Georgia’s Special Operations Forces Celebrate 17th Anniversary

TBILISI – 17 years have passed since the establishment of the Special Operations Forces of Georgia. The jubilee was celebrated at the base of Vashlijvari, Tbilisi on Tuesday.

The event was attended by Georgia’s Minister of Defense, Levan Izoria, the new Chief of General Staff of Georgian Armed Forces Vladimer Chachibaia, the United States Ambassador to Georgia Ian Kelly, the Chairman of the Estonian Parliament’s Committee of National Defense Hannes Hans, and Georgian military officials.

Levan Izoria congratulated Georgia’s Special Operations Forces on the jubilee and promised them that the government would do their best to create the best conditions for successful conduct of exercises.

“I would like to thank the international community who helped us to create this unit. I want to say special thanks to the US…We are one team and we will celebrate success with our partners,” the Minister stated at Vashlijvari Base.

Izoria also welcomed Estonian Defense Delegation, which arrived in Tbilisi to increase bilateral cooperation and share of knowledge and experience with Georgia.

“I want to thank Poland and all those countries which do their best to help Georgia to reach NATO standards,” Izoria added.

An award ceremony was also held in the framework of the event. The Defense Minister awarded the servicemen with medals, who achieved success in the intelligence units competition held in the United Kingdom. Several soldiers were awarded with Certificates of Appreciation.

Military equipment and weapons were exhibited in the foyer of the Special Forces battalion.

The first Georgian Special Operations Unit was set up in November 1992.

By Thea Morrison