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Georgian soldiers seize opportunity; gain trust, community support

US Marine Corps News

3/15/2011 By Gunnery Sgt. Alexis R. Mulero, Marine Corps Training and Advisory Group

HOHENFELS, Germany — Actors portraying as counterinsurgents during a mission rehearsal exercise (MRE) disrupted but did not deter the developing relationship between the soldiers of Georgian Army’ Bravo Company, 33rd Light Infantry Battalion, and the local populace of Bakwa, at the Joint Multinational Readiness Center (JMRC) in Hohenfels, Germany, Feb. 23.

During this realistic training scenario, a suicide bomber infiltrated a Georgian and Bulgarian (replicating partner unit) security perimeter during a ribbon cutting ceremony and detonated an explosive that killed or wounded numerous Georgian soldiers and local by-standers therefore spoiling their celebration.

This unfortunate tragedy triggered a series of positive “shuras” or meetings that assisted the Georgians in gaining the trust and support of the Bakwa villagers during the MRE.

“There is no expectation that every event will unfold perfectly,” said U.S. Marine Corps Col. Christopher McCarthy, commanding officer of Marine Corp Training and Advisory Group. “It’s a balance of correcting and coaching. This is an evolution but more importantly it is training.”

During the “shuras,” Georgians were able to identify what the villagers need and ways to improve the quality of life for the locals.

“Georgians must win over the populace to negate any type of local support for insurgents,” said U.S. Marine Corps Capt. James Nolan who is serving as an observer/controller during the MRE and recently returned from the Helmand Providence, Afghanistan, where he was deployed with 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment.

One of the main issues reviewed during the meetings was the significance of working together to provide a safe environment for the locals.

“Security is something that involves everyone from the military to every person in the village,” said one of the village elders to Georgian Army Capt. N. Vashakmadze, the commanding officer of Bravo Co. “Today’s tragedy is something that should never happen and showed the weak-side from both sides.”

“We will learn something from this incident that will assist us in the future,” said Vashakmadze to the village elders. “We will work together to improve the security of the town.”

The suicide bomber plot was one of the many complex battlefield injects created in the MRE for Georgians to rehearse and refine counter-insurgency tactics prior to their upcoming deployment in support of International Security Assistance Forces (ISAF) with Regimental Combat Team Eight (RCT-8) in Helmand Providence, Afghanistan.

These Georgian soldiers are part of the Georgia Deployment Program (GDP) and the MRE is the culminating exercise to assess their ability to conduct distributed counter-insurgency operations prior to this deployment.

In the days that followed, the Georgian soldiers swept the JRMC, looking for insurgents, weapons caches, improvised explosive device (IED) factories and most importantly tried to win over the local population, which was portrayed by contracted civilians and other service members. Many of the soldiers faced constant fighting during this period with some getting into multiple firefights with insurgents on a daily basis.

“Today, Bravo Company performed well, overall,” said U.S. Marine Corps Capt. James Nolan, observer/controller, 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, who recently served as a company commander with RCT-2. “Georgians have been very receptive to the training, and they are eager learners who are dedicated to working hand-in-hand with International Security Assistance Forces in Afghanistan.”