JUNE 2008 ISSUE #12
The Symposium on Black Sea Graduates of the National
and Caspian Sea Security Issues Defence Academy Take Oath
The transformation of world
politics and the development of
technology brings new opportu-
nities and global risks. Minimi-
zation of these new threats is
only possible by making concert-
ed efforts. Consequently, region-
al cooperation is the main re-
quirement of the contemporary
world. Security is an issue of
such a diverse nature that coop-
eration is necessary in many dif-
ferent spheres. However, any
type of this collaboration should
be based on information ex-
change. That is the best way to
form a common secure space,
however, the development of
such a thing is not easy, as can
be seen in Georgia. Thus, the
conception of regional coopera-
tion has gained significance in
this country.
The Symposium on Black
Sea and Caspian Sea Security
Issues was held to discuss the
problems and issues of security
in our region. It is the third year
that this symposium has been
held. High ranking officials from
the Intelligence Departments of
Defence Ministries of many
countries participated in the
event: the USA, Romania, Bul-
garia, Greece, Ukraine, Moldo-
va, Turkey, Azerbaijan and Ar-
menia. The US hosted the first
symposium in 2006, and Roma-
nia hosted it the following year.
This year it was organized and
hosted by the Ministry of De-
fence of Georgia.
Dr Sergei Konopyov, Direc-
tor of Black Sea Security Pro-
gram stated: “It is the first time
that the symposium is taking
place in Georgia. That is impor-
tant by itself. And as for concrete
results that we already have is
good network of people and this
case defence intelligence who
meet each other constantly ev-
ery year for not only profession-
al relationship but also personal
relationship. This fact is worth a
lot, especially when it is neces-
sary to make quick decisions.”
Opening remarks of Sympo-
sium was made by the First Dep-
uty Defence Minister Batu Kute-
lia: “This Symposium is of great
importance. Its main task is to
exchange information on secu-
rity issues of the Black Sea and
Caspian Sea regions. These two
regions are inseparable parts of
European and Euro-Atlantic se-
curity. Undoubtedly, great im-
portance is attached to building
mutual confidence and intensi-
fication of security measures.
Certainly, we have not discussed
anything new as these topics are
already thoroughly elaborated.
This event is intended to discuss
the concrete mechanisms how to
streamline the efficiency of in-
formation exchange process that
will be equally expressed in the
political decisions as well. The
fact that the Symposium has
been held here, in Batumi, Ad-
jara region, on the Black Sea
coast and the participants come
from the countries of our region
is already a great success.”
Along with the high ranking
officials of Defence Ministries of
Georgia and other foreign coun-
tries, independent experts of the
Georgian Foundation for Strate-
gic and International Studies par-
ticipated in Symposium.
The representatives of Intel-
ligence Department of Defence
Ministry presented to the guests
their vision regarding global
risks, regional challenges and
future prospects of cooperation
among the participant countries.
Expert Archil Gegeshidze paid
attention to the factors that im-
pede regional integration.
Among them are: frozen con-
flicts, difficulties of transition,
historical rivalry, systematic cor-
ruption and interest conflicts.
“Despite the fact that coun-
tries of these regions are very
different and have very diverse
interests they are coming togeth-
er and beginning to talk and find-
ing some areas of common in-
terests. Another very important
thing is that Georgia is host of
such group of countries. It real-
ly means that Georgia has right
of international host.” outlined
Ambassador David J. Smith,
Director of Georgian Security
Analysis Centre.
