SEPTEMBER 2008 ISSUE #15

Awards Ceremony Memorial Service for

The President of Georgia
Mikheil Saakashvili awarded mil-
itary servicemen, members of the
clergy, doctors, journalists and
family members of those who
were killed during the August
events for their bravery. The
awards ceremony was held in the
yard of the National Defence
Academy of the Georgian Defence
Ministry. According to a Presiden-
tial order, 600 military servicemen,
officers of the Interior Ministry,
representatives of clergy and med-
ical personnel were granted St.
George’s Victory Orders, Va-
khtang Gorgasal’s Orders of I, II,
involved in inadequate fights. We
were always attacked at one hun-
dred times stronger and multiple
forces. We, Georgians never
choose the path of war. It is im-
possible for a small nation like
Georgia surrounded by huge em-
pires to be initiators of war. We
were always moving forwards to
the international commonwealth.
The empires, which are taken by
will to occupy Georgia always
choose a way to break our free
spirit by force and violence. This
is our historical fortune…
“There is no job and no posi-
tion, no rank, which deserves
most reward for our heroes would
be unification and strengthening
of Georgia.
Georgian Heroes
At the awarding ceremony of
the clergy that was held at the
Defence Ministry a few days lat-
er, the Bishop John of Tsurtavi
Eparchy stated, “The Georgian
Church has been always stayed
and will stay in service for the
unity, peaceful development and
integrity of Georgia. Church has
performed its mission during the
centuries and fulfils nowadays as
well. The Catholicos Patriarch of
all Georgia was the first person
who visited villages across Tskh-

Forty days have passed since
the Georgian heroes who gave
their lives for the territorial in-
tegrity of Georgia were buried.
A memorial service for these
deceased military servicemen
was held at the Mukhatgverdi
Brothers’ Cemetery on Septem-
ber 17. The service was attend-
ed by the Deputy Defence Min-
isters, Chief of the Joint Staff and
his deputies as well as other mil-
itary servants.
From Mukhatgverdi Ceme-
try, the leadership of the Defence
Ministry went to the Holy Trini-
ty Cathedral where Father The-
odore held a special mass for
deceased Georgian soldiers. The
ceremony was attended by rep-
resentatives of the executive and
legislative bodies as well.
According to Father Theodore
such a memorial service will be
performed every Saturday.
Comments about the brave
deeds of these dead Georgian mil-
itary servicemen were made by the
leadership of the Defence Minis-
try and the Joint Staff of the GAF.
The First Deputy Defence
Minister, Batu Kutelia said:
“Forty days has passed since the
death of these Georgian service-
men in the Tskhinvali region. We
mark this fact with deep sorrow
and the whole of Georgia is
grieving about the deaths of
these – our bravest countrymen.
They are people who gave their
most valuable asset – the life
granted to them by the Lord –
for Georgia’s prosperity, devel-
opment and laid the foundation
for future victory. ”
“With blessing of the Catholi-
cos Patriarch of all Georgia and
the Georgian Orthodox Church
we held mass for those heroes
who made the supreme sacrifice
for Georgia’s territorial integri-
ty. Each day connected with their
remembrance is a significant day
for all of us. The names of our
heroes will be engraved in the
history of Georgia and on the
hearts of all Georgian soldiers
forever,” stated the Chief of Joint
Staff of GAF, Brigadier General
Zaza Gogava.

III rank, Orders of Honor, Medals
“Military Courage”, “Honor”
Medals and Medals “Military
Honor”. The Georgian heroes who
made the supreme sacrifice for the
territorial integrity of Georgia
were awarded posthumously.
The President of Georgia per-
sonally declared their names. In
his speech delivered at the cere-
mony Mikheil Saakashvili
thanked each of them for their
bravery shown in combat opera-
tions.
“The whole history of our
country is a history of dedication
and devotion. Georgia still exists
and no one was able to occupy it.
Till present we all are called
Georgians and we have a state-
hood, it is not a gift of mother
nature, but the main factor of this
is Georgian devotion and dedica-
tion. The Georgian nation is a
hero-nation. We permanently are
more pride than what you do.
