Fourth Battalion Graduates GTEP

The 111th Light Infantry Battalion of the Georgian Defense Ministry officially graduated the US-funded Train-and-Equip Program (GTEP) today.

The graduation ceremony, which was held on the Republic Square in Tbilisi, was attended by the Interim President, the Defense Minister, the U.S. Ambassador to Georgia and other officials.

In their speeches, the Interim President and the Defense Minister underlined the importance of the GTEP in development of the Georgian armed forces.

U.S. Ambassador Richard Miles stressed the readiness of the United States to continue rendering the military assistance to Georgia.

The 111th Light Infantry Battalion is the fourth Georgian battalion to be trained under the Train and Equip Program within the past two years.

11th Brigade Commando Battalion, Sachkhere 16th Mountain Battalion of the National Guard, Kojori Special Operations Unit were trained and equipped under the GTEP.  The Command & Control Center was also established and its staff trained by the U.S. instructors.

The GTEP, for which the US Government has allocated 64 million dollars, started last May.

The agreement has been reached between the U.S. and Georgia to continue the program. The fifth battalion will launch training from 2004.