OCTOBER 2010 ISSUE #40MINISTRY OF DEFENCE OF GEORGIA PUBLIC AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT

INSIDE

Committee Session

Visit by American

Generals

NATO Delegation visits

Krtsanisi National

Training Center

Afghanistan:

Franco-Georgian

Event for the Benefit

of Children in Shinah

Chairman of the NATO Mil-itary Committee (CMC) Admi-ral Giampaolo Di Paola paid anofficial visit to Georgia.NATO top military official vis-ited Ministry of Defence on Oc-tober 28 where he was hosted bythe Chief of Joint Staff of GAFMajor-General Devi Chanko-tadze. Admiral also met withDefence Minister Bacho Akhala-ia. At the meeting Minister ex-pressed gratitude towards theAlliance for its contribution pro-vided in the GAF’s developmentprocess. In the course of the meet-ing, the participants dealt withongoing NATO-Georgia relationsand future prospects of coopera-tion. The sides also referred to thesignificance of Georgia’s involve-ment in the Afghanistan peace-keeping operation and the re-forms being developed in thenational defence sphere.

After the meeting Giampao-lo Di Paola underlined that hiscurrent visit in Georgia is anoth-er demonstration of partnershipbetween the Alliance and Geor-gia. “It is also a way to say thanks

NATO CMC visiting MoD

to Georgia for what it is doingwith the Alliance in Afghanistan.Contribution your country is pro-viding in ISAF is very signifi-cant. I want to pay respect tothose brave Georgian soldierswho lost their lives recently.Georgian contribution in Af-ghanistan is very relevant. Whenwe compare your contribution tothe size of your country and thesize of your Armed Forces, youmust be proud because it is sig-nificant in any sense by quanti-ty, by quality for the area whereyou operate. I reconfirm that wewill continue through the mech-anism of Georgia-NATO com-mission to work together for im-proving the interoperability andthe defence reforms of theArmed forces”, stated NATOAdmiral. Giampaolo Di Paolareaffirmed the NATO`s supporttowards Georgia.

According to the Deputy De-fence Minister Nodar Kharshi-ladze, the reforms ongoing in thefield of defence were given ahigh appreciation. “NATO dele-gation expressed their special

thanks to the Georgian side forits engagement in the ISAF op-eration. NATO military repre-sentatives reiterated that the Bu-charest decision about the Geor-gia’s NATO integration remainsin force and that Georgia willinevitably become a member ofthe Alliance”, declared Mr.Kharshiladze.

Meetings were also organizedwith JS officers and MoD civilpersonnel. Themes of discussionat the roundtable meeting includ-ed NATO-Georgia partnershipand existing challenges in themilitary operations.

In the framework of the visitNATO CMC also met with theParliament Speaker DavitBakradze, Deputy State Minis-ter on European and Euro-Atlan-tic Integration Elene Khoshtariaand Deputy Secretary of Nation-al Security Council Irakli Porch-khidze. Tomorrow NATO dele-gation will visit “Krtsanisi” Na-tional Training Center and Tbili-si-based NATO Liaison Office.Admiral left Georgia on the 30thof October.

The Ukrainian Minister ofDefense, Mykhailo Yezhel haspaid an official visit to Georgia.The Georgian Defense Minister,Bacho Akhalaia received hisUkrainian colleague at an officialwelcoming ceremony at the De-fense Ministry on Wednesday,November 3.

Following the ceremony, theDefense Ministers of the twocountries held a personal meet-ing, in which the participantsdealt with issues relating to bilat-eral collaboration in the field ofdefense. Discussions also tookplace on the importance of Geor-gia’s involvement in the Afghan-istan peacekeeping operation andongoing defense reforms. Afterthe closed door meeting, mem-bers of the Ukrainian delegationand representatives of the Geor-gian Ministry of Defense held ne-gotiations plans for future partner-ship. Furthermore, a BilateralCooperation Plan for 2011 wassigned between the two DefenseMinistries.

Following the meeting, thesenior Georgian and Ukrainian

Ukrainian Defence Minister

pays a visit to MoDofficials answered questionsfrom journalists from Georgiaand abroad.

While meeting with the me-dia of both countries, Mr. Akhala-ia underscored the significance ofthe friendship between Georgiaand Ukraine. “The prospects forGeorgian-Ukrainian partnershipare quite promising. At the to-day’s meeting, we focused on re-forms at the Georgian MoD. Atthe current phase of our relation-ship we confined our discussionsto sharing our experience with ourUkrainian colleagues. I shouldnote that we attach a great deal ofimportance to current and futurecooperation with Ukraine. At themeeting, we also drew attentionto reforms in the education sys-tem and shared our expertise inthis regard too. During these twodays, we will have the opportu-nity to discuss the full range ofeducation-related issues”, he de-clared.

