SEPTEMBER 2007 ISSUE #3
Defence Minister of
Azerbaijan Visits Georgia
Georgian Defence Minister hosts his Azerbaijani counterpart
On September 17 the Defence
Minister of Azerbaijan, Safar
Abiyev paid a two-day official
visit to Georgia. Safar Abiyev ac-
companied by an eight member
delegation visited the Georgian
Defence Ministry. The Represen-
tatives of the Azerbaijani Defence
Ministry were received by the
Georgian Defence Minister Dav-
id Kezerashvili.
After the official ceremony
the Azerbaijani and Georgian
Defence Ministers held a tete-a-
tete meeting. Delegation mem-
bers held talks with the Com-
manders of the Land and Air
Forces, also with the Chiefs of
the Departments of the Defence
Ministry and Joint Staff. The
plan for bilateral military coop-
eration between Azerbaijan and
Georgia was signed on the first
Communications Battalion
Training Center Opened
in Saguramo
The presentation of a renovat-
ed building for the Separate
Communication Battalion of
Land Forces was held in Sagura-
mo on September 14th.
The new training center has
been equipped with modern in-
ventory and communications
equipment. The renovations and
construction work were done by
the U.S.-based Harris Corpora-
tion.
The center will serve as a
training facility for Georgian ser-
vicemen. Trainings for the per-
sonnel of the Communication
Battalion of the Georgian Armed
day of the visit.
After visiting the Georgian
Defence Minstry the Azerbaijani
delegation headed for Heroes
Square and laid a wreath at the
memorial of the Georgian He-
roes who made the supreme sac-
rifice for the territorial integrity
of the country and at the memo-
rial of the former President of
Azerbaijan Heydar Aliyev.
On the second day of the of-
ficial visit the Azerbaijani dele-
gation visited the 2nd Infantry
Brigade in Senaki. In the frame-
work of the visit the representa-
tives of the Defence Ministry of
Azerbaijan hold the meetings
with the President of Georgia
Mikheil Saakashvili and the
Minister of Foreign Affairs Gela
Bezhuashvili.
By Rusudan Tsimakuridze
Forces will be provided by five
Georgian servicemen from the
Department of New Technolo-
gies who underwent a five-week
factory training course in Roch-
ester NY, at the Harris Corpora-
tion Technical Training Center.
The opening ceremony start-
ed at 11:00 a.m. at the base of
Communication Battalion in
Saguramo. A four-member del-
egation from the Harris Corpo-
ration arrived from the United
States of America to attend the
presentation of the new training
center.
Continued on p.3
The Georgian Air Force Celebrates
its 15th Anniversary
The Georgian Air Force cel-
ebrated its 15th anniversary on
September 19th when a solemn
ceremony to mark “Air Force
Day” was held at the Alek-
seevka Helicopter Aviation
Base.
Deputy Chiefs of the Joint
Staff of the Georgian Armed
Forces, LTC. Shmagi Telia and
LTC. Alexander Osepaishvili
and Air Force Commander Col.
David Nairashvili were on hand
to congratulate military person-
nel on the occasion.
Speaking about the mission
of the Air Force, Air Force
Commander Col. David Nair-
ashvili commented that: “Our
first task is to prepare our crews
for combat operations. They
must be real pilots and able to
carry out any combat mission in
any sort of difficult weather
condition. The second is that our
equipment, our aircraft, must
always be operable and our third
task – the Air Force must always
be ready to diligently fulfill the
tasks it is assigned by our gov-
ernment and leadership.”
By order of the Defence Min-
ister, 15 military servants re-
ceived rewards and 27 service-
men were officially appreciated
for the conscientious perfor-
Georgia has a Distinctive and Constructive Role
to Play in the International Arena
An Interview with New British Ambassador to Georgia, H.E. Denis Keefe
Defence Today: You are the
newly appointed Ambassador of
Great Britain and Northern Ire-
land to Georgia. What is your first
impression of our country? What
expectations do you have for
working in Georgia?
Denis Keefe: I have been in
Georgia for two months now and
am enjoying it enormously. Geor-
gia is a beautiful country, with an
ancient history and hospitable
people. Georgia is also an excit-
ing place to work because it is a
country that is changing very fast,
modernizing and reforming its
economy and governance, while
facing real political challenges at
home and abroad.
