Agile Spirit: defence drills in Georgia to involve more partner nations

Fresh from the conclusion of the Noble Partner multinational drills, Georgia will be hosting this year’s Agile Spirit — a command- and staff-level defence exercise in the country’s west.

Over 10 days starting on September 1, forces from 10 partner countries will come together to train in a variety of actions with a particular focus on NATO Response Force.

Involving an increased number of participating nations — up from seven in 2017 — the exercise is scheduled to run at the 2nd Infantry Brigade base in the city of Senaki, in Samegrelo province.

US service members will again lead the exercise alongside their Georgian counteparts. Photo: Georgia’s Defence Ministry press office.

Militaries from Georgia, United States, Bulgaria, Romania, Latvia, Greece, Ukraine, Turkey, Czech Republic and Estonia will aim to develop their capabilities within the event led by the Georgian Armed Forces and US Marine Forces Europe.

Defensive, offensive and stability operations are on the agenda, with the goal of developing readiness for joint operations and crisis response within the NATO Response Force.

The participating forces will train to improve “interoperability and operational capability in planning and executing operations”, a release by the Ministry of Defence of Georgia said.

The drills will be conducted via digital simulation, using the Joint Theatre Level Simulation and Marines Tactical Warfare Simulation software utilised by tne American military.

Agile Spirit will also see first-ever inclusion of the sea component in the drills, an addition announced following a meeting between the Georgia’s Defence Minister Levan Izoria and Major General Russell Sanborn, Marine Corps Forces Commander in Europe and Africa, earlier this year.

First held in 2011, the Agile Spirit drills have steadily increased in scope, involving over 1,500 troops in live field exercises last year.