After the meeting, MykhailoYezhel also spoke to journalists,saying: “we spoke about issues ofcommon interest, regarding re-

forms in the two states’ armedforces, and military-technical co-operation. As another sign of bi-lateral partnership, the Georgianand Ukrainian militaries partici-pated in the joint military exer-cises Blackseafor and Seabreaze.What’s more, officers and mili-tary subunits from both our coun-tries have had the opportunity totrain together in both Ukraine andGeorgia”.

Within the framework of theofficial two-day visit to Georgia,the top Ukrainian defense officialalso visited the Vaziani militarybase, and laid flowers on the me-morial to soldiers killed in thefight for the territorial integrity ofGeorgia. He will also visit themonument to Taras Shevchenkoto pay tribute to the memory ofthe famous Ukrainian poet.

Meetings will be also arrangedwith the Georgian Foreign Min-ister, Grigol Vashadze and theDeputy Secretary of the NationalSecurity Council, Levan Duchi-dze.

Mykhailo Yezhel left Georgiaon November 4, 2010.

Military Attachés

visit the National

Training Center New Church Opened

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On October 28, an open door sessionof the Parliamentary Committee on De-fense and Security was held at Vazianimilitary base. Members of Parliamentwere able to hear from the Minister ofDefense first-hand on new initiativeswith regard to reserve forces, the Na-tional Guard and civil defense. At themeeting, a decision was made for depu-ties, the Ministry of Defense and Secu-rity Council personnel to start workingtogether a new proposal for changes inthe operation of reserve forces. Underthe new initiative, two types of reserveforces are to be formed: The first groupwill be developed by military officialsfrom the Army and will function as armyreserves. The second will be prepared anew department which will be createdas a result of the transformation of thecurrent National Guard and will worktowards providing civil defense. Thenew entity will be responsible for themanagement of emergency situationsand territorial-logistics issues.

“The National Guard Departmentmust be equipped to perform functionsof civil defense. This means that we willhave a Civil Defense Department asopposed to the previous Guard Com-mand. The military reserve system,which was previously coordinated bythe Guard Department, is now beingcontrolled by the Land Forces of the

Committee Session

Georgian Armed Forces and its activebrigades. Moreover, Battalions will trainreservists on their own, which will bringtangible results in terms of improvedpreparation levels” stated Minister ofDefense, Bacho Akhalaia.

The chairman of the committee, GiviTargamadze also discussed the issue:“Today, the main subject for discussionwas the establishment of a new reservesystem. We learned serious lessons af-ter the war and underwent intensive con-sultations on this issue. The consulta-tions are practically over and we havealready tested a pilot version of the con-cept. One flow of reservists has alreadysuccessfully passed reserve trainingthrough the new system and it has helpedus a lot. Despite the fact that we havealready made various amendments thathad begun some time beforehand and itwas initially planned to introduce a newlaw, we have decided to implement theprogram within the framework of exist-ing legislation.”

According to Mr. Targamadze, thefocus now will be on those citizens ofGeorgia who have already passed mili-tary service in any form, including po-lice forces and border guard. They willbe conscripted to the army reserve, i.e.the active reserve, and will undergo thenecessary training. The course will lastfor two weeks but the complete course

will consist of 45 days.“Georgia has a good contingent of

100 to 150 thousand citizens who canbe called up in reserve service throughthe new system. This is more thanenough. Today, with our existing infra-structure and resources, we can’t affordto train so many reservists. That’s whythis [new initiative] will be implement-ed on a stage-by-stage basis. The majorchange will be that the preparation ofreservists will be carried out by the LandForces instead of the National Guard.Active units will integrate the reserveunits and provide for their training aswell. As for the National Guard, it willassume new functions. The NationalGuard will be responsible for the estab-lishment of a civil defense system,something that we do not currently pos-sess. The National Guard will supportthe Georgian Armed Forces as a rear ser-vice. So first, we need to create an in-frastructure for civil defense, it must beable to provide security for ordinary cit-izens in times of crisis. In this case, somelegislative amendments will be needed,”declared the committee chairman.

The participants in the meetingagreed that a joint working group willbe set up consisting of representativesfrom the Ministry of Defense, the Secu-rity Council and the Parliamentary Com-mittee on Defense and Security.