The participants discussed
the regional security models and
role of the Black and Caspian
Seas in providing international
peace and security. As it was
outlined at the conference, in
globalization period, it is neces-
sary to develop a regional strat-
egy to cope with the new, emerg-
ing threats. In the modern world,
besides terrorism and tradition-
al military threats there are also
economical, energy and environ-
mental threats. In order to avoid
theses threats and strengthen the
The David Aghmashenebeli “B” at the National Defence After successfully complet-
National Defense Academy cel- Academy took an oath during the ing training, 99 recruits of the
ebrated its fifteenth anniversary solemn ceremony. National Defence Academy
on June 17. A ceremony was held Brigadier General Zaza were granted certificates and
on the territory of the Ministry Gogava, the Chief of the Joint were promoted to the rank of
of Defence of Georgia. The event Staff of Georgia congratulated lieutenant. Due to exceptionally
was attended by the Chief of the the recruits on their completion high exam marks, two of them
Joint Staff, Brigadier General, of the advanced training course: were awarded diplomas with
Zaza Gogava, the Commander of “The role of the National De- honours.
the Land Forces, LTC Mamuka fence Academy is a priority of Training courses for Air and
Balakhadze, the Commander of the Georgian Armed Forces. We Naval forces junior officers start-
the Naval Forces, Captain Beso aim to develop the GAF with ed in July 23 and lasted for elev-
Shengelia, and the Head of the well prepared officers. The Na- en months. The three-stage ex-
National Defence Academy, Col. tional Defence Academy is the ercise led by the academy in-
Tariel Londaridze, other repre- best place for developing the structors included: Initial Com-
sentatives of the GAF leadership skills of officers.” bat, Candidate and Main Train-
and defence attaches accredited His Holiness Catholicos-Pa- ings. The recruits received theo-
to Georgia. triarch of All Georgia, Ilia II, sent retical and practical exercises in
The officers who graduated a letter of congratulation to the Tbilisi as well as in various re-
the Advanced Training Course recruits. gions of Georgia.
regional security, the participants
of various countries discussed
the possibilities to deepen coop-
eration in this field.
“We should not expect from
this meeting the consolidation of
our region. However, when mil-
itary meet each other and discuss
security issues - this is great
event, especially in our region.
Moreover, it’s happening in
Batumi, and guests viewed our
country”- said Aleksandre Ron-
deli, President of Georgian
Foundation for Strategic and In-
ternational Studies.
The Symposium envisaged a
number of cultural events. The
participants were hosted by Ba-
tumi National Theatre. Delega-
tion members visited Gonio Cas-
tle and tasted the Georgian wine.
The next Symposium on
Black Sea and Caspian Sea Se-
curity Issues will be held in Bul-
garia. It means that cooperation
about abovementioned questions
will continue.
Maka Gurgenidze
2 MONTHLY SUPPLEMENT OF GEORGIA TODAY
Defence Minister of Ukraine Yury Ekhanurov Visited Georgia
The Defence Minister of Ukraine,
Yury Ekhanurov, paid a two-day official
visit to Georgia. The visit intended to
deepen cooperation between two coun-
tries in defence field and was held in the
framework of Georgian -Ukrainian mil-
itary cooperation plan of 2008.
An eleven-person delegation from
the Ukraine, led by Yuri Ekhanurov, was
received by the Defence Minister of
Georgia, Davit Kezerashvili. A solemn
welcome ceremony was held at the Min-
istry of Defence of Georgia. After the
ceremony, the Defence Minister of
Georgia held talks with his Ukrainian
counterpart. Afterwards, the Ukrainian
delegation members met with Deputy
Minister of Defence of Georgia, Mamu-
ka Mujiri, the Chief of the Joint Staff of
the Georgian Armed Forces, Brigadier
General Zaza Gogava, and leaders of the
Interview with the Ukrainian Defence
Minister Yuri Ekhanurov to Georgia
Mr. Ekhanurov, is this your first
visit to Georgia? What is the purpose
of your visit?
This is my third time in Georgia. I
visited Georgia for the first time 20
years ago when I was the head of a con-
struction company in Kiev. I arrived in
Tbilisi with my friends, who were
builders and engineers. I have to say,
after that first visit to Georgia, I had
the most warm and best memories of
your country. When our official meet-
ings are over I will walk through the
tiny streets of old Tbilisi, where I
walked for the first time 20 years ago.