D.T: As the Ambassador of
Great Britain and Northern Ire-
land what do you see as your role,
particularly vis-a-vis Georgia as
a developing nation?
D.K: The task of the British
Embassy here is to promote Brit-
ain and Georgia’s shared values;
to help resolve conflicts peaceful-
ly; and to support Georgia’s re-
forms as the country grows clos-
er to NATO and the EU. That is
what I intend to do during my
time here, with the help of my
excellent team at the Embassy.
Air Force Day
mance of professional duties and
for their outstanding contribution
to the development of the Geor-
gian Armed Forces. The Joint
Staff and Air Forces Command
awarded honorary diplomas to up
to 60 military personnel.
The ceremony was attended
by the defence attaches accred-
ited to Georgia. At the end of
the ceremony, Air Force person-
D.T: How do you assess the
Georgian-British relationship?
D.K: It is a warm relationship.
So far, a relatively limited num-
bers of Georgians have been to
Britain and limited numbers of
British people have come to Geor-
gia. I would like people in the two
countries to get to know each oth-
er better because we share an in-
terest in a peaceful, prosperous,
European future. I think it is a very
good sign that recently the Brit-
ish-Georgian Chamber of Com-
merce was able to start work in
Georgia. This demonstrates the
growing business links between
our two countries.
D.T: How do you evaluate the
NATO-Georgia partnership? As
we know, during your tenure in
the Czech Republic you helped
that country to join NATO. What
recommendations will you give
to Georgia about becoming inte-
grated into the Alliance? How do
you evaluate Georgia’s path to-
wards NATO and what challeng-
es do you see on this path?
D.K: Georgia has made great
strides towards becoming part of
the NATO community, including
entering its Intensified Dialogue
phase last September. The military
nel laid a wreath at the memo-
rial for fallen Georgian pilots
and a minute of silence was ob-
served in their honor. After the
ceremony a display of military
aircraft was presented.
The Georgian Air Force and
Air Defence Division was es-
tablished on January 1, 1992.
On August 10, 1993 it was
transformed to a Main Division.
is developing well and I hear ex-
cellent reports from our US friends
about your soldiers’ performance
in operations in Iraq. The UK has
been playing its part in this too;
we are assisting with the pre-de-
ployment training of the 1st INF
Bde units before they go to Iraq in
December this year, and we re-
cently took part in a very success-
ful joint exercise [“Georgian Ex-
press”] between Georgian medi-
cal units who will go to Iraq and a
UK medical unit. I was delighted
to be able to attend part of this ex-
ercise and see the high profession-
al level of everyone involved. We
hope to continue this series of ex-
ercises in future years, with vari-
ous types of units.
A lot of detailed planning has
gone in to the reform process in
the armed forces and we look
forward to assisting where we
can to implement these plans fur-
ther. But NATO membership is
not just about military capabili-
ty. The whole spectrum of re-
form of the economy and gover-
nance is important to successful
integration.
D.T: Your point of view on
Georgia’s role in the internation-
al arena?
The two divisions were united
on August 18, 1998 and the joint
structure was called the Air
Force.
Georgia’s first combat flight
was conducted by Iuri Tserts-
vadze and Valeri Nakofia on
September 19, 1992 and later
this date was established as Air
Force Day.
By Giorgi Kakiashvili
H. E. Denis Keefe
D.K: Because of our shared
values and interests, Britain and
Georgia share common ground
on many important issues. Geor-
gia’s geographical position means
it has a distinctive and construc-
tive role to play in the internation-
al arena. I greatly value the op-
portunities my position gives me
to discuss the crucial issues we
face with Georgian representa-
tives, and to work together with
them, whether it to be on con-
flict resolution or on Georgia’s
growing integration with Europe.
By Tea Kerdzevadze
2 MONTHLY SUPPLEMENT OF GEORGIA TODAY
Explaining the Defence Budget a modern military hospital in Gori
Chief of Financial Management
Department LTC. Vakhtang Makaridze
Military spending is on the rise. Tak-
ing into consideration the amplified in-
terest of society and the media towards
Georgia’s increased defence budget,
Defence Today interviewed the Deputy
Chief of the Defence Ministry’s Finan-
cial Management Department LTC Va-
khtang Makaridze.