NATO Committee chair visits

National Training Center

On October 22, a NATO delegationvisited Krtsanisi National Training Cen-ter. The representatives from a numberof NATO member-states were visitingGeorgia as part of NATO Week and werehosted by Deputy Defense Minister,Nodar Kharshiladze and the Command-er of Trainings and Military Educationof the Joint Staff of the Georgian ArmedForces, Colonel Nikoloz Janjgava. TheGeorgian Deputy Minister for Europe-an and Euro-Atlantic Integration, HelenKhoshtaria accompanied the delegationto the Center.

The delegation was composed ofNATO Ambassadors from Lithuania -Linas Linkevicius, Latvia - Janis Eich-manis, and Estonia - Jüri Luik in addi-tion to the Deputy Ambassador of theUnited States to NATO, John Heffern.The visitors toured the new simulationcenter at the base and received informa-tion about the ongoing reforms in mili-tary education in Georgia, as well aslearning about the training programs andongoing exercises at the Training Cen-ter. Linas Linkevicius, LithuanianNATO Ambassador told journalists thathe had found the visit very interesting:“We came during final preparations forthe [forthcoming NATO] summit to

NATO Delegation visits Krtsanisi National Training Center

demonstrate how important our relation-ship with Georgia is. Not just on paperbut in real life, we have a very goodframework for cooperation [with Geor-gia]. I believe that Georgia has all thenecessary tools to be ready for member-ship. But it’s not just a technical task,it’s a political question, and when thetime comes there will be political deci-sion on membership,” Linkevicius ex-plained.

Nodar Karshiladze, Deputy DefenseMinister also spoke about the visit: “Wehad an opportunity to exchange infor-mation before the Lisbon Summit andto discuss expectations regarding Geor-gia’s integration into NATO. The cur-rent reforms in the sphere of defensehave been very positively evaluated.After the visit to Krtsanisi Training Cen-ter, the NATO ambassadors expressedtheir satisfaction with the Georgian sol-diers’ level of preparedness and theirappreciation for our participation in theISAF operation.”

The delegation visited Georgia aspart of NATO Week. The representativesalso met with the State Minister for Re-integration, Temur Iakobashivili, Geor-gian academics, a number NGOs andrepresentatives of ethnic minorities.

The Chairman of the NATO MilitaryCommittee, Admiral Giampaolo Di Pa-ola, as part of his official visit to Geor-gia, made a tour of the Krtsanisi NationalTraining Center. He came to see the forc-es of the 33rd Battalion of the III Infan-try Brigade who will to rotate (in sixmonths) with the 32nd Battalion whohave recently been deployed to Afghan-istan. The top NATO official also visit-ed the Simulation Training Center locat-ed at the base and attended a demon-strative trainings.

While inspecting the National Train-ing Center, the NATO CMC was accom-panied by the leadership of the Minis-try of Defense leadership including Dep-uty Defense Minister, Nodar Khar-shiladze; Joint Chief of Staff of theGeorgian Armed Forces, Major-Gener-al Devi Chankotadze; and the Com-mander for Trainings and Military Edu-cation, Colonel Nikoloz Janjgava.

Following the meeting, the Admiralexpressed his satisfaction with the sol-diers’ level of preparedness: “I had avery interesting day. I liked the centervery much. I can see how intensivelyyour military are preparing before theirdeparture to Afghanistan. I would liketo say thanks for the contribution your

servicemen are providing to the inter-national community in Afghanistan.Also, I am very regretful for the humanloss your contingent has recently suf-fered. You have brave and professionalsoldiers who are successfully perform-ing the duties entrusted to them in sucha difficult region as South Afghanistan.As for NATO-Georgia cooperation, it isdeveloping and strengthening in theright way. The purpose of my visit hereis to foster the further development ofmutual partnership”.

Deputy Minister Nodar Kharshiladzealso spoke about Admiral De Paola’spositive evaluation of the morale andlevel of preparedness demonstrated byGeorgian soldiers. “The NATO CMConce again extended his gratitude to theGeorgian side for its involvement in theinternational security operation. He re-affirmed the active partnership betweenthe alliance and Georgia and stated thatGeorgia’s integration into NATO is onlya matter of time”, declared the DeputyMinister.

The same day the NATO Admiralvisited the newly established NATO Li-aison Office based in Tbilisi and held ameeting with the head of Office, Zbig-niew Rybacki.