There is no action deserving more
pride than devotion for your
motherland. There is no grater
pride than to be conscious that
gates of Georgia lie on your
shoulders. All the Georgian he-
roes on whose deeds we were
raised would be proud of what
you did for your country…
“As the President of Georgia,
on behalf of a grateful nation, I
want to express our gratitude for
your dedication. No award or
gratitude can be compared with
the greatness of your actions.
Your names are the awards and
beauty of Georgia. There does not
exist any award that Georgia can
give you. Today you represent the
award of Georgia. “
The Minister of Defence of
Georgia underscored their valor
in his statement as well. Accord-
ing to Davit Kezerashvili the fore-
invali, met with worshippers,
monks, clerical persons, consoled
and gave blessing to them. The
ecclesiastics who showed their
bravery and devotion were
awarded by the Defence Minis-
ter. The Catholicos Patriarch sent
special letter of gratitude regard-
ing this event, but the unique re-
ward for church is prosperity and
well-being of the of nation and
Georgian Orthodox Church will
be always concerned about this.”
The process of awarding of
those Georgian military service-
men posthumously, who died in
combat operations for the terri-
torial integrity of Georgia during
the recent Russian aggression,
still continues.
Family members of the Geor-
gian heroes were granted Va-
khtang Gorgasal’s Orders of I and
II ranks by the Chief of the Joint
Staff of Georgian Armed Forces,
Brigadier General Zaza Gogava,
INSIDE
the Commander of Land Forces
Interview with Deputy Georgian Visit of the
of GAF, Major Zurab Agladze
and other leadership of MoD.
Defence Minister North Atlantic Council
“I would like to express deep
sorrow and condoles to the fami- North Atlantic Council
lies of our heroes. Whole nation,
Giorgi Muchaidze
country, our Armed Forces will Visited Gori
never forget bravery those who
made supreme sacrifice for the Chairman of NATO
territorial integrity of Georgia.
Launch of
Consequently, we will render all Demilitarization Project Military Committee
kind of statutory assistance to the
families of heroes,” stated Briga- Marked During NAC Visit Visited Defence Ministry
dier General Zaza Gogava.
2 MONTHLY SUPPLEMENT OF GEORGIA TODAY
Interview with Deputy Defence
Minister Giorgi Muchaidze
On 15-16 September NATO Secre-
tary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer
and the Permanent Representatives of
the North Atlantic Council paid a visit
to Georgia. This was the first visit of
the North Atlantic Council to our
country and, as Mr. Secretary Gen-
eral stated, it was an historic occasion.
What can you say about the impor-
tance of this visit?
The North Atlantic Council (NAC)
visit to Georgia is indeed a historic event
and of utmost importance for our coun-
try, especially during this difficult peri-
od of time. This visit has clearly dem-
onstrated the strong support and solidar-
ity of all 26 allies to Georgia and the
Georgian people.
The Secretary General and NATO
Ambassadors reaffirmed their support
towards Georgia’s sovereignty and ter-
ritorial integrity, condemned the deci-
sion of the Russian Federation to rec-
ognise the independence of the Georgian
regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia,
reaffirmed the Foreign Ministers’ call on
Russia to immediately and fully imple-
ment the six-point plan and withdraw its
forces to previous to the conflict posi-
tions.
It is important to underline that after
Russian aggression and occupation of
certain territories of Georgia, NATO
made unprecedented decision to halt the
business as usual with Russian Federa-
tion and cancelled NATO-Russia Coun-
cil meetings.
During the NAC session, allied am-
bassadors recognized the achievements
and welcomed Georgia’s efforts in the
fields of democratic, judicial, econom-
ic, and defence reforms, reconfirmed
that Georgia is on a right track and
stressed that Georgia must make every
effort to continue implementing the re-
forms and we are determined to contin-
ue doing so.
The NAC has reconfirmed its sup-
port to the decision made in Bucharest
and reflected in the Bucharest Summit
Declaration, according to which Geor-
gia will become full-fledged member of
NATO.
