Deputy US Ambassador Elizabeth Rood at winter military training course in Bakuriani

Deputy US Ambassador Elizabeth Rood has visited Bakuriani today to familiarise herself with a winter training course in the eastern, mountainous part of Georgia, involving soldiers from NATO members and ally countries, US and Georgia.

Georgian and American defence officials hosted Rood and briefed her about the goals and the methods of the training, which is being conducted within the NATO Partnership for Peace programme.

Thirty-three soldiers from eight countries are taking party in the three-week training. Photo: Defence Ministry press office. 

Within the winter course the instructors from Sachkhere Mountain Training School train soldiers to ski and search in avalanche conditions and get acquainted with technical methods of evacuation.

The course programme includes overcoming obstacles by skis and building a snow shelter.

PFP is a programme of practical bilateral cooperation between individual Euro-Atlantic partner countries and NATO, which allows partners to build up an individual relationship with NATO, choosing their own priorities for cooperation, NATO says.