33333OCTOBER 2010 ISSUE #40 MONTHLY SUPPLEMENT OF GEORGIA TODAY

Afghanistan: Franco-Georgian Event for the Benefit of Children in Shinah

On September 22, 2010 at Shinah,a small village south of the WarehouseFrench military base, a detachment ofFrench and Georgian soldiers distrib-uted school supplies, toys and sweetsto young girls at the village school.

The event was made possiblethrough the generosity of a French ele-mentary school located in Ochey, nearNancy. When the director of the schoollooked at the problems facing the Af-ghan education system, they encour-aged their pupils to collect school sup-plies and sent them to Afghan children,accompanied by students’ drawings.

The Georgian military detachment,in together with the French CommandWarehouse (COMSITE) organized theevent, the latest in a series of measuresto assist the local population which

Georgia fully acknowledges the importance of the ISAF mission and continues to contribute to the mostimportant mission in the history of the alliance. Georgia continues to send its professionally trained soldiers tothe mission, and now has up to 950 servicemen in the ISAF with 750 soldiers operating under the US MarineCorps in Helmand province and one company under French command in Kabul. This year has been verydifficult and challenging for NATO and for Georgia itself.

One of the important issues in the ISAF operation is the new strategy, which was created several months ago.The Georgian contingent is not an exception to the overall goal of the mission and continues to work towards theISAF strategy’s key principle: to win the hearts and minds of the Afghan people.

have included the distribution ofblankets, mattresses and other neces-sities.

The Georgian military contingenthas been part of the coalition sinceNovember 2009. Its infantry compa-ny has worked with French units tofully ensure the safety of the Frenchcamp, Warehouse. The mission of theGeorgian soldiers is to ensure thecontrol and filtering of all incomingand outgoing personnel and vehiclesat the base. The company also workson internal security and participatesin the Quick Reaction Force (QRF).Equipped with French armored vehi-cles, it conducts daily patrols aroundthe camp and helps to establish con-tacts with the local population.

Source: Ministry of Defence of France

Maj. Kartlos Kraveishvili, a medical officer with the 31st GeorgianBattalion, and Navy Chief Michael Gandy, an independent-dutycorpsman from Regimental Combat Team 2, provide aid for a youngAfghan girl with a broken arm during their brief pause from patrollingthrough villages in Golestan. Operating alongside Afghan NationalPolice, soldiers and officers of Company A, 31st Battalion, GeorgianArmy, visited a series of villages gathering information about theneeds of the villagers and the security situation during Operation IronHorse. Kraveishvili examined patients during the visits, providing themost necessary help: medical aid. (By Thomas Dworzak)

Sgt. IIia Makhatadze, a combat medic with Company B, 31st GeorgianBattalion, Regimental Combat Team 2, administers eye drops to alocal Afghan elder during a visit to his village in Farah province, July22. Operating in the sparsely populated areas located throughouteastern Farah province, the soldiers from Company B continue tofoster positive relationships with the local Afghans in order to assistthe Afghan government in bringing essential civil services such asmedical care and security to the people of Farah. (Photo by: ThomasDworzak)

Georgian soldiers with Company B, 31st Georgian Battalion,Regimental Combat Team 2, speak with a local Afghan elder during ajoint-patrol to his village in Farah province, July 22. Speaking with thelocal Afghans, the soldiers of Company B soon learned this areararely receives any outside visitors. “No one has ever come here for35 years. Not even the Russians,” said Naqib, a local villager, throughan interpreter. Mistaken for Russian soldiers in the past, the Georgiansoldiers emphasized they were not Russians, and were there to helpand learn as much as possible about the local security situation andneeds of their village. After meeting with the local elders, the soldiersdistributed toys, and their company medic examined some of thevillagers, providing medical care to those in need. (Photo by: ThomasDworzak)

An Afghan elder brings bread to Georgian soldiers from Company A,31st Georgian Battalion, Regimental Combat Team 2, and otherAfghans during a shura in the Farah province, July 22. Over a localAfghan meal, regional leaders, elders and Georgian officersdiscussed different ways to improve the security and economicsituation throughout the province. (By Thomas Dworzak)

Georgian Minister of Defense Bacho Akhalaia gathers with the 31stGeorgian Battalion aboard Camp Delaram II, during his visit to thecamp, June 14. Brig. Gen. Joseph Osterman, 1st Marine Division(FWD) commanding general, was also in attendance. While theminister and his entourage were aboard the camp, they received abrief from both the Georgian staff as well as Col. Paul Kennedy,Regimental Combat Team 2 commanding officer. The brief touched ontopics concerning the logistics of the Georgian unit as well plans forfuture implementation of the Georgian battalion throughout RCT-2’sbattle space. For the first time, a Georgian battalion is workingalongside a Marine regimental combat team. Through the combinedefforts of two NATO forces working for a common goal, theGeorgians, along with RCT-2, plan to leave a positive impact in theHelmand province.