In the framework of its visit the
North Atlantic Council held the inau-
gural session of the NATO-Georgia
Commission (NGC). The NGC was
formally established with the signa-
ture of the framework document
NATO-Georgia Commission. What
Chairman of NATO
Military Committee Visited
Defence Ministry
In the framework of the North At-
lantic Council (NAC) visit to Georgia,
Chairman of the NATO Military Com-
mittee Adm. Giampaolo Di Paola visit-
ed the Ministry of Defence of Georgia.
The Chairman of the NATO Military
Committee met with the Chief of Joint
Staff of the Georgian Armed Forces
Brig.-Gen. Zaza Gogava.
At the meeting, the sides discussed
the importance of establishing the
NATO-Georgia Commission. As was
highlighted at the meeting, the forma-
tion of the NATO-Georgia Commission
is one more step forward in the relation-
ship between Georgia and the Alliance.
The talks also referred to future relations
of NATO and Georgia and participation
of Georgia in international peacekeep-
ing operations.
One of the important topics of dis-
will be the main goals of the Commis-
sion?
The decision to establish NATO-
Georgia Commission was made at the
special Foreign Ministerial held at
NATO Headquarters in Brussels, on
August 19, 2008. Only other two PfP
countries, Ukraine and Russian federa-
tion, have the specific bilateral cooper-
ation format with the Alliance.
It is a new, unique mechanism of
partnership between the Alliance and
Georgia aiming to intensify the politi-
cal dialogue and cooperation between
the parties in various directions, in or-
der to foster our country’s integration
into the Alliance. The Commission will
convene at the level of Defence Minis-
ters, Chiefs of Defence, Foreign Minis-
ters, and the Heads of State and Gov-
ernment as mutually agreed by the both
parties.
The NATO-Georgia Commission has
the following concrete tasks: to intensi-
cussion was the occupation of Georgian
territories by Russia. Representatives of
the Georgian Defence Ministry provid-
ed detailed information to NATO’s top
military officer regarding the Russian
occupation. Adm. Giampaolo Di Paola
expressed interest concerning the cur-
rent developments in Georgia as well.
Meeting with Chairman of the NATO
Military Committee Adm. Giampaolo
Di Paola was attended by the Deputy
Chief of Joint Staff Brig.-Gen. David
Nairashvili, Chief of J-3 Operational
Planning Department Col. Levan Kapa-
nadze, acting Chief of J-5 Strategic Plan-
ning and Military Policy Department
LTC Leonide Sikharulidze, Military
Representative in NATO LTC Omar
Begoidze and Head of International
Relations and Euro-Atlantic Integration
Department Nino Bakradze.
fy political dialogue and cooperation
between NATO and Georgia at all ap-
propriate levels; to supervise the process
set in hand at the NATO Bucharest Sum-
mit; to coordinate Alliance’s efforts in
assisting Georgia to recover from the
recent conflict and underpin Georgia’s
efforts to take forward its political, eco-
nomic and defence-related reforms per-
taining its Euro-Atlantic aspirations for
membership in NATO. The NATO-
Georgia Commission will be convened
on regular basis, as well as following a
request from Georgia if the specific
needs and/or circumstances will require
holding its session.
Along with the political, economic
reforms pertaining to Georgia’s Euro-
Atlantic aspirations for membership
in NATO the defence-related issues
will be addressed as well. What con-
crete measures will be taken in this
direction?
We regard Commission as a cataly-
SEPTEMBER 2008 ISSUE #15
ser of cooperation with Alliance that will
also speed up further our defence refor-
mation process. Georgia is strongly
committed to continue an intensive ref-
ormation and transformation process
and certainly counts on the valuable ex-
pertise of partner countries in regener-
ating and further developing of NATO
interoperable, sustainable and deploy-
able defence capabilities that together
with boosting the country’s defence and
deterrence potential will also increase
Georgia’s capacity as a security provid-
er.