Defence Today: Additional financial
resources were assigned to the Ministry
of Defence in 2007. Compared to the pre-
vious year, how much was the defence
budget increased and what were the main
factors that caused the budget of the min-
istry to increase during the last years?
Vakhtang Makaridze: Despite con-
siderable pressure from outside of the
country, the economy of Georgia has
achieved significant growth – 9, 4%
during 2006 and 10, 5% in the first quar-
ter of 2007. Along with the usual col-
lection of revenues, the successful im-
plementation of fiscal policy and the
reduction of corruption allowed this eco-
nomic boost to significantly increase
budget incomes in the 2007 fiscal year.
The Ministry of Defence of Georgia, like
other government structures, received
additional financial resources. Accord-
ing to the current situation it is evident
that the allocated sums for the Ministry
of Defence during the last years consid-
erably improved Georgia’s defence ca-
pabilities. Improved social conditions
and the modernization of infrastructure
and technologies brings more interop-
erability with western standards. In or-
der to implement tasks and internation-
al commitments and to increase Geor-
gia’s defence capability, the growth of
the Georgian Armed Forces is one of the
nation’s most important priorities.
D.T: Can you name the sums that
were received by the Ministry of De-
fence over the last five years? What is
the figure of percent increase?
You can find the detailed allocation
of sums in the charts. Please, see the part
of expenditure of 2002-2007 budget of
the Ministry of Defence of Georgia.
D.T: What are the priority fields
where these new financial resources will
be allocated and what are the criteria by
which the Ministry of Defence of Geor-
gia prioritized these fields?
Vakhtang Makaridze: Allocations
assigned to the Defence Ministry of
Georgia are used for the following pri-
orities:
· Improvement of social conditions,
which implies first of all to increasing sala-
ries for the military servicemen stage by
stage; for the improvement of medical as-
sistance and the provision of living apart-
ments; the improvement of rations and thus,
nourishment, and providing compensation
for some categories of military personnel
instead of nourishment; providing retired
servicemen with financial assistance dur-
ing the retirement period considered by the
legislation, preferential credit and others…
· Improvement of the combat capa-
bilities of the Armed Forces.
· Improvement of the material-tech-
nical base and logistical system.
· The modernization of military in-
frastructure is one of the priorities for
the building process of the Armed Forc-
es. Senaki Military Base is a very mod-
ern, western-type base. The building of
equipped with modern instruments, the
completion of the new building of the
Ministry of Defence, the construction of
the Gori military base – these are exam-
ples of improved infrastructure. It is also
a priority to improve, modernize and
repair infrastructure of the military fa-
cilities located in Batumi, Poti, Kutaisi,
Tbilisi, Telavi, Vaziani and Khashuri.
· The Georgian government made a
decision about participating in interna-
tional missions and operations, which
was supported by the legislative body
and it is a priority for the Georgian
Armed Forces. One of the brigades of
our Armed Forces will stay in Iraq until
June of 2008 in order to fulfill its mis-
sion. Georgian Military Servicemen are
also accomplishing a peacekeeping mis-
sion in Kosovo. Different units of the
Armed Forces are participating in vari-
ous international trainings.
D.T: A salary increase was planned
for the certain categories of military per-
sonnel at the initiative of the President
and the Minister of Defence; this was
mentioned in the NATO recommenda-
tions. What can you say concerning this
issue? For whom and how much were
salaries increased?
