Georgian soldiers display mettle to Marine mentors
US Marine Corps News
3/15/2011 By Gunnery Sgt. Alexis R. Mulero, Marine Corps Training and Advisory Group
HOHENFELS, Germany — After receiving more than four months of tactical and operational training under the direction of U.S. Marine instructors from Marine Corps Training and Advisory Group, Marine Corps Training and Education Command, and other operating forces, the soldiers from Republic of Georgia’s Charlie Company, 33rd Light Infantry Battalion, were ready to display its newly gained skills to its Marine mentors.
These soldiers conducted a company clearance operation using counter-insurgency tactics during a mission rehearsal exercise (MRE) at the Joint Multinational Readiness Center (JMRC) here, Feb. 23.
“They are ready for the day to day work but need to work on their large-scale deliberate operations,” said Sgt. 1st Class Brad Moses, an observer/controller team member from the U.S. Army’s Warhogs Maneuver Observer and Controller Team at the JMRC. “They are really good in squad and platoon-level operations but they could use more company and battalion-sized coordination rehearsals and that is what they are doing here.” “This is the largest and most realistic training exercise that they (this unit) have ever been a part of.”
These Georgian soldiers are part of the Georgia Deployment Program (GDP) and the MRE is the culminating exercise to assess their ability conduct distributed counter insurgency operations prior to their upcoming deployment in support of International Security Assistance Forces (ISAF) with Regimental Combat Team Eight (RCT-8) in Helmand Providence, Afghanistan.
“GDP-ISAF is a very unique mission – it shows how powerful the Marine Corps is when we apply ourselves to building the capacity of partner nations,” said Capt. Arlon Smith, operations officer of the Georgia Training Team from MCTAG. “The mission also demonstrates how building partner capacity can have an immediate impact on assisting the U.S. with confronting challenges around the globe – Afghanistan in this case.”
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.
“Objective today was for Charlie Company to clear the town of Musa Qalaha replicated here at the JMRC, start building a relationship with the village elders and to prevent the insurgents from operating in the area,” said 1st Lt. Michael Iaquinto an observer/controller augmented from 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, Twentynine Palms, Calif., who recently returned from Afghanistan where he conducted operations alongside the Georgian Army’s 31st Light Infantry Battalion. “Interacting with the local populace is something the Georgians did not get prior to coming to the MRE. Charlie Company is still in a learning process but they are making progress. They are achieving small victories one day at a time.”
Although the U.S. Army soldiers and 3/7 Marines observing the Georgians have their own way of how they critique the Georgian Army’s performance, there was one common theme between them that best described how the day’s event unfolded.
“The Georgians are motivated and eager to find and destroy the enemy,” said Moses who is serving in his third rotation in the capacity of observer/controller of units training at the JMRC. “The longer they work together as a company and battalion, the more coordinated their efforts will be.
“This operation will drive itself through the actions or inactions the Georgians do today, he added. “We have set the bar high for them during this training evolution to make their transition easier when they execute their deployment.”
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