Along the Commission, the Intensi-
fied Dialogue and IPAP and PARP pro-
cesses of cooperation will continue. All
the tools and opportunities existing with-
in these processes and aimed to enhance
the cooperation between the parties, in-
cluding the defence cooperation, will
remain available and we are going to use
them to the maximum level.
Along with various events that
were organized during the visit, ccer-
emony to mark start of Trust Fund
project to dismantle missiles stockpile
was held? Why is the project impor-
tant and what does its second stage
envisage?
The first stage of Trust Fund Project
was successfully completed in March
2006, which has dealt with demilitari-
zation of 500 items of surface-to-air
guided missiles abandoned by the Rus-
sian armed forces. The project was im-
plemented through the Trust Fund and
managed by NAMSA and DELTA (State
Military Scientific – Technical Centre,
Mod subordinate legal entity).
The second stage of the project cov-
ers one year and envisages destroying
the 8780 items of unguided missiles
(Alazani, Kristal, S8) left in Georgia,
which are the security and environments
hazards.
During both demilitarization projects
the safe and efficient techniques are
employed to ensure zero pollution and
maximum safety to the population re-
siding in nearby areas.
Another very important event was
the visit to the Air Operations Cen-
ter. Georgia has recently joined the
ASDE program. What is the impor-
tance of the mentioned program and
what caused the interest of NATO rep-
resentatives to visit this center?
Georgia has technically connected to
ASDE (Air Situation Data Exchange
System) through Republic of Turkey, on
August 28, 2008. The System ensures
air situation data exchange among
NATO member and partner states. The
system operates during the 24 hours and
provides Georgian Air Space Picture to
NATO through Turkish Air Operation
Center by special transmission channels.
This means that any violation of Geor-
gian air space will be transmitted in on-
line regime to all 26 countries of Alli-
ance.
During the NAC visit the Allied am-
bassadors were interested to receive the
information about Georgia’s Air De-
fence system and its connection to
ASDE. The complete information on the
abovementioned issues was provided to
NATO Ambassadors and the Chairman
of NATO Military Committee, which
visited Georgian Air Command Centre.
In the framework document it was
reiterated that “recalling paragraph
23 of the Bucharest Summit commu-
niqué, in which NATO Heads of State
and Government welcomed Georgia’s
Euro-Atlantic aspirations for mem-
bership in NATO; agreed that Geor-
gia will become a member of NATO,
and that MAP is the next step for
Georgia on its direct way to member-
ship”. How close is Georgia to this
goal?
Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic Aspiration
remains as one of the country’s top se-
curity priorities supported by 77% of the
Georgian population. During the coop-
eration with the Alliance Georgia has
made a great progress and undergone a
dramatic transformation.
Notwithstanding that Georgia is fac-
ing difficult circumstances today, it is
our main priority to continue intensive
transformation process in the Armed
Forces and increase NATO interopera-
bility with the assistance of the allies
NATO-Georgia Commission will
help us to continue the reforms in the
different spheres of defence sector and
accelerate Georgia’s integration into the
Alliance. Georgia is ready to meet new
challenges and obligations in order to
strengthen its reformation process and
to be a part of the collective defence
system.
We hope that the continued good
performance will enable us to make the
next step on our direct way to NATO
membership, which is MAP.
Tea Chonishvili
SEPTEMBER 2008 ISSUE #15
Georgian Visit of the
North Atlantic Council
For the first time in the country’s his-
tory, NATO’s main decision-making
body – the North Atlantic Council head-
ed by the General Secretary Jaap de
Hoop Scheffer – came to Georgia on an
official visit. Ambassadors from the 26
member countries of the Alliance arrived
in Tbilisi in the framework of the visit
on 15-16 September of 2008.
At the session, NATO General Sec-
retary and the representatives of 26
NATO member countries reiterated their
support for the sovereignty and territo-
rial integrity of Georgia.
