in Iraq.  You are the best-trained and best-equipped Georgian army this nation has seen since independence,” U.S. Ambassador Richard Miles said in his remarks at the Alexeevka air base, near Tbilisi. 

The Georgian servicemen from 16th Mountain Battalion, which underwent U.S.-funded Train-and-Equip Program (GTEP), will be guarding the military bases and other facilities of the coalition forces, as well as participating in the mop-up operations, according to the Georgian Defense Ministry.

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