Georgian special forces in NATO Trojan Footprint drills
Georgian special forces units in drills hosted in Georgoa under Trojan Footprint 2021. Photo: Screenshot from defence ministry video.
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Special forces units from Georgian Defence Forces are involved in drills alongside counterparts from NATO member and partner states in the alliance's annual Trojan Footprint exercise involving air, sea and land assets in five host countries.
In running since May 3, when Georgia, along with four other countries, opened its training grounds for the manoeuvres in the first participation of the country's special forces in the drills, the excercise encompasses the Black Sea region and is held simultaneously in several locations.
The defence ministry said part of the troops were involved in drills in Romania alongside partner units from other nations, while another group was training in Georgia with counterparts from the 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne) of the US Special Operations Command Europe (SOCEUR).
Objectives in Quick Reaction missions, as well as ambush scenarios and manoeuvres for assaulting and holding compounds, were accomplished by the units involved in drills in Georgia, with the MoD saying the troops had received "positive assessment" from American Observer/Controller instructors.
See how Special Forces exercise #TrojanFootprint demonstrates solidarity and strength among U.S. Allies and partners. #StrongerTogether@US_SOCEUR https://t.co/XwXEx3pSHU
— U.S. Embassy Tbilisi (@usingeo) May 12, 2021
The manoeuvres have been described as the SOCEUR's "premier [special operations forces] exercise" by the US Embassy in Tbilisi, and involve the Georgian Special Operations Forces and US Army Green Berets assigned to the airborne group.
Bulgaria, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Romania are also hosting drills under Trojan Footprint, with the exercise also involving forces from Germany, Spain, the United Kingdom and United States. The embassy said the manoeuvres were an "opportunity to test and improve upon multi-domain tactics, techniques and procedures" for involved units.
Defense Visual Information Distribution Service, a platform covering news on US forces, said even though the exercise was focused around special forces, "it also increases integration with conventional forces and enhances interoperability with our NATO allies and European partners."
Trojan Footprint 2021 will run through May 14.
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