Vakhtang Makaridze: According to
the Defence Minister’s Order #227, is-
sued on May 4, 2007, from the 1st of
September an additional 115 GEL will
be added to the salaries of the following
structural units:
Special Operation Groups
· Special operation detachment
· Special operation battalion
· Special operation school
· Navy special operation detachment
Separate Units of the Land Forces
· Separate communication Battalion
· Separate tank battalion
· Separate engineering-chemical Bat-
talion
Artillery Brigade
· Artillery Brigade Command
· Artillery Brigade 152mm howitzer
“MSTA” Battalion
· Artillery Brigade 122 mm reactive
Battalion
· Artillery Brigade 152 mm “ 2 S 3”
Battalion
· Artillery Brigade T/M Battalion
“DANA”
· Artillery Brigade Defensive com-
pany
· Artillery Brigade anti-tank Artillery
Brigade commanding Battery
· Artillery Brigade logistic support
Battalion
· Artillery Brigade training Battalion
1st Infantry Brigade
· 1st Infantry Brigade tank Battalion
· 1st infantry Brigade Artillery Battalion
· 1st infantry Brigade Communication
company
· 1st Infantry Brigade Engineering-chem-
ical company
2nd Infantry Battalion
· 2nd Infantry Brigade Tank Battalion
· 2nd infantry Brigade Artillery Division
· 2nd infantry Brigade Communication
company
· 2nd Infantry Brigade Engineering-
chemical company
3rd Infantry Brigade
· 3rd Infantry Brigade tank Battalion
· 3rd infantry Brigade Artillery Battal-
ion
· 3rd infantry Brigade Communication
company
· 3rd Infantry Brigade engineering-chem-
ical company
4th Infantry Brigade
· 4th Infantry Brigade Tank Battalion
SEPTEMBER 2007 ISSUE #3
· 4th infantry Brigade Artillery Battal-
ion
· 4th infantry Brigade Communication
company
· 4th Infantry Brigade Engineering-
chemical company
According to the Defence Minister’
Order #389, of June 24, 2007, from the
1st of August an additional 300 GEL will
be added to the salaries of the following
structural units:
· Special operation detachment
· Special operation school
· Navy special operation detachment
Land Forces Units
· Intelligence platoon of the Sepa-
rate Tank Battalion
· Intelligence company of the 1st in-
fantry Brigade
· Intelligence company of the 2nd in-
fantry Brigade
· Intelligence company of the 4th in-
fantry Brigade
According to the Defence Minister’s
Order No 513 of September 10, 2007
from the 1st of October an additional 170
GEL will be added to the salaries of the
following structural subdivisions:
National Guard
· National Guard Department
· The 10th Cadre Brigade –Reserve
training base in Kojori
· The 40th Cadre Brigade – Reserve
training base in Mukhrovani
· The 50th Cadre Brigade – Reserve
training base in Telavi
· The 20th Cadre Brigade – Reserve
training base in Senaki
· Adjara A.R. of National Guard –
city Batumi Mobilizitation Point
· Abkhazia A.R. Mobilization Point
of National Guard
· The I category Mobilization Point
of National Guard
· The II category Mobilization Point
of National Guard
· The III category Mobilization Point
of National Guard
As well, let me introduce the 2003-
2006 salary increasing dynamic of mil-
itary and civil servicemen which clear-
ly shows the rising labor compensation
and improvement of social conditions.
I also want to add that in the introduced
tables labor compensation is given on
the base of middle indices and is not stip-
ulated.
D.T: This year Georgia sent an in-
creased contingent of peacekeepers on
international missions. This process
might necessitate budget amendments.
How much is spent for international
missions and what is this money used
for?
Vakhtang Makaridze: Of course,
Ministry of Defence of Georgia had to
allocate additional sums to implement
these missions. Only the financing of
long-term missions required additional
allocations worth more than 21 million
GEL till the end of the year. The units
sent on such missions underwent further
training and special preparations in
Georgia as well as abroad, which cer-
tainly required additional expenses.
Additional allocations became nec-
essary in order to adequately implement
these tasks and aims. According to the
changes and additions to the law “About
the 2007 State Budget of Georgia”, a
supplementary GEL 441,400 thousand
was allocated to the Ministry of De-
fence.
The mentioned amount was allocat-
ed to the following articles:
By the article of labor compensation
18,200 thousand GEL
By the assignment article from the
employer 3,600 thousand GEL
By the missions article 21,100 thou-
sand GEL
By the article of other goods and ser-
vice 119,916.3 thousand GEL
By the article of subsidies and cur-
rent transferring 700 thousand GEL
By the article of capital expenses
277,883.7 thousand GEL
D.T: Several days ago, the Ministry
of Defence received an additional
442.100 GEL for the 2007 budget – a
move which was criticized severely by
opponents. What was the reason for the
budget change?
