Military officials from all over the world are in Georgia to participate in a multinational military exercise run by the North Atlantic Treaty Alliance (NATO).
For the next 14 days soldiers from the United States, Bulgaria, Lithuania and Latvia are rubbing shoulders with Georgian servicemen within the Agile Spirit 2015 military exercise.
A special opening ceremony was held today to mark the official beginning of the military drills. The ceremony was held at the Vaziani Military Base and attended by Chief of General Staff of the Georgian Armed Forces (GAF), Major-General Vakhtang Kapanadze.
The NATO military training is being held under the NATO-Georgia substantial package, which outlined NATO trainings on Georgian soil as one of the deal’s top priorities. The training involved representatives from NATO partner countries including the United States, Bulgaria, Lithuania and Latvia. Armenia and Moldova will participate as observers.
Major-General Kapanadze addressed the multinational servicemen and congratulated them for participating in the joint training.
"Georgian soldiers took part in many international operations and are continuing to contribute to global peace alongside our partners. Our cooperation is more than just a partnership – it is brotherhood of arms,” he said.
I am confident that a lot of hard work will be needed but there will also be a joy of success. Professionalism and bravery has no nationality. I want to thank everyone, each military and political figure, who made the Agile Spirit 2015 a multinational training,” Kapanadze noted.
The joint military training involved command post and field training and will continue until July 22.
Representing the Georgian side in the exercise is the IV Mechanised Brigade of the 42nd battalion, the US is being represented by 220 Marine Corps and other countries’ platoon-level units will participate in the drills.