Civil Georgia
May 5, 2015
Preparations Underway for Joint U.S.-Georgia Military Drills
Tbilisi: U.S. military equipment, involving 14 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles and several wheeled-support vehicles, have been delivered to Georgia’s Black Sea port of Batumi for further transportation to the Vaziani training area outside Tbilisi, where joint U.S.-Georgia military drills will start next week.
Noble Partner joint military exercise on May 11-25 will aim at enhancing U.S. and Georgian NATO Response Force interoperability, according to the Georgian MoD and the U.S. Army Europe.
About 600 U.S. and Georgian soldiers will participate in the exercises.
A mechanized infantry company from 1st Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, which is part of the U.S. contribution to NATO Response Force in 2015, as well as a rifle company of paratroopers from the 173rd Airborne Brigade will be part of the drills from the U.S. side.
The Georgian participation will include a company from 1st infantry brigade’s 12th battalion; a mechanized company from 4th mechanized brigade’s 42nd battalion and a military police unit.
Georgian forces will operate alongside U.S. forces with their BMP-2 infantry combat vehicles during the exercises, which will consist of both field training and live fire exercise; the U.S. 173rd Airborne will also partner with Georgian forces for airborne operations as part of the training, according to the U.S. Army Europe.
Bradley infantry fighting vehicles and other equipment were delivered to Batumi on May 5 aboard of a cargo ferry from the Bulgarian Black Sea port of Varna.
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