Ambassador Tefft Speaks at SSOP Graduation for Georgia’s 32nd Battalion
On Saturday, April 14, Ambassador John Tefft spoke at the graduation ceremony for Georgia’s 32nd Light Infantry Battalion at Krtsanisi Training Area outside of Tbilisi. The 32nd will depart for Iraq in June along with other elements of Georgia’s 3rd Brigade.
The 32nd completed 11 weeks of intensive training with U.S. Army trainers under the U.S. - funded Georgia Sustainment and Stability Operations Program (SSOP II). The graduation ceremony was also a farewell for members of the U.S. Army Task Force under Commanding Officer Lieutenant Colonial Craig Jones. A new team of trainers from the U.S. state of Georgia’s National Guard, 48th Brigade, will arrive at Krtsanisi in April to train signal and logistic units of Georgia’s 3rd and 2nd Brigades.
Speaking at the graduation, Lt. Colonial Jones commented that “The members of the 32nd Battalion who stand before you today have accomplished a vast amount of training in a very short time period under tough conditions…they executed fire team, squad and platoon level live fires for the first time in their lives and they did it safely and to standard. They are well trained, physically tough, and ready to deploy to combat.”
Addressing the troops and guests, Ambassador Tefft said, “This training has helped the Georgian army prepare a professional fighting force; it’s also prepared the Georgian Army to play its role with American and multinational forces in Iraq and discharge their duties there with distinction and honor.”
The 32nd Battalion will join Georgia’s 31st and 33rd Light Infantry Battalions already in Iraq as part of the multinational coalition conducting peacekeeping operations. Currently Georgia’s 31st Light Infantry Battalion is assigned to Baquba and the 33rd to Baghdad. With over 800 troops in-country, Georgia remains the second largest per-capita contributor to coalition forces to the Iraq peacekeeping effort. |