The second time I was in Georgia
in 1996, as part of a delegation of
Ukrainian governmental representa-
tives. It was a very hard time for your
country. I still remember that strained
situation that existed in Georgia in that
time. When I compare it to today, ev-
erything now is radically better. Being
a professional constructor, I’m very
happy to see that the city is being re-
constructed and renovated. I was a
Defence Ministry and the Joint Staff.
The meeting was also attended by the
Ambassador of Ukraine in Georgia,
Mykola Spys, and the Special Represen-
tative of the Georgian Defence Minis-
try in Ukraine, Sophia Narchemashvili.
The topics discussed at the meeting
included regional security issues, mili-
tary cooperation in the framework of
GUAM and prospects for conducting
military-technical projects. The Defence
Ministers also talked about intensifica-
tion of dialogue on NATO integration
issues.
As the Georgian Defence Minister,
Davit Kezerashvili, stated after the
closed meeting: “the Georgian Defence
Ministry is hosting its partner country,
with whom we have tight political and
military-technical relationship. It’s fair
to say that Ukraine is our friend which
guest at your president’s new residence,
which is still under construction. It’s
symbolic – the country is developing
and building and it’s very nice to see
these changes.
Our nations have traditionally have
a good and friendly relationship. At the
same time, we have partnership be-
tween our military structures. A cou-
ple of weeks ago your minister visited
our country. Our agenda is quite broad,
we have relationship in the military-
technical sphere on the highest level,
we are implementing reforms in the
army and we have very many common
issues. We are interested to see how
reforms are implemented in the Geor-
gian Army. I asked to get information
about the nutrition system in the army.
It’s very important and interesting for
us. In Ukraine we have changed our
army nutrition system, we have con-
tracted private company services, but
we are still at the beginning of the road.
So we have a lot of questions for the
Georgian side. We have various propos-
JUNE 2008 ISSUE #12
supports Georgia in this critical period.
We talked about deepening cooperation
between the two countries and I hope
that Ukraine will continue to assist Geor-
gia in the future.”
Kezerashvili continued: “It is my first
visit to Georgia as Defence Minister.
Although the relationship between the
two defence agencies have always been
open and friendly, the positions regard-
ing different questions still need consul-
tations. We talked about strengthening
scientific cooperation in the military-
technical sphere. We also discussed the
ongoing NATO integration process and
the implementation of agreements that
are made in the framework of GUAM. I
hope that decisions made by our presi-
dents at the political level will support
further cooperation between our two
countries.”
als to expand our cooperation. We of- tion that this is the beginning. Also we lateral format; Georgian officers are
fered to start cooperation in the mili- want to continue our relationship in the studying in Ukraine, that’s tradition, but
tary scientific-technical field. framework of GUAM. The idea about together with this our soldiers are get-
Today Ukraine and Georgia have creating a new common unit comes ting training in Georgia, at the Sach-
an Intensive Dialogue with NATO. from the Ukrainian Ministry of De- khere Mountain Training School. Our
What do you think about the chanc- fence, and with Georgian side we will soldiers think very highly of the quali-
es of our countries at the NATO start preparing for this. This year, the ty of training, I’m very happy that such
meeting in December? level of military-technical cooperation kind of cooperation in mountain train-
Next week I will be in Brussels for is very high, we have to improve not ing will continue in future. The coop-
two days. We have a very serious rela- only quantitative but qualitative indi- eration in the air defence field is con-
tionship with NATO. There is a com- ces as well. cerned with the modernization of ex-
mittee in NATO where the Ukrainian Georgia and Ukraine are cooper- isting techniques and of education.
