Georgia hosting first defence logistics exercise with NATO, partner forces

Georgian and allied logisticians working in preparation of the LOGDEV exercise last year. Photo: Ministry of Defence of Georgia press office.

Agenda.ge, 06 May 2019 - 14:43, Tbilisi,Georgia

Georgia's Ministry of Defence and armed forces are hosting their partners, including NATO member states, in LOGDEV 19, a multinational exercise aimed at developing logistical capability of their armed forces.

Held in the country for the first time, the drills - formally known as Logistics Development - involve 130 service members from a dozen countries and are led by the Joint Force Development Directorate of the United States Joint Chiefs of Staff.

The exercise aims to bring logistical support up to NATO standards and enable us to operate in a multinational environment," Defence Minister Levan Izoria told personnel from participating nations at the opening of the drills earlier today.

Georgia's Defence Ministry added LOGDEV was held to "develop NATO logistics doctrines and utilisation of informational systems" of the alliance.

Unit formation and deployment, provision of logistical support areas of operation and conducting drawdown of troops were among elements of the drills mentioned in the ministry's release. The participating forces use NATO's Allied Deployment and Movement System (ADAMS) in their work.

In the US-led exercise, Georgian Defence Forces are joined by their Caucasus and Black Sea regional partners from Azerbaijan and Ukraine, in addition to Balkan participants Albania, North Macedonia, Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro.

Finnish and Swedish forces join the drills from northern Europe to round off the list of participants aiming to develop their capacity in the field of supply, transportation, support and more.

The exercise will conclude in Georgia on May 17.