NATO’s Military Training “Agile Spirit 2015” Begins in Georgia

NATO’s military training “Agile Spirit 2015” officially begins today in Vaziani, Georgia. The training is being held in the frames of the Substantial NATO-Georgia Package which was endorsed by allied heads of state and government at the Wales summit.

American, Bulgarian, Romanian, Lithuanian and Latvian military personnel will participate along with Georgia’ Battalion 42 in the military exercises.

The multinational military training aims to improve communications during conventional operations and to raise awareness on different military tactics of various countries. Military exercises will continue until July 22.

At the Wales summit, the alliance also decided to open a NATO-Georgia Joint Training and Evaluation Center in Georgia. Deputy Secretary-General Alexander Vershbow said the new training center would be set up as part of a package of measures to boost Georgia's defense capabilities.

Earlier this year Vaziani military base was agreed between the sides as the location for the NATO center in Georgia. Vaziani is a former Soviet base that remained in the hands of the Russian military until 2001. Russia bombed it during its war with Georgia in 2008.

Vakhtang Kapanadze, Chief of General Staff of the Georgian Armed Forces, today informed that NATO-Georgia training center will also cover several other locations, one of them the Krtsanisi National Training Center.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg is expected to open the NATO-Georgia Joint Training and Evaluation Center next month in the frames of his official visit to Georgia.

Nino Japarashvili