Defence Minister and the Defence Min- ating in the military educational About the Navy, I can say that we don’t
isters of NATO member countries are sphere. How do you evaluate the lev- have such a close relationships as in
working together. This dialogue is a lit- el of preparedness of Georgian offic- other parts of the military. I have a great
tle bit difficult but it’s normal, we are ers, and what do you think about co- desire to build cooperation in this field.
moving forward. We have a very broad operation in the Naval and Air De- I think that this subject will be one of
action plan for NATO structures this fence spheres? the main issues of discussion during our
year. I can say that we have done 110 As your president mentioned, the next visit.
events for the last 5 months. We have educational process has become a bi- David Jokhadze
much work to do for the future. For ex-
ample, not long ago we sent our ship
to the Mediterranean that raised the
NATO flag together with other coun-
tries. They are working together in the
framework of the “Active Endeavor”
program, with the purpose of fighting
against drug dealing, smuggling and
terrorism; it means that we are always
in a working process. We have one
problem and this problem is support of
citizens for NATO membership. Last
week we conducted a couple of events
in the big cities of our country to gain
the support of the Ukrainian population
for NATO membership. We are doing
our best, but this problem with the pub-
lic support still exists. I think that we
have time to do everything in a correct
way, but I also know that this process
will not be easy. Today during the meet-
ing with my colleague, with the Prime
Minister and the Minister of Foreign
Affairs, we discussed this issue. I want
to mention that we fully realize the se-
riousness of task we have to do, as yet
we see just moderate progress but we
are optimists.
What kind of projects are going
to be implemented between our coun-
tries in the near future?
The new project that received ap-
proval by your president is a project
about collaboration in the scientific-
technical sphere. We are talking about
processes, the results of which we can
see after three to five years. We want
this project to be developed by us and
to be a joint project, we want Ukraine
and Georgia to have common rights
over these projects. When the produc-
tions will start, Georgia and Ukraine
will have common rights over that pro-
duction. We need to replenish equip-
ment in several sectors. I want to men-
JUNE 2008 ISSUE #12
Land Forces Separate
Medical Battalion
The Georgian Armed Forces is in an
important phase of its reformation. Sub-
stantial changes were implemented in
order to enhance defence system and
achieve interoperability with NATO
standards. The formation of a separate
medical battalion is one example of the
GAF development process. In 2007, the
land forces separate medical battalion
was established by order of the Minis-
ter of Defence of Georgia.
The main function of the battalion is
to rescue injured soldiers, provide pro-
fessional help, and efficiently send them
to one of the central clinics. Today, the
separate medical battalion is manned
with 341 personnel, commanded by
Lieutenant Colonel Lasha Koiava and
is located in Saguramo, near Tbilisi.
In 1999, France granted a mobile
field hospital to the Georgian Armed
Forces. Since then, the GAF have
worked towards creating a medical bat-
talion. This process was supervised by
the French military and representatives
from the French embassy. After long
discussions, the medical battalion was
finally formed in 2001, but still suffered
many difficulties. First of all, the main
problem was finding qualified person-
nel who were willing to live and work
in field conditions. The second big dif-
ficulty was financial. There had to start
from a scratch - no special equipment,
no gear and no vehicles. The existing
material and technical basis did not sat-
isfy even 10% of the demand. Step by
step, the field hospital started to become
less functional and the number of per-
sonnel decreased further. Soon after that,
the field hospital turned into a small
medical post unit.
But today the situation has radically
changed. LTC Lasha Koiava, Com-
mander of Battalion spokes about their
achievements: “Fortunately, in the be-
ginning of 2007, Mr. David Kezerash-
vili, the Defence Minister was interest-
ed in the condition of the field hospital,
Handbook on Human Rights and Fundamental
Freedoms of Armed Forces Personnel
The Armed Forces are an integral
part of a democratic state and society.
By fulfilling their defence and nation-
al-security functions, the armed forces
play a key role in enabling a security
environment that allows the inalienable
rights and freedoms to which we are
all entitled under human rights and in-
ternational humanitarian law. But not
only when their rights are guaranteed
within their own institution will armed
forces personnel be likely to uphold
these same rights both in the barracks
and during operations at home and
abroad.
Therefore, protecting the rights of the
armed forces personnel was the focus
and began consultations. Today, we have
a valuable and well equipped military
field hospital which is capable of pro-
viding help both during wartime and
peace.”
During peacetime, the field hospital
will provide help for military service-
man and also for the civilian personnel
who serve in the Armed Forces. Every
person who serves in the army has
passed examination of the military med-
ical commission. As a result, the level
of illness is very low, and it means that
the medical examination in army is like
a prophylactic.