Vakhtang Makaridze: The addi-
tional allocation of labor compensation
and accordingly in assignments articles
from employers is caused by increasing
labor compensation for some military
servicemen and to be able to issue addi-
tions for them, the labor compensation
is also gradually changing for the mili-
tary servicemen who are currently en-
rolled in the II and 1b categories.
The armed forces were charged to
increase the military contingent in Iraq
as a peacekeeping mission through one
brigade. For this purpose additional as-
signation is necessary to be allocated in
the mission article.
Besides the above mentioned, during
2007 an additional amount will be spent
for reserve preparation and covered ex-
penses. Including: purchasing ammuni-
tion, modernizing arms and aircraft, an-
tiaircraft defence installments, heavy
and light equipment, purchasing ship
and modern communication equipment
and customs procedures
Allocation will also be spent for mil-
itary servicemen in order to create ac-
commodation fund in Tbilisi and Gori.
The capital and routine repairs of
military parts and units, modernization
and improvement of infrastructure are
still continuing. Totally 60 million GEL
is allocated for construction and repair.
By Nana Intskirveli
SEPTEMBER 2007 ISSUE #3
Television for Military Servicemen and all citizens of Georgia . . .
The new independent TV Company
“SAKARTVELO” started broadcasting
on September 1. The TV Channel broad-
casts on the 33rd decimeter diapason and
aims to reflect ongoing processes in the
defence sphere, the active involvement
of society in the life of the Georgian
Army and to nurture patriotic feelings
in Georgia’s citizens.
An Interview with the General Pro-
ducer of the TV Company “SAKART-
VELO”, Tamar Kvernadze.
Defence Today: The TV Company
“SAKARTVELO” and the Ministry of
Defence of Georgia concluded a Coop-
eration Agreement. What are the terms
and conditions of the Agreement?
Tamar Kvernadze: The Ministry of
Defence of Georgia and TV Company
“SAKARTVELO” concluded a Coop-
eration Agreement in accordance with
the “Law of Georgia on State Procure-
ments”. The TV Company will provide
various kinds of TV service to the De-
Chief of Joint Staff Visits Republic of Bulgaria
Cheif of Joint Staff of Georgia meets
Deputy Defence Minister of Bulgaria
The Chief of Joint Staff of the Geor-
gian Armed Forces, Col. Zaza Gogava
paid an official visit to the Republic of
Bulgaria from September 24 to Septem-
ber 26. Bilateral military cooperation is
being implemented between the Minis-
tries of Defence of Georgia and the Re-
US – Georgian Bilateral Defence Consultations
The city of Atlanta, Georgia hosted
Bilateral Defence Consultations (BDC)
between the United States of America
and Georgia on September 17-18, 2007.
The consultations between the two states
were organized by the National Guard
of Georgia State of the U.S.
Identifying Georgia’s Defence Prior-
ities, ongoing defence reforms, NATO
integration and the implementation of
Intensified Dialogue (ID) were dis-
cussed during the consultations. Both
sides discussed the activities which have
been implemented during the present
year as well as plans for future activi-
ties in 2008. The U.S. Delegation was
headed by Deputy Assistant Secretary
of Defence for European and NATO
Policy Daniel Fata. From the U.S side
the consultations were attended by rep-
resentatives of the Office of the Secre-
tary of Defence, National Guard of
Georgia, United States Air Forces
(USAF), Defence Security Cooperation
Communications Battalion Training Center Opened in Saguramo
Continued from p.1
The Harris delegation was led by vice
president of international sales Ed Lock-
wood. Minister of Defence of Georgia
David Kezerashvili and Ed Lockwood cut
the ribbon for the renovated center. Chief
of the Joint Staff Col. Zaza Gogava, Com-
manders of the Georgian Navy, Land and
Air Forces and representatives of the Geor-
gian Armed Forces were also present at
the solemn ceremony.
