Defence Forces of Georgia

Military of the Republic of Georgia
Main Military flag of Georgia
Military manpower
Military age	18 years of age for compulsory and voluntary military service; conscript service obligation: 18 months (2004)
Availability	males age 15–49: 1,038,736 (2005 est.)
Fit for military service	males age 15–49: 827,281 (2005 est.)
Reaching military age annually	males: 38,857 (2005 est.)
Active troops	40,000 (Ranked 60th)
Military expenditures
Amount	USD $567.2 million (2007)
Percent of GDP	0.59% (2005)

Structure of the Georgian Land Forces
(click to enlarge)

As of December 2006, the actual number of the Georgian Ministry of Defense armed forces is 26,902 troops. Military branches include Land Forces; Navy; Air Forces; National Guard.

The current Defence Minister is Mr. Davit Kezerashvili, and Chief of General Staff of the Armed Forces of Georgia is Colonel Zaza Gogava.

On March 23, 1994, Georgia was one of the first former Soviet Republics to join the Partnership for Peace. Among the Partners Georgia was the first country who could submit the special documentation (May 2004) and on 29 October 2004 the North Atlantic Council approved the first Individual Partnership Action Plan (IPAP) for Georgia. If the IPAP is successful, Georgia will have good opportunity to accede to the Membership Action Plan (MAP).

The United States–sponsored Georgia Train and Equip Program (GTEP) was launched in April 2002. Although the Program formally ended in 2004, Georgia continues to enjoy crucial military assistance from NATO, especially from the United States and Turkey. The Georgian government has announced a reform of the Georgian armed forces in order to comply with NATO standards. The government has planned to reduce the size of the armed forces and increase the number of professional soldiers to two thirds of the total manpower. Georgia has its peacekeeping force in Kosovo, and participates in the War on Terrorism in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Land Forces

Land Forces of Georgia consists of the following units: four Infantry Brigades, Artillery Brigade, Separate Light Infantry Battalion, Separate Tank Battalion, Separate Air Defense Battalion, and other units.

The strength of Land Forces is 16,570, of which 1,579 are officers, 11,583 are sergeants/corporals (contracting), 3,391 are conscripts, and 16 are civilians.

Battle tanks and armored combat vehicles

The main battle tank of Georgia is T-72, although according to the military officials, all T-55s would be utilized as well as aged APCs like БМП-1 and БТР-70. They will be replaced by T-72s, БМП-2s and БТР-80s, respectively.

Georgian BTR-80s.

T-72 - 220 T-55(modified) - 210 APCs - 150 БМП-1 - 407 БТР-70 - 289 БМП-2 - 349 БТР-80s - 120 PT-76 Amphibious Tank - 95 T-80UD - 40

Artillery systems

Georgian artillery consists of following systems (100 mm and larger caliber):

D-30 122 mm howitzer - 160

2A36 152 mm gun - 120

2A65 MstaB 152 mm gun - 568

Dana 152 mm self propelled howitzer - 118

BM-21 122mm "Grad" MLRS - 80

RM-70 122 mm MLRS - 56

Air Forces

Main article: Georgian Air Force

Georgian Air Forces consists of Aviation and Air Defense.

The priciple missions of the Air Forces are:

To control and defend air space of Georgia; conduct air intelligence and surveillance; provide support to the Armed Forces other Services; conduct air evacuation and search and rescue operations; and air movement of personnel and military cargo transportation.

The strength of Air Forces is 1,389 military and civilian personnel.

Georgian aircraft mainly consist of 25 Su-25 "Frogfoot" ground attack planes. As for Georgian helicopter forces, they consists of: 46 Mi-24 "Hind" attack gunships, 40 Mi-8 "Hip" assault/transport helicopters (can also be used for attack), 60 Mi-14 "Haze" helicopters, and 200 UH-1H helicopters.

Georgian Navy

The mission of the Georgian Navy is to protect the sovereignty of Georgia within Georgian territorial waters on the Black Sea coast line, and to implement tasks by inter-operating with the other services.

During peacetime the Navy operates in a regular mode and is multi-functional. It supports civil structures, controls territorial waters, preserves a high level of combat training and readiness and conducts training and exercises.

The strength of the Navy is 531, of which 181 are officers, 200 are NCOs, 114 are conscripts, and 36 are civilians.

National Guard of Georgia

Main article: National Guard of Georgia

Georgian National Guard was established on December 20, 1990 and was manned by volunteers. It represents the first Georgian armed formation, which became the base of the foundation for modern Georgian Armed Forces. The Guard actively participated in the conflicts existed on the Georgian territory (Samachablo, Abkhazia).

The National Guard consists of 554 personnel; the main missions of National Guard are:

1. Support civil government in crisis situations (natural, technological, ecological);
2. Register mobilization recourses, study and deliver;
3. Convene, select and man of citizens on the basis of the agreement, for the units, subunits and bases of the Armed Forces;
4. Provide ceremony activities.

Participation of Georgia in international peacekeeping missions

Georgian Armed Forces have been participating in peacekeeping missions (the Balkans, Persian Gulf) since 2000.

Units participating in peacekeeping missions are manned by professional soldiers, the duration of the mission is six months and participation is voluntary. The readiness assessment criteria are, as follows: health condition, physical fitness, professional skills and experience.

One hundred fifty Georgian troops are deployed in the Balkans (Kosovo), and approximately 850 in the Persian Gulf (Iraq). Their preparedness and training skills are evaluated on high level by international experts. On 9 March 2007 Georgia announced it is to send an extra 1,200 troops to Iraq; that will bring the total number of troops in Iraq to over 2,000.

Hence, owing to participation in international peacekeeping missions the military members are able to obtain practical experience and to show readiness to cooperate with NATO and with other partner countries' forces.

Russian military in Georgia

Russian military presence is a major challenge in the country. In violation of promises made at the 1999 Istanbul Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) conference, Russia continues to maintain the Soviet-era military bases in Batumi and Akhalkalaki- part of the GRVZ. This has been and continues to be a source of great tension with Georgia, which has threatened to block access to the facility. The Russian withdrawal talks have now reached agreement, and the GRVZ will be withdrawn by 2009. However, in the last eighteen months, a great deal of the military hardware of the bases in Batumi and Akhalkalaki have been moved to Russia's 102nd Military Base in Gyumri, Armenia.

A Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) peacekeeping force of Russian troops is deployed in the Abkhazia region of Georgia together with a United Nations military observer group; a Russian peacekeeping battalion is deployed in South Ossetia.

The breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia with their own armed forces are heavily depended on support in terms of equipment and specialists of Russian Federation. The precise number of staff operated by those regions remains unknown.

Flags

• 
  Flag of Land Forces
• 
  Flag of National Guard
• 
  Standard of Chief of General Staff
• 
  Standard of Minister of Defence

References

•  This article incorporates public domain material from The World Factbook. CIA., 2005
•  This article incorporates public domain material from U.S. Bilateral Relations Fact Sheets. United States Department of State., 2005
• GlobalSecurity.org on Georgia’s military

See also

• Georgia Train and Equip Program (GTEP)
• Black Sea Naval Co-operation Task Group
• GUAM
• Military of Abkhazia

External links

• Georgia Ministry of Defence website
• National Security Council of Georgia
• Georgian Warrior - Military history, army, navy, air forces, photos
• Conscription in Georgia
• Georgia: Military flags, 2004
• Georgian troops trained by US army and SAS veterans