(From left to right) Lt. Col. Steven Grass, Regimental Combat Team 2executive officer, 1st Sgt. Jeffrey Beegle, RCT-2 headquarterscompany first sergeant, Col. Ebdulahai Neshat, executive officer of2nd Brigade, 215 Corps, Afghan National Army, and Lt. Col. LashaBeridze, senior national representative, Georgian Army, InternationalJoint Command, stand before the memorial site of four Georgiansoldiers from 31st Georgian Battalion who died during recent combatoperations in Helmand province, Oct. 7. The four soldiers werepatrolling alongside Afghan National Army forces during an operationconducted in southern Musa Qal’eh. During the ceremony, servicemembers from RCT-2 headquarters, 2nd Brigade, 215th Corps and the31st Georgian Bn., came to show their respect.

Georgian Peacekeeping Mission in Afghanistan

44444 OCTOBER 2010 ISSUE #40MONTHLY SUPPLEMENT OF GEORGIA TODAY

University students and high schoolpupils from the 11th grade had the op-portunity to become acquainted with thedaily life of soldiers at the KrtsanisiNational Training Center. They spent afull three days at the Center as part of aproject implemented by the Ministry ofDefense and the Information Center onNATO.

Instructors led practical and theoret-ical exercises for the visitors and taughtthem about the structure of the Georgianarmed forces and a range of armamentssystems. Older participants were alsoable to take part in practical exercises.

Participants in the project were metby Deputy Defense Minister, NodarKharshiladze and the Minister for Re-integration, Temur Iakobashvili who ex-plained to them the ongoing defense re-forms. “The young people had the op-portunity to become familiar with theliving conditions of the military, and thetraining programs and technologies thathave been introduced at the Center. They

Students and Pupils visit the

Krtsanisi National Training Center

also learnt about Georgia’s partnershipwith NATO”, declared the Deputy Min-ister.

Temur Iakobashvili did not hesitateto express his satisfaction with the meet-ing: “the meeting was a great success. Iwas quite surprised at the well thought-out questions asked by the young guests.Their interest towards issues of commonconcern is great. It is good that the youthare so actively engaged in all these pro-cesses. I think that similar projectsshould continue to be implemented”.

The project’s co-organizer, the Headof the Information Center on NATO,Tengiz Gogotishvili believes that theimplementation of more projects suchas this would be very useful for theyounger generation. “Under the jointproject implemented by the Ministry ofDefense and the Information Center onNATO, the students underwent a three-day training course. The MoD did itsbest to introduce the students to mod-ern Georgian combat equipment, army

Visit by American Generals

A delegation of American officershas been briefed on the ongoing reformsin the Georgian Armed Forces. Thegroup of seventeen newly-selected Gen-erals and Flag Officers led by retiredGeneral (4 star) Thomas Morgan, visit-ed the Georgian Ministry of Defense onOctober 27. The U.S. delegation washosted by the Joint Chief of Staff of theGeorgian Armed Forces, Major-Gener-al Devi Chankotadze and Deputy De-fense Minister, Nodar Kharshiladze. Atthe meeting the participants discussedcurrent reforms in the Georgian ArmedForces, Georgia’s foreign and securitypolicy objectives, and how Georgia con-tributes to providing stability in theworld. The U.S. Generals gave a posi-tive assessment of Georgia’s participa-tion in counterterrorism and peacekeep-ing operations, and expressed their ap-

preciation for the Country’s contribu-tion.

Visit took place within the frame-work of the U.S. DoD CAPSTONE pro-gram, which fulfills the statutory re-quirements of the DoD ReorganizationAct of 1986 which supports the profes-sional military education of officers se-lected for promotion to the rank of Gen-eral or Flag officer. Specifically, theobjective of the program is to make new-ly selected Generals and Flag officersmore effective in planning and employ-ing US forces in Unified, Joint and Mul-tinational operations, and more knowl-edgeable of when and how these opera-tions support national strategy and pol-icy. Program participants frequently visitvarious countries in order to get to knowto their defense systems. The U.S. dele-gation left Georgia on October 28.

structure and the overall situation at thetraining center. Deputy Minister, NodarKharshiladze and the Minister for Re-integration, Temur Iakobashvili met theyoung people on behalf of the Ministry,and answered all their questions. I hopethey all obtained information of inter-est”, stated Gogotishvili.

