Military of Georgia
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Armed Forces of Georgia
The Georgian armed forces comprise 17,500 troops, including 10,400 conscripts. Military branches include Ground Forces (including National Guard), Air and Air Defense Forces, Maritime Defense Force, and Interior Forces.
Georgian_soldiers_pkm.jpg
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 IPAP for Georgia. In case if the IPAP is successful, Georgia will have good opportunity to accede to the Membership Action Plan (MAP). The U. S.-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.
Russian military in Georgia
Russian military presence is a major challenge in the country. In violation of promises made at the 1999 Istanbul OSCE conference, Russia continues to maintain the Soviet-era military bases in Batumi and Akhalkalaki. 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 still continue. A CIS peacekeeping force of Russian troops is deployed in the Abkhazia region of Georgia together with a UN military observer group; a Russian peacekeeping battalion is deployed in South Ossetia.
The breakaway republics of Abkhazia and South Ossetia have their own armed forces, though the precise number remains unknown.
Reference
- CIA World Factbook, 2005 (http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/gg.html:)
- U.S. Department of State Background Notes, 2005 (http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5253.htm:)
- GlobalSecurity.org on Georgia’s military (http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/georgia/mod.htm:)
External link
- NATO and Georgia (http://intranet.parliament.ge/parl_2004/committees_en/site_11/nato_geo.htm:)
- Conscription in Georgia (http://www.wri-irg.org/co/rtba/georgia.htm:)
- Georgia military news (http://www.civil.ge/eng/category.php?id=20:)
- Georgia: Military flags, 2004 (http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/ge^mil.html:)