During the different military train-
ings, the field medical hospital is locat-
ed directly at the place of trainings and
participates in the exercises. The field
medical hospital also provides support
and help during the natural disasters and
catastrophes.
During wartime, the mobile field
hospital will be located 15-30 km be-
of a roundtable meeting, jointly orga-
nized by the OSCE Office for Demo-
cratic Institutions and Human Rights
(ODIHR) and the Mission to Georgia at
the Tbilisi Marriott Hotel on June 16. In
this regard the roundtable presented the
“Handbook on Human Rights and Fun-
damental Freedoms of Armed Forces
Personnel.”
The handbook, developed with the
Geneva Centre for the Democratic Con-
trol of the Armed Forces, stresses that
respect for human rights and fundamen-
tal freedoms of armed forces personnel
is not just a moral obligation; it is a part
of international human rights law and
states are obliged to respect and protect
the rights of personnel serving in their
armed forces. Whether professional or
conscripted, they are entitled to the same
rights and protection as all other persons,
although certain restrictions to these
rights may be imposed by military life.
In addition, experience has shown that
respect for human rights of armed forc-
es personnel increases their effective-
ness.
The handbook is divided into six sec-
tions, each of which comprises several
chapters. The handbook includes such
important issues as when the human
rights and fundamental freedoms of
armed forces personnel are particularly
hind the frontline. There are special
evacuative units who will bring the
wounded soldiers to the hospital. In case
of war, there is a list of civilian medical
personnel whose professional skills abil-
ities will be used, too.
According to the order of Defence
minister and Chief of Joint Staff, a mil-
itary medical faculty will be formed at
the State Medical University, which will
train and qualify military doctors. The
Battalion Commander said: “This fac-
ulty will be under the control of the De-
fence Academy. Lecturers’ salary will
be paid by the Ministry of Defence.
These lecturers will teach both military
and civilian personnel. The faculty will
take in students in September.”
As LTC Lasha Koiava stated, the pre-
paredness of the medical battalion is
very high and is ready to meet any chal-
lenges.
David Jokhadze
relevant; what challenges there are; how
the human rights and fundamental free-
doms of armed forces personnel can be
strengthened; what the advantages of
strengthening respect for the human
rights and fundamental freedoms of
armed forces personnel are and so on.
Protection of human rights for mili-
tary personnel is high on the agenda of
the defence sector. The respect for hu-
man rights protection in the army posi-
tively influences the relationship of the
Armed Forces and society, which is an
essential aspect of the democratic state.
This is the area that demands full atten-
tion, respect, cooperation and day-to-day
improvement. In order to have strong
and motivated army, first of all, each
soldier’s rights should be protected. The
army consists of individuals dedicated
to protect their homeland and we are
obliged to secure their rights and free-
dom. “One of the main priorities of the
Ministry of Defence of Georgia is to
enhance human rights protection mech-
anisms and social conditions for mili-
tary personnel. Georgian legislation pro-
vides the protective guarantees of the
military servicemen. Georgian law on
the “Status of Military Personnel” reg-
ulates the rights and duties of military
servicemen as well as their main social
legislative guarantees. Apart from na-
MONTHLY SUPPLEMENT OF GEORGIA TODAY
Demonstration Exercise
at Telavi Reserve
Training Base
June 18, Telavi Reserve Training
Base #5, Eastern Georgia. Despite the
rain, everyone including the instructors
and the leaders of the reserve base were
preparing for the demonstration exer-
cise. Reservists were waiting for the
military trucks that would take them to
the training area. When they arrived at
their destination, the instructors gave
them their tasks. According to the sce-
nario, the reservists’ missions were to
take combat positions, break through
the ambush and to clear the road of
enemy forces. The exercise started
with a tactical movement, reservists
had already passed 3km when sudden-
ly a loud explosion was heard. The re-
servists took combat positions and
opened fire. After they accomplished
the first two tasks, they started the third
one- clearing the road of enemy forc-
es. All at once, the reservists opened
fire with all kinds of rifles in the direc-
tion of the road.