The NATO-Georgia Commission
(NGC) was formally established with the
signature of the framework document by
the NATO Secretary General and Geor-
gian Prime Minister Vladimer Gurgenidze
at the meeting. The main goals of the NGC
are to deepen the political
dialogue between NATO and Georgia and
to supervise the process set in hand at
Bucharest in view of Georgia’s member-
ship aspirations. The NGC also aims to
deepen NATO’s cooperation with Geor-
gia in its reform efforts and coordinate the
Alliance’s assistance to Georgia, in recov-
ering from the recent conflict.
North Atlantic Council Visited Gori
On September 16, the NATO Sec-
retary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer
and the Permanent Representatives of
the North Atlantic Council arrived in
the war-torn city of Gori. The NATO
Secretary General and NATO ambas-
At the signing ceremony the NATO
General Secretary declared: “Today is
indeed a milestone in the history of
NATO-Georgia relations. We have just
signed the Framework Document of the
NATO-Georgia Commission, which
gives us access to new tools for further
deepening the NATO-Georgia relation-
ship. Building on the success we have
had in the Individual Partnership Action
Plan and the Intensified Dialogue, the
NATO-Georgia Commission allows us
to meet in new formats and tackle new
issues related to the NATO-Georgia re-
lationship and the process of reform in
Georgia. These reforms, as Georgia has
clearly stated, and NATO Heads of State
and Government have affirmed, are
aimed at fulfilling Georgia’s Euro-At-
lantic aspirations for membership in
NATO”.
The NGC will convene at the level
of Foreign Ministers, Defence Minis-
ters, Chiefs of Defence, and Heads of
State and Government, as mutually
agreed by both parties. The NGC will
hold regular meetings at intervals to be
mutually agreed at the level of Ambas-
sadors and Military Representatives. In
sadors visited the premises of the Geor-
gian First Infantry Brigade, where fa-
cilities were damaged during the recent
conflict with Russia. The Minister of
Defence of Georgia Davit Kezerashvili
hosted the NATO delegation members
addition, the NGC will be convened
following a request from Georgia if
Georgia perceives a direct threat to its
territorial integrity, political indepen-
dence, or security in line with para-
graph 8 of the Partnership for Peace
Framework Document. Under the aus-
pices of the NGC, meetings between
Georgia and NATO can be held at the
level of the Political Committee and
with other NATO committees and
working groups to address specific ar-
eas of cooperation between Georgia
and NATO. The NGC at the level of
the Political Committee will prepare the
Ambassadorial level meetings.
The decision to establish the NATO-
Georgia Commission was taken by Al-
lied Foreign Ministers on 19 August
2008 in light of the recent conflict to
supervise the process set in hand at Bu-
charest and to coordinate measures of
support to Georgia as agreed by the Al-
lies.
This first official visit of the North
Atlantic Council to Georgia is a dem-
onstration of the importance the Alliance
attaches to its partnership with Georgia.
Nino Gogochishvili
and showed around the destroyed build-
ings on the territory of the military
base.
Later, the Georgian Defence Minis-
ter commented on the importance of the
NAC visit to Georgia: “The visit of the
NATO Secretary General and Ambas-
sadors of the Alliance 26 member states
in Gori is very important. This is a mes-
sage for the whole civilized world,
which means that NATO member coun-
tries support Georgia and this support
will be continued. As for the evalua-
tions of what they saw – it was obvi-
ous that the Secretary General was
overwhelmed. He was convinced that
the Russian occupants were acting like
vandals, like uncivilized people – they
came, destroyed, looted everything and
left.”
Thereafter, the NATO Secretary
General and the Permanent Represen-
tatives met internally displaced people
in a camp run by the United Nations
High Commission for Refugees (UN-
HCR), in which currently about 2.2OO
refugees from the recent conflict have
found shelter.
MONTHLY SUPPLEMENT OF GEORGIA TODAY
Launch of Demilitarization
Project Marked During NAC Visit
The permanent representatives of sev-
eral NATO nations assisting Georgia in
the destruction of rockets and missiles
stockpiles celebrated the beginning of the
implementation of a PfP Trust Fund
project on September15 in Courtyard
Marriot Hotel.