In his comment, the Minister of De-
fence of Georgia David Kezerashvili un-
derscored the importance of the project:
“We are completing the equipment used
by the Georgian Armed Forces with
modern communication systems; Har-
General Producer of the TV Company “SAKARTVELO” Tamar Kvernadze
fence Ministry till 2010.
D.T: It is clear that the TV Company
broadcasts on certain topics. Can you go
into more detail about what TV pro-
grams will be broadcast?
Tamar Kvernadze: First of all I
public of Bulgaria. An official meeting
was held at the General Staff of the Re-
public of Bulgaria. The Chief of Joint
Staff of the Georgian Armed Forces met
his Bulgarian counterpart, Gen. Zlatan
Kirilov Stoykov.
The Georgian-Bulgarian defence
partnership, the modernization of the
Armed Forces, the Georgia-NATO re-
lationship, and Bulgaria’s experience
with NATO integration were discussed
during the meeting. A press conference
was held for the Bulgarian mass-media
after the meeting at the General Staff of
the Republic of Bulgaria. The Georgian
Embassy in the Republic of Bulgaria
held a reception in honor of the Geor-
gian Delegation. The representatives of
the Ministry of Defence of Georgia were
Agency, CUBIC, Office of Defence
Cooperation (ODC) of USEUCOM and
U.S. Defence Attache in Georgia. Dep-
uty Defence Minister Batu Kutelia head-
ed the Georgian Delegation, consisting
of Chief of Joint Staff of the Georgian
Leadership of the MoD at BDC in Atlanta
ris offers one of the most advanced and
modern systems in this field. The estab-
lishment of this system will foster full
modernization process of the Georgian
Armed Forces. Consequently, opening
of this center acquires more importance
as it will provide professional training
for the personnel of the Georgian Army.”
According to vice president of inter-
national sales Ed Lockwood, “This is a
very important project for Harris. We
look to the future to continue and ex-
pand our cooperative relationship with
Georgia. We are arriving at different ar-
eas in which we can help to modernize
the communications of the Georgian
Armed Forces.”
Harris RF Communications has been
want to say that our motto is – “We serve
those who serve.” Firstly this means ser-
vice in the Army. Our TV Company is
called “SAKARTVELO” and therefore
we want to be in the service of those
people who serve their motherland.
Meeting of Georgian and Bulgarian Chiefs of Defence
Armed Forces Col. Zaza Gogava, Dep-
uty Chief of Staff, LTC. Grigol Tatish-
vili, Commander of the Special Opera-
tions Unit, Air Force Chief of Staff,
Chiefs of the Educational Department
and J-5, representatives of the Interna-
active in supporting the Georgian MOD
since 2002. Harris has delivered tacti-
cal communications systems to defense
and peacekeeping forces in more than
65 countries around the world.
The Harris Corporation is a leading
supplier of secure voice and data com-
munications products, systems, and net-
works. The company’s RF Communi-
cations Division provides secure radio
products and systems for manpack, ve-
hicular, strategic fixed-site, and ship-
board applications. These products are
used by the U.S. Department of Defense,
other federal agencies, and internation-
al defense agencies worldwide. In fact,
peacekeeping forces around the globe
are increasingly standardizing on Har-
MONTHLY SUPPLEMENT OF GEORGIA TODAY
We’ll have close cooperation with mili-
tary experts and the NATO Information
Center. We plan to prepare programs on
history. The TV Company “SAKART-
VELO” has been on the air for only two
weeks so far. We have planned numer-
ous projects and we are working very
hard on them.
D.T: Isn’t it difficult to work on mil-
itary topics? How did the new staff cope
with working on a completely different
profile and how did you solve this prob-
lem? Did they receive special training?
Tamar Kvernadze: The TV Com-
pany has close links with the Defence
Ministry. We’ve had active consultations
with them. At this stage we broadcast
only documentary and feature films on
military topics.
D.T: Do you plan to create local
products or prepare news programs?
What can you tell us about the future
plans of the TV Company?
Tamar Kvernadze: The TV Com-
tional Relations and Euro-Atlantic In-
tegration Department, Defence Policy
and Planning Department and Procure-
ment Department.
