US State Department security analyst:"Georgia can be assigned any mission, including direct combat"
Tweet 
Share
Georgian soldiers’ high standards, professionalism and commitment to global peace have earned praise from a United States (US) Department of State expert.
A story about Georgia’s international military role stated Georgian soldiers "can be assigned any mission, including direct combat,” indicating the highest level of military readiness of Georgian servicemen.
The author Rennie Silva, a security assistance program analyst in the Office of Security Assistance within the Department of State’s Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, said Georgians have always shown eagerness to protect international peace.
Whenever the US has asked nations to contribute to international security, Georgia has answered the call. Whether in Afghanistan or Iraq, this small country at the crossroads of Eastern Europe and Western Asia has stepped up to support global security,” Silva wrote on the US State Department’s official website.
Silva emphasised Georgia’s commitment to international peacekeeping missions and noted 31 Georgians had lost their lives in Afghanistan and a further 282 had been wounded in action.
The expert said since 1998, Georgia had received more than $220 million USD in Foreign Military Financing (FMF), and the US Department of State had specifically used FMF funding to provide equipment, training, and advisory support to strengthen Georgia’s ability to care for its wounded warriors.
On a final note Silva said the US’ efforts to help Georgia build institutions to care for servicemen injured in the line of duty reflected the two countries’ continuing commitment to solidarity on and off the battlefield.
Read the full blog here.
The two nations’ soldiers are celebrating the end of a successful joint project to renovate and modernise the No.4 Public School in Gori, central Georgia, which was heavily damaged in the 2008 Russia-Georgia war.
Georgia’s Minister of Defence Tinatin Khidasheli paid a visit in Afghanistan to meet with Georgian soldiers serving there in an international peacekeeping mission and to obtain information concerning their problems and received experience.
Georgian troops will continue to serve in Afghanistan in a NATO-led peacekeeping mission after 2017.
A plane carrying the body of Georgian soldier Vasil Kuljanishvili has touched down on Georgian soil. Kuljanishvili’s body was met by members of his family and several officials at Tbilisi International Airport this afternoon.
Georgian soldiers serving in a peacekeeping mission in the Afghan province of Parwan have successfully completed a humanitarian operation to support the vulnerable in Afghanistan.
Georgian solders serving in Afghanistan have been honoured for their contribution to the post-International Assistance Security Force (ISAF) peacekeeping mission.
Georgia’s top military official is on an official visit to Afghanistan where he has met NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) and Commander of US European Command, General Phil Breedlove at Bagram Air Base.
The Georgian armed forces arrived in northern Afghanistan for beginning new mission, serving as the rapid-reaction force under German command in Mazar-e-Sharif.