The ceremony held during the visit of
the North Atlantic Council to Georgia was
opened by the First Deputy Defence Min-
ister, Mr. Batu Kutelia. Addressing the
opening ceremony for the second stage of
the project “Demilitarization of Guided
and Unguided Missiles in Georgia”, the
Deputy Defence Minister highlighted the
participation of Estonia, Latvia and Lithua-
nia as lead nations in the Trust Fund Project
and thanked all donor nations – Bulgaria,
the Czech Republic, Finland, Romania, the
United Kingdom and the United States –
for their financial contributions. Mr. Kute-
lia underscored the importance of the
project as well: “The PFP Trust Fund Pol-
icy is an important part of the PFP tool
and it helps NATO partner nations in their
transformation of their armed forces and
destruction of surplus munitions, small
arms antipersonnel land mines and unex-
ploded ordinance. After recent Russian ag-
gression Georgia struggles from hazard-
ous military waste and lots of unexploded
ordinance, which is of utmost danger for
our civil population. We count for your
support to clean all these territories and
bring our people to normal and safe life.”
Cooperation between Georgia and the
NATO Maintenance and Supply Agency
(NAMSA) started in 2002 by signing the
Memorandum of Understanding on Oc-
tober 1.
The first initiative resulted in the de-
struction of some 530 surface-to-air guid-
ed missiles between 2003 and 2006. This
second project will focus on the disman-
tling of 1,080 surface-to-air S-8 missiles,
as well as 5,724 Alazan and 1,976 Kri-
stall anti-hail rockets. It is expected to be
completed within 12 months.
“The first project for the destruction
of more than 500 surface-to-air guided
missiles was completed in March 2006.
The success of that project managed by
NAMSA on behalf of Luxemburg as the
Lead Nation proved that the Trust Fund
mechanism could be successfully ap-
plied in Georgia and held promise for
future projects to exploit the solid foun-
dations that had been laid. That project
3
developed techniques and equipment for
dismantling guided missiles and recy-
cling the recovered materials for peace-
ful purposes. That is something we en-
courage to the maximum possible ex-
tent in these projects because it is envi-
ronmentally sound and it greatly reduc-
es the cost of the operations”, declared
General Manager of the NATO Mainte-
nance and Supply Agency Mr. Karl-hei-
nz Munzner.
The second part of the project led by
Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, is the Part-
nership for Peace Trust Fund Project
aimed at destroying stockpiles of missiles
in Georgia, contributing significantly to
the security and stability throughout the
region.
The formal launch of the project,
which took place in October 2007, was
the trigger to start raising funds. The fi-
nancial management agreement formal-
izes pledges by contributors and helps to
ensure that the funding is sufficient to
carry out the project.
The project costs are estimated at
478,000 euros and the Luxembourg-
based NATO Maintenance and Supply
Agency (NAMSA) serves as the execut-
ing agent.
Other countries that have contributed
to the project are Bulgaria, the Czech
Republic, Finland, Poland, Romania, the
United Kingdom and the United States.
Georgia will also make a substantial con-
tribution in kind.
“It has taken more than a year to bring
this project from the germ of an idea to
where we are now – fully funded and
ready to start the destruction of more than
8. 000 surplus rockets. These rockets are
old and in poor condition, so they are
potentially a danger if they are allowed
to continue deteriorating. Also, rockets
of this type have the potential to be adapt-
ed for use as surface to surface weapons,
as they were in previous conflicts in this
region, so getting rid of them will also
contribute to regional stability” – stated
the General Manager of the project.
The presentation of a new project held
on the background of the photo stand
depicting the achievements of the previ-
ous part of the project ended with the
hopes for successful implementation of
the next stage owing to joint efforts and
endeavors.
Tea Chonishvili
4 MONTHLY SUPPLEMENT OF GEORGIA TODAY SEPTEMBER 2008 ISSUE #15

HALO Trust in Georgia Georgian Air Force

A Memorandum of Understanding
“On Humanitarian Mine Action Assis-
tance” was signed between the Defence
Ministry of Georgia and the Norwegian
organization “Norwegian People’s Aid”
on September 17. In the framework of
the memorandum the parties agreed that
they will create a safe and secure envi-
ronment for the people of Georgia and
both parties expressed a mutual wish to
relieve the ravages of past conflicts, oc-
casioned by the legacy of explosive rem-
nants of war on the territory of Georgia.