One of the project’s participants,Nodar Khutsishvili talked to DefenseToday about the visit: “for me, as an or-dinary citizen, it is crucial to know whatis currently happening in the Georgianarmy. It was interesting to be able tobecome familiar with the daily activi-ties of soldiers. What we have seen onsite exceeded our expectations. I hopethat projects of a similar type will beimplemented again, and that other peo-ple will also have the opportunity tolearn about the modernization processin the Georgian army.

The students and pupils who partici-pated in the project were awarded cer-tificates and gifts.

Military Attaches visit the

National Training Center

Military Attaches accredited to Geor-gia have taken a tour of the KrtsanisiNational Training Center with DeputyDefense Minister, Nodar Kharshiladzehosting the foreign delegation. The dip-lomats inspected infrastructure and ar-maments at the institution as well visit-ed its Simulation Center. Military At-taches also had the opportunity to be-come familiarized with reforms to mili-tary education.

“Today, we had an opportunity to getour foreign partners familiar with Krt-sanisi National Training Center. Theymade a close study of the conditionsunder which our soldiers are beingtrained. Our friends expressed their sat-

isfaction with the situation on theground. I hope that this visit will be onemore step towards deepening bilateralcooperation”, declared Kharshiladze.

At the end of the visit, the attachescompeted with each other on the firingrange practicing with the M4 automaticrifle. The US Military Attaché, JohnThurman succeeded in beating tightcompetition to win the contest. Secondand third places were awarded to Lithua-nian Diplomat, LTC Virginijus Vilkelisand German Diplomat, LTC BernhardHopp respectively. At the end of themeeting, the Deputy Defense Ministerpresented the guests with gifts as a markof friendship and respect.

Sophomore students from the Schoolof Journalism and Media Managementat the Georgian Institute of Public Af-fairs (GIPA) became familiar with on-going defense reforms at a visit to theministry in October. The students metwith Deputy Defense Minister, NodarKharshiladze who explained the struc-ture of the armed forces, prospects fordefense cooperation with Euro-Atlanticorganizations and changes being madeas part of the ongoing defense reforms.The meeting was held in a highly inter-active format with the Deputy Ministerfielding questions from the students.

“The meeting for me as a novice was

Students from GIPA visit the Ministry of Defense

very important. We received extensiveinformation and learnt about many newthings as well as the fundamentals theGeorgian army is based on. On thewhole, the meeting was very compre-hensive”, said Irina Laliashvili, a par-ticipating student.

The students also had the opportuni-ty to inspect the base of the 4th InfantryBrigade at Vaziani, where they werehosted by Senior Sergeant, AleksandreGorgadze. They were able to becomepersonally familiar with the soldiers’training regime as well as take a closelook at military and combat equipment.They took part in combat exercises, used

New Church OpenedA new church dedicated to St. Go-

bron has been opened at the base of the3rd Infantry Brigade. The foundations forthe church were laid in the second halfof 2008, after the Russian-Georgian War.

The opening ceremony of the churchwas attended by Metropolitan Kalistrateof the Kutaisi and Gaenati Eparchy andby Father Jakob from the Ministry ofDefense.

Father Gobron served the first litur-gy in the newly built church: “The foun-dations of the church were laid downtwo years ago. We have consecrated thegroundwork in the name of Martyr Go-bron as he has the same spiritual signif-

icance for Georgia as St. George. I thinkthat it is very important to have a churchto serve all military units to give oursoldiers the opportunity to attend sermonwhenever they want. It is very good thatthe Ministry of Defense of Georgia givesa great deal of importance to this issue.Wherever there is a soldier there is achaplain. Each soldier needs a blessingfrom God, especially those military ser-vicemen who are performing their mis-sion in Afghanistan,” he noted.

The St. Gobron Church has its ownchapel and library. The church was builton the initiative of the Ministry of De-fense and the 3rd Infantry Brigade.

the base’s simulation systems and haddinner with the soldiers. One of the stu-dents, Ani Berukashvili told DefenseToday about her impressions of the site:“We took a look at the base and tastedthe daily rations of the servicemen. I par-ticularly liked the Simulation Center. Atthe beginning it looks like a game, butthen you understand that it actually rec-reates a real war. I am glad that our mil-itary are being trained in such condi-tions.”

The visit took place as part of ongo-ing cooperation between The Ministryof Defense and the Georgian Instituteof Public Affairs.