The simulation exercise lasted for
three hours. The reservists accom-
plished all their tasks successfully. Af-
ter training, I decided to talk to one of
the participants of the exercise. When
I asked him if it was hard for him to
pass this 18-day training course, the
reservist smiled and answered: ”To my
mind, when you realize that you are
doing this in order to protect your coun-
tional legislation, internal legal regula-
tion of the Ministry of Defence also pro-
tects the rights of the Georgian Armed
Forces,” mentioned the Deputy Minis-
ter of Defence of Georgia Giorgi
Muchaidze at the meeting. He also add-
ed that in case of violations of the hu-
man rights military servicemen can ad-
dress the Military Police or General In-
spection. These two structural units of
the Georgian MoD are responsible for
investigating cases and taking appropri-
ate action. Like other citizens of Geor-
gia, a military serviceman can directly
appeal to the court or address the Public
Defender’s Office in order to protect
their violated rights.
The participants of the roundtable
were representatives from the govern-
ment, military, civil society and the in-
ternational community, as well as om-
budsmen. At the meeting the participants
discussed a new ODIHR handbook on
human rights of armed forces person-
nel, and the practical recommendations
contained in the handbook, and identi-
fied further measures that can be taken
to improve the system for the protection
of the human rights of armed forces per-
sonnel in Georgia. Other topics covered
civil and political rights, the proper treat-
ment of armed forces personnel, partic-
ipation of women and minorities, mili-
3
try and your family you do not feel the
difficulty of the mission. This was the
last stage of our training. During these
18 days, we were training in all the dif-
ferent elements of combat, step by step.
Today all the elements were combined,
and the scenario looked like a proper
combat situation. When I heard the ex-
plosions, for a moment I forgot that it
was an exercise and felt my self like a
real soldier on a battlefield. I felt great
responsibility for my company and did
my best to break through the ambush. I
can not describe all the emotions and
feelings that I experienced. You must
feel it yourself.”
The Chief of Staff of the National
Guard Department, Colonel Levan
Asatiani, who was attending the exer-
cise, was satisfied with the training lev-
el of the reservists, saying: “Today, we
have seen the results of the hard work
that reservists have done during these
18 days. The aim of this training was
to make each member of the battalion
feel and see his place in the battalion,
as well as to make them realize the
importance of their service.”
During the next two days, reservists
from Mukrovani and Kojori Bases con-
ducted similar demonstration exercis-
es as well.
Nino Rusadze
tary justice, and veteran’s rights.
“The government and civil society in
Georgia have shown great interest in
working towards improving respect for
the human rights of soldiers and other
members of the armed forces, and much
work has already been done in this re-
spect. Respect for the human rights of
armed forces personnel is crucial in cre-
ating a professional culture within the
military that includes human rights as
part of a commitment to democratic val-
ues. When this is achieved, the armed
forces are not just defenders of a state’s
territorial integrity; they also defend and
embody its values,” said Kirsten Mla-
cak, the head of the ODIHR’s human
rights department.
Drafts of the handbook were subject-
ed to close scrutiny and debate by the
various experts in the field of human
rights of armed forces personnel
throughout the OSCE region so as to
ensure that the ideas presented and con-
clusions drawn were valid. In Decem-
ber 2006, ODIHR organized an expert
review workshop in Warsaw that
brought together experts from a variety
of fields. This led to numerous changes
and ultimately to an improved version
of the handbook.
Tea Kerdzevadze
4 MONTHLY SUPPLEMENT OF GEORGIA TODAY
Official Reception held
by the Defence
Attaches’ Association
The Association of Defence Attach-
es held an official reception at Merab
Berdzenishvili International Cultural
Center “Muza” on June 4. Defence At-
taches of 16 countries accredited to
Georgia invited the representatives of
the Ministry of Defence, Ministry of
Foreign Affairs, non-governmental or-
ganizations and ambassadors of foreign
countries.
