GTEP Extended

The U.S.-Georgian Military Cooperation Enters New Phase

The U.S. and Georgian experts say GTEP is  implemented without delays.

The U.S.-funded Georgia Train-and-Equip Program (GTEP) will be continued for three more years. “The U.S.-Georgian cooperation has entered a new phase,” David Tevzadze said at a news briefing in Tbilisi on October 21 after his return from a visit to the United States. 

Georgian Defense Minister paid official visit to the United States on October 14-20. During the visit the sides agreed to extend the GTEP after the spring of 2004, which was launched last May, when group of American military instructors arrived to train Georgian troops.

Davit Tevzadze said that a group of the U.S. military advisers would arrive in Tbilisi mid-November to assess the problems, which the Georgian armed forces are facing. The experts will also evaluate readiness level of the 11th Motor-Rifle Brigade, trained within the GTEP.

The minister stressed that the American instructors were going to participate actively in the restructuring of the General Staff of the Georgian armed forces. “The U.S. intends to take an active part in formation of the General Staff of the Georgian Armed Forces,” Minister Tevzadze said.

The group of the military consultants also intends to draw up recommendations for Georgia regarding the air space security issues. “The United States intends to continue the helicopters programme in Georgia and to undertake the measures aimed at enlarging the armed forces’ fleet of helicopters,” Tevzadze added. 

Tevzadze: Georgia, U.S. Boost Military  Cooperation

The United States allocated USD 64 million for development and support of the Georgian armed forces in frames of the GTEP. The officers from the Command & Control Center, servicemen from the 11th Brigade Commando Battalion, Sachkhere 16th Mountain Battalion of the National Guard and Kojori Special Operations Unit were trained in frames of the GTEP. At the moment the U.S. military instructors are training servicemen of the Telavi Infantry Battalion. In total, around 2,000 Georgian soldiers and officers were trained and equipped in frames of the GTEP. There were around 500 soldiers and officers in each trained unit.

Kakha Katsitadze, the head of the Strategic Planning and Armed Control Division of the General Staff of the Defense Ministry, says that the new phase of the GTEP will focus on training of larger units.

“The [GTEP] program will continue in different format, namely the U.S. instructors will train companies instead of platoons. This means the training will be different from the structural point of view. So far we had companies, trained according to the international standards. From now on we will have battalions trained under the American standards, which then would form the units of higher level – the brigades,” Kakha Katsitadze told Civil Georgia.

It is unknown yet which military base was selected to conduct the next phase of the training. Kakha Katsitadze says that this particular matter will be solved after arrival of the group of American military experts. In November the Georgian General Staff will receive 8 American experts, who will work with the Georgian counterparts.

Kakha Katsitadze says that the large scale of the program underlines Georgia’s importance for the United States. “A military program of such scale has not been conducted in any other Eastern European country. Programs in Azerbaijan and Armenia are much smaller, with funding of USD 3-4 million annually. I think this says everything. Such an approach of the US side increases responsibility of Georgians and we must do our best to sustain this program,” Kakha Katsitadze said.

The GTEP-trained soldiers are contracted for three-and-a-half years and receive highest salaries in the Georgian army. The Georgian side undertook to pay wages of the trained militaries. Currently salaries for these officers and soldiers vary between 400-800 Georgian Lari per-month (approximately $180-360), depending on a rank.

Georgian defense suffers with funding blow.

Experts say that the lack of funding of the Georgian defense budget could be the only threat to the GTEP. However, so far there were there were no delays in the program, as the salaries are paid due time to the GTEP soldiers. Georgian Defense Ministry, as well as the U.S. military experts, claims that the program is being implemented without any delays.

“I would recall the words of Napoleon, who said that strong army needs money, money and money. And as you know this is the problem in Georgia. The defense budget is determined as a share of GDP. Regrettably, in the Commonwealth of Independent States we have the smallest defense budget. Last year only Moldova was behind us. Armenia and Azerbaijan are spending much bigger share of their GDP that we do,” Katsitadze said.

He said it would be “a great shame for Georgia if the program fails because of neglect of the Georgian side.”

“Georgia does not have a resource to create and sustain a NATO standard’s army without help of other countries. It is not a shame, it is just a reality. As for America’s interests, their primary concerns are military-strategic. As the American forces are deployed in the Balkans and Central Asia, the shortest corridor, linking these forces, goes through the South Caucasus. They also have interest towards the energy resources, namely the oil and gas pipeline systems. The third most important interest is Georgia’s support in the antiterrorist efforts. Therefore it is our duty to keep up with our partners,” Katsitadze added.