Defence cooperation between the
U.S. and Georgia has a long and suc-
cessful history. The United States was
the first state which made steps to help
enhance the Georgian Armed Forces.
U.S. assistance is very important in the
process of the development of an effec-
tive, mobile and NATO-compatible
Armed Forces. The main accent of Geor-
gian-U.S. defence cooperation is placed
on military education issues. As the Ex-
traordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambas-
sador of Georgia to the United States,
Canada and Mexico H. E. David
Sikharulidze commented: “In the imple-
mentation process of the joint projects
we grant particular importance to the ed-
ucational projects: the International Mil-
itary Education and Training (IMET)
program, Georgian Train and Equip Pro-
ris tactical and strategic radio systems.
The demand for Harris radios contin-
ues to accelerate as defense forces world-
Georgian Servicemen practicing HARRIS
Communication System
wide pursue modernization and standard-
ization initiatives that require common-
platform, software-based systems that
can integrate HF, VHF, and UHF com-
3
pany will not broadcast news programs.
Most of our air time will be used for cov-
ering defence reforms. The TV program-
ming is designed according to the order
of the day in the Army. Our primetime
of broadcasting is when military service-
men have more free time: 07:00-08:30,
13:15-15:45, and 18:00-21:30. The TV
Company starts broadcasting at 07:00
with the national anthem of Georgia.
D.T: A few words about the structure
and equipment of the TV Company. Are
there any plans to recruit new employers
and how will you select them?
Tamar Kvernadze: The TV Com-
pany “SAKARTVELO” started broad-
casting two weeks ago. We have only
documentary and feature films on air.
When we start to produce new programs
we’ll need to recruit qualified and ex-
perienced personnel and also to procure
new equipment for the TV Company.
By Khatia Kurashvili
welcomed by the Extraordinary and
Plenipotentiary Ambassador of Georgia
to the Republic of Bulgaria H.E. Teimu-
raz Sharashidze.
Col. Zaza Gogava visited the Parlia-
ment of the Republic of Bulgaria, where
he met the Chairman of the Defence
Committee Angel Naidenov. The Chief
of the Joint Staff also visited the 68th
Special Brigade of the Armed Forces of
Bulgaria, where a demonstrative exer-
cise was held for the Georgian Delega-
tion. In the framework of the visit Col.
Zaza Gogava visited the 3rd Airbase of
the Bulgarian Armed Forces and met the
Commander of the 3rd Airbase, Briga-
dier General Rumen Ravdeev.
By David Jokhadze
gram (GTEP) and Sustainment and Sta-
bility Operations Program (SSOP) are
very successful projects. SSOP is still
in the process of being implemented. “I
would like to mention that these projects
have played a significant role in the
building process of the Georgian Army.
Today, the Georgian Army is headed by
people who have gained their knowledge
in the United States, or in Europe. I think
that it is our wealth.” - said the Ambas-
sador of Georgia to U.S.
Indeed, educated intellectual soldiers
form a solid core of a strong army. H.E.
David Sikharulidze highlights that with
technology, an educated and profession-
al military is the basis of the military
strength of developed states in the con-
temporary world. Defence cooperation
with the U.S in which the military edu-
cational projects play a great role, is very
beneficial for Georgia.
By Nini Bakradze
munications systems and provide inter-
connectivity among land-based and wire-
less communications media.
Today, Harris is a high-technology
enterprise with a single focus on com-
munications equipment. The company
has four major product areas, including
microwave communications, television
and radio broadcast systems, secure ra-
dio communications, and government
communications systems. Annual reve-
nues for the company are approximate-
ly USD 2 billion, and the company has
more than 10,000 employees, with sales
and service facilities in more than 90
countries.
By Tea Chonishvili
4 MONTHLY SUPPLEMENT OF GEORGIA TODAY SEPTEMBER 2007 ISSUE #3

Georgian Armed Forces Modernizes Infrastructure

The infrastructure of the Georgian
Armed Forces has been considerably ren-
ovated and modernized during the recent
period. Thousands of military servants are
able to undergo theoretical and practical
trainings in refurbished, modern facilities.
Both the living and social conditions of
military servicemen have been improved.
One of the best examples of this mod-
ernized infrastructure is the