The Defence Attaches association
was established in Tbilisi in 1999 and
aims to strengthen cooperation between
Georgia and its partner countries on se-
curity and defence policy matters.
On June 4, the association united
five Defence Attaches of foreign coun-
tries. Now the number of military dip-
lomatic representatives amounts almost
25 members. The association held its
first reception last year. Since then, the
Defence Attaches established it as a tra-
dition.
This year the reception was hosted
by the Doyen of Defence Attaches’ As-
sociation, Defence Attache of Ukraine
to Georgia, LTC Dmytro Nikitishyn.
At the reception LTC Dmytro Ni-
kitishyn addressed the guests with a
welcoming speech and thanked the
Georgian Ministry of Defence for ac-
tive cooperation on behalf of the De-
fence Attaches’ Association: “The event
is organized by the Defence Attaches’
Association. We held the same kind of
reception last year. The main goal of
our reception is to give the defence at-
taches another opportunity to meet each
other, to meet with the representatives
of the Georgian Armed Forces and ex-
change opinions on various issues in
an informal environment. Once again
we would like to express our active
support to Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic in-
tegration path.”
Thomas Rapats, Austrian Defence
Attache to Ukraine, Moldova and Geor-
gia spoke about the importance of the
event and shared his impressions on
Georgia: “This event of the military
Diplomatic Corps of Georgia is very
significant. I think it is important to
show the Georgian authorities a little
bit of common spirit between the atta-
che corps from the 16 different coun-
tries resident in Georgia and also non-
resident countries. I have been accred-
ited to Georgia for a year and I like it
very much. It reminds me Austria.
Tbilisi is a nice city. We are a little
country in the heart of Europe. We have
the Alps and Georgia has the big Cau-
casus. Austria also has valleys and lakes
like Georgia. We don’t have sea but
Georgia has the Black Sea. I like your
country very much.”
The Defence Attache of the Repub-
lic of Lithuania LTC Albertas
Charzevskis shared his opinion as well:
“Today we had the second Defence
Attache Association reception in Geor-
gia. The first reception was held last
year. The main purpose of our meeting
is to introduce our association to the
society of Georgia, to show that we are
active not only in our direct duties but
we also share our warmest wishes to
all society of Georgia and to our Geor-
gian colleagues from the Ministry of
Defence of Georgia, Georgian Foreign
Affairs Ministry and correspondents as
well, and to our friends and colleagues.
I think it is a good event. We believe
that in future we’ll continue to orga-
nize such events.”
The evening was musically accom-
panied by the Military Orchestra of the
Defence Ministry.
Thea Chonishvili
The Luckiest Attaches
National media project “Etalon” and
the Ministry of Defence of Georgia or-
ganized TV game for foreign military
attaches. Defence, Army, Marine/Naval
and Air Force attaches of seven countries
accredited to Georgia were invited to take
part in the intellectual game “Etalon,”
which is a high rating ‘edu-tainment’ pro-
gram on Georgian TV Broadcasting.
Before the game commenced, Gocha
Tkeshelashvili the host of ‘Etalon’ said:
“The participation of the Diplomatic
Corps will incite the popularization of
the program outside of Georgia. The
Ministry of Defence is one of the state
agencies that support “Etalon.” I am
happy that in the Ministry there are peo-
ple who have a comprehensive vision
of the processes and realize importance
of the program. In this respect, I express
my compliments to the deputy minister,
Batu Kutelia, who is friend of our pro-
gram.”
Defence Attaches LTC Christian
Farkhondeh from the Federal Republic
of Germany, LTC Albertas Charzevskis
from the Republic of Lithuania, LTC
Karen Muradyan from the Republic of
Armenia, MJG Elbrus Orujev from the
Republic of Azerbaijan, LTC Dmytro
Nikitishyn from the Ukraine, assistant
to the Defence Attaché of the UK WO 2
Concert Held for Reservists
Representatives of the Cultural Cen-
ter of Gori State University organized a
concert for reservists at Mukhrovani
Reservist Training Base on June 14.
