Agile Spirit Military Drills Begin in Southern Georgia

AKHALTSIKHE, Georgia – Some of the US military’s most hi-tech combat equipment has appeared in Georgia for the second time in less than six months, as combat exercises with the Georgian armed forces and other close allies began in the small South Caucasus nation’s southern Samtskhe-Javakheti region on Friday.

The US’ European Command ferried armored vehicles, artillery pieces, amphibious assault vehicles and Humvees across the Black Sea from NATO-member Bulgaria to take part in the exercises, code-named Agile Spirit.

The two-week exercises are taking place at a firing range close to the town of Akhaltsikhe, with personnel from the US, Georgia, Bulgaria, Latvia, Romania and Ukraine.

The focus of the training will include live-fire exercises, with the participation of Georgian tanks and US armored vehicles, as well as drills with anti-tank guided TOW missile systems.

Agile Spirit was originally a joint US-Georgian military exercise that began in 2011. In 2015, the combat drills were expanded to include other NATO members and NATO-associated countries.

This year’s exercise is the first to include units from the elite US Marine Corps.

Agile Spirit 2016 is the second major military exercise to be held in Georgia. US, UK and Georgian forces took part in the Noble Partner drills in May at Georgia’s Vaziani military base – home of NATO’s training center in the country.

By Nicholas Waller