Georgia Train and Equip Program

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Operation Enduring Freedom - Pankisi Gorge
Part of the War on Terrorism, Operation Enduring Freedom

Date February 27, 2002
Location Georgia
Result Ended 2004.
Belligerents
Flag of the United States United States,
Flag of Georgia (country) Georgia,
Flag of Russia Russia		 al-Qaeda
Georgian soldiers participating in the Georgia Train and Equip Program in October 2002.
Georgian soldiers participating in the Georgia Train and Equip Program in October 2002.

The Georgia Train and Equip Program (GTEP) was an American-sponsored 18-month, $64-million plan designed to increase the capabilities of the Georgian armed forces. On February 27, 2002 it began to be reported in the US media that the U.S. would send approximately two hundred United States Army Special Forces soldiers to Georgia to train Georgian troops.[citation needed] This program implemented President Bush's decision to respond to the Government of Georgia's request for assistance to enhance its counter-terrorism capabilities and addressed the situation in the Pankisi Gorge.

This move drew protests from many Russians, who believed that Georgia should remain within the Russian sphere of influence, and not the United States'. On March 1, 2002, over domestic outcry, Russian president Vladimir Putin met with Georgian president Eduard Shevardnadze in Kazakhstan and pledged his support for the American military initiative.[citation needed]

The Program began in May 2002 when the US funded the GTEP to train Georgian Armed Forces( 12th "Commando" Light Infantry Battalion, 16th Mountain-Infantry Batalion, 13th "Shavnabada" Light Infantry Battalion, 11th Light Infantry Battalion, Mechanized company, and small numbers of Interior Ministry troops and border guards.)[1]This was anticipated to cost around sixty-four million dollars to train and equip four six-hundred man battalions with light weapons, vehicles and communications. The program was said to be tied to Operation Enduring Freedom as a means to speed up funding.[2]

Although GTEP formally came to a close in April 2004, the US military assistance programs with Georgia continues, and is now known as the Georgia Sustainment and Stability Operations Program. Part of this program has involved preparing Georgian units for operations with the US led Multinational Force Iraq. The program ended in September 2007.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Patterns of Global Terrorism 2003. US Department of State (2004-04-29). Retrieved on 2007-01-14.
  2. ^ Helping Georgia?. Boston University Institute for the Study of Conflict, Ideology and Policy (March–April 2002). Retrieved on 2007-02-14.

[edit] External links