Since June 4, the Reserve Infantry Bat-
talion, manned with the residents of the
Gori region, had been undergoing an 18-
day training course. 80 percent of Bat-
talion reservists are students of Gori
State University. According to the Com-
mander of Mukhrovani Base, Colonel
Malkhaz Jariashvili, reservists had
passed tactical, engineering and fire ex-
ercises.
The idea of holding the concert came
when their course mates had seen them
off to reserve service. They decided to
hold concert for them, in order to ex-
press their support.
The Head of the National Guard De-
partment, Colonel David Aptsiauri, and
Rector of Gori University, Professor
Zaza Tsotniashvili, attended the concert
and addressed the reservists. Colonel
Davit Aptsiauri expressed gratitude to-
wards the leadership of the Gori Uni-
versity for giving this kind of support to
the reservists.
Professor Zaza Tsotniashvili, the
Rector of Gori University addressed the
students as well, saying: “I am sure that
you will return physically and morally
prepared and will strengthen the patri-
otic mood in the university.” He spoke
about the importance of the army: “A
strong army and high-quality education-
al system is crucial for strengthening of
Dean Antony Plant, US and Army At-
taché Col Matthew Brand, US Bilateral
Affairs Officer LTC Matthew Shannon
and ODC Staff Sergeant Mark Sowell
commenced the game with great enthu-
siasm to reveal the “Luckiest Attache.”
Though the game was conducted in a
friendly and non-competitive atmosphere
it was a dynamic and interesting show as
most of participants kept the same rating
and had almost equal scores. The Head
of International Relations and Euro-At-
lantic Integration Department, Nino
Bakradze, was assisted the host of the
program by translating the questions in
English in order to make perception of
the questions easier for the participants.
The game also was attended by the
Head of the Public Affairs Department,
Nana Intskirveli. She greeted the foreign
military attaches and the members of
their families who had come to support
their relatives. Musical accompaniment
for the program came courtesy of the
Orchestra of the Defence Ministry.
Only LTC Karen Muradyan, LTC
Dmytro Nikitishyn, WO 2 Dean Antony
Plant reached the final round. Surpris-
ingly, all finalists scored the same
amount but the fastest player was LTC
Dmytro Nikitishyn. However, host of
the program crowned all three partici-
our country. These kinds of events are
very important for raising the patriotic
feelings among the young generation.
We have one common purpose – to have
strong and united country.”
The reservists were very pleased with
the concert and reservist David Makh-
viladze shared his impressions with us:
“I want to thank the leadership of the
National Guard and Gori University for
arranging such a wonderful performance.
I came to the reserve service as I wanted
JUNE 2008 ISSUE #12
pants as winners. The award that was
granted to each of them was a year’s
worth of monthly payments of 100 GEL
for the first three babies who would be
born on Virgin’s Assumption’s Day, on
August 28, 2008.
One of the winners, LTC Dmytro Ni-
kitishyn said: “I was a bit luckier then
others, the questions were very interest-
ing. I guessed some of them by logic and
others by knowledge and intuitions. It
really doesn’t matter who won the game
but that such kinds of games are con-
ducted. In my opinion, it doesn’t matter
who the participants of the game are, but
that the stipend on behalf of the winner
will be donated to those babies who will
be born on August 28. Maybe it is a
little amount of money but still it will
help the families financially. Therefore
it was honour for me to take part in this
game.”
Cooperation between the Defence
Ministry and Etalon is set to continue.
As Gocha Tkeshelashvili announced,
there are plans to invite the students of
the 15 leading universities of the world
and the cadets of the Defence Academy
of Georgia to participate in another game
in future.
Maka Gurgenidze
to learn more about the military life. To
my mind all male citizens of Georgia
should pass this training in order to ac-
complish all the tasks when it is neces-
sary. The most important thing I learned
here is the discipline which unfortunate-
ly my generation does not have.”
After the concert, the reservists re-
turned to their barracks to prepare for
the hard schedule for the next day.
Nino Rusadze