Georgian, NATO partner troops training in mountain rescue, navigation
Troops carry national and NATO flags and during their training in Gudauri. Photo: Ministry of Defence of Georgia press office.
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Georgian service members are training on slopes of winter resort Gudauri along with their counterparts from the South Caucasus and eastern Europe to develop survival and rescue skills in the mountains.
Involving a group of over a dozen troops, the Winter Intermediate Mountain Course is designed to train personnel in overcoming obstacles on snow landscape and skiing in group.
The group is also learning how to search for and rescue people trapped following an avalanche, set up shelters in snow and spend the night in the conditions.
Equipment for search and rescue work is being used by the involved service members for tasks set out within the course.
Service members from Latvia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Belarus are part of the group along with Georgian troops and placed under supervision of instructors from the Sachkhere Mountain Training School.
Service members dig through snow cover under the supervision of instructors. Photo: Ministry of Defence of Georgia press office.
The school, established in partnership between Georgia and France in 2006, is leading the training created to help develop the ability of NATO- and partner country militaries to operate in mountain conditions.
The intermediate course follows the basic-level training previously undergone by the involved personnel on Mount Abuli in Georgia’s south.
Skiing in group is among activities the involved personnel are trained in. Photo: Ministry of Defence of Georgia press office.
Both courses are held by the school within the Partnership for Peace (PfP) programme of NATO, set up to develop cooperation between individual countries and the alliance.
The PfP “allows partners to [choose] their own priorities for cooperation”, NATO says in its summary of the programme.
The Winter Intermediate Mountain Course will run in Gudauri through Friday.