WINDER, Ga. - About 300 Georgia Army National Guard members arrived in Tiblisi, Georgia on July 14 for IMMEDIATE RESPONSE 2008, a three-week international exercise to help build relationships with coaliton partners from several Eastern European nations.
Soldiers and Marines from the United States, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Ukraine will conduct this joint training exercise at Vaziani Military Base and the surrounding area.
The state of Georgia will be represented by the 1st Battalion, 121st Infantry, headquartered here in Winder.
"This is a great opportunity not just to prepare for future missions in Afghanistan, but to build the relationship our state has with the country of Georgia," said Maj. Matthew Smith, commander of the 1st Battalion, 121st Infantry. "I've really enjoyed working with soldiers from the other Georgia as we've prepared for this exercise."
IMMEDIATE RESPONSE 2008 is an annual, bilateral security cooperation exercise conducted between the U. S., NATO and coalition partners. It is a longstanding Joint Chiefs of Staff-directed exercise focused on interoperability training and theater security cooperation, and is designed to promote understanding and cooperation between military forces of the U. S. and our allies.
Highlights of the joint training exercise include marksmanship, patrolling and combat lifesaving exercises. A day is devoted to gathering sergeants together from the various countries to train together. on the particular challenges of being non-commissioned officers.
"The training will be a great developmental opportunity for the Republic of Georgia because they have a young NCO corps, and they stand to learn a lot from our NCOs," Smith said.
"It's also a great opportunity for our NCOs, because they'll learn how to work with foreign counterparts, and to learn the cultures and customs of our allies," said Command Sgt. Maj. Calvin Wilcox, 1st Battalion, 121st Infantry.
The nation of Georgia has provided consistent support to coalition Global War on Terrorism operations and is the third largest force contributor to Operation Iraqi Freedom, behind the U.S. and United Kingdom.