Consequently, mine-clearing activi-
ties will be performed together with the
British-US organization HALO TRUST.
Unfortunately, there still are prob-
lematic territorial sections in Georgia,
where the Russian occupation troops are
stationed. Therefore, it is necessary to
get the support of international society
to call on the Russian occupation troops
to start the humanitarian mine clearing
process on the occupied territories in the
nearest future in order to prevent the
tragic incidents.
The HALO Trust is a non-political,
non-religious NGO, registered in Brit-
th
Celebrates 16 Anniversary
On September 19 the Air Force mil- preme sacrifice in defence of Georgia’s es will be carried out stage by stage.
itary personnel celebrated their profes- territorial integrity and a minute of si- Thus, we can not satisfy only with the
sional day. lence was held in their honour. technical modernization. At the same
The ceremony was held at the Alek- The Georgian Air Force was estab- time we plan to train pilots abroad that
seevka Helicopter Aviation Base and lished on September 19, 1992. On this give us possibility to increase their pro-
was attended by the Chief of Joint Staff day the crew of a military aircraft car- fessionalism more.
of Georgian Armed Forces Brigadier ried out the first combat flight to be un- Colonel David Gogolashvili – Chief
General Zaza Gogava, Deputy Chief of dertaken by independent Georgia. of Officers’ Preparation Courses of Mil-
Joint Staff Brigadier General David The Air Force Commander, and St. itary-Air Forces of the National Defence
ain as a charity and in the United States Nairashvili, Air Forces Commander Giorgi Victory Award holder Zurab Academy: “This day is a distinguished
as a not-for-profit organization. HALO Colonel Zurab Pochkhua and other MoD Pochkhua spoke about the modern his- one for all military pilots. But this per-
specializes in removal of the debris of representatives. tory of the Georgian Armed Forces. The fect mood accompanies the pain of Sep-
war. HALO has 7,000 mine clearers in The Armed Forces leadership grant- Colonel also spoke about future plans. tember 19. The Russian aggression
nine countries. ed Air Force personnel with military and Recent combat activities fully against Georgia caused great loss of life
After the August armed conflict, 80
local volunteers from the Gori region are
already going through relevant training
and will work to clear the area of war
debris. As it was announced earlier, this
process will take a couple of months
because of the size of the territory which
is filled with different types of mines and
other explosives. The territory includes
urban areas and agricultural fields at
which locals work regularly.
On 19 June 2002, HALO celebrated
the clearance of its first million landmin-
es and other unexploded ordnance
(UXO), a testament to the dedication of
staff, the generosity of donors and the
number of lives that have been saved.
By late 2007 the total number of cleared
mines and UXO had almost reached
10,000,000 items.
HALO has a simple mission statement
– “getting mines out of the ground, now”.
Mindia Arabuli

Seimas Delegation from state awards and congratulated them on

their professional day.
The Chief of the Joint Staff com-
the Republic of Lithuania mented that in spite of the fact that 16
years is not a long period, considering
the recent events we can proudly say that
the personnel of the Georgian Armed
Forces are fully ready to meet all chal-
lenges.
“In spite of the difficult period which
exists in Georgia, the Air Defence Force
is continuing its development. In future,
progress will also include the modern-
ization of flying apparatus and training
of the personnel,” said Brigadier Gen-
eral Zaza Gogava.
At the end of the ceremony the par-
ticipants laid a wreath at the memorial
for Georgian heroes who made the su-
showed all the work that the Georgian
Armed Forces has been implementing
during recent years. As a result, the Rus-
sian, would-be occupants of Georgia
sustained serious damage at the hands
of the Georgian Armed Forces.
“In spite of the existing results the
personnel of the Armed Forces is not yet
satisfied with itself. With the assistance
of the Defence Ministry and the leader-
ship of the Joint Staff we are ready to
respond to new challenges and fulfill all
tasks they face.”
The appropriate conclusions will be
made in the nearest future and all those
defects that were shown during recent
combat activities have to be eliminated
maximally.
The rearmament of the Armed Forc-
among our honored people.
“Despite everything life goes on and
we can not forget to implement our ob-
ligations. If necessary every pilot will
carry out his duty from air.
“During recent years the Georgian
Air Force has been developing. First of
all I mention the combat motivation of
the personnel. My friends’ combat aspi-
rations were shown during the recent
war … As a result the flying apparatus
of our enemy were effectively damaged;
by the way the Russian side talks about
the same as well…
“My colleagues and I will do every-
thing to strengthen our professionalism
in the future and protect our country’s
interest completely!!!”
Shalva Londaridze

A five-person delegation from the Forces, as well as integration into the

Lithuanian Seimas visited the Ministry
of Defence of Georgia on September 24.
The delegation was led by the Deputy
Chairman of the Committee of Europe-
an Affairs of the Lithuanian Seimas,
Petras Austrevicius.
The Lithuanian guests were received
by the First Deputy Defence Minister,
Mr. Batu Kutelia and the head of Inter-
national Relations and Euro-Atlantic
Integration Department, Ms. Nino
Bakradze.
In the framework of the meeting the
two sides discussed priority trends for
the defence sphere, NATO-Georgia re-
lations and future plans. Prospects of the
bilateral cooperation between the two
countries were discussed as well.
After the meeting the two sides com-
mented for the media. According to the
First Deputy Defence Minister of Geor-
gia: “Lithuania is Georgia’s strategic
partner. It assists us in both political and
practical cases. Lithuania was the first
country that publicly spoke about the
predictability of the Russian aggression
and later about all consequences of this
aggression in Georgia. We discussed
future plans in details at the meeting; we
discussed issues of our key concentra-
tion. This future plans implicate devel-
opment of our country and our Armed
Euro-Atlantic structures. We shared our
considerations about changes in the Se-
curity Concept and Military Doctrine
proceeding from recent developments in
Georgia. This is not only Georgia’s ex-
perience; it must be taken into consid-
eration by our partner countries too.”
“We had a good discussion with the
Deputy Minister on issues important for
both countries. Lithuania continuously
supports Georgia’s accession to the
Euro-Atlantic Alliance and we believe
that democratic countries are free to
choose its friends and defence system,
so Georgia does not impose any friends
and neighbors and continuously pursues
its policy of good neighborhood. We
have discussed some practical coopera-
tion between our countries and it is the
most important to support Georgia at
such a critical period of time. A team of
Lithuanian demining experts is coming
to Georgia in October. De-mining ex-
perts will help cleaning up military bases
which are left by Russians in a bad shape
and I hope it would be a real support for
Georgians. We discussed some issues of
our possible future cooperation; we need
friendly support at this critical impor-
tant period of time,” stated Petras Aus-
trevicius a member of the Lithuanian
Seimas.
Practical Training Course Carried
out at the National Defence Academy
Instructors recently completed a
methodological gathering at the Nation-
al Defence Academy. Training was
planned related to the opening of the
Junior Training and Captain’s Career
Courses. The goal of the gathering was
the discussion of educational programs
and to share practical experience of of-
ficers and sergeants.
Along with theoretical issues, brief-
ings and presentations practical exercis-
es were arranged in the framework of
the training. Instructors worked on im-
proving the conduction of field training
skills.
The methodological training was the
first of its kind carried out this year and
48 instructors took part. The gathering
began on the 15th of September and last-
ed through the 22nd of September.
As the Head of the Land Forces Of-
ficers’ Training Course, Major Zaza
Kvaraia declared: “Besides theoretical
insights instructors also acquired prac- troduced in the curriculum as well. Par- tional Defence Academy is ready to start
tical skills and mastered skills to con- ticipants discussed existing problems in new educational processes with new
duct field trainings. Novelties were in- general. I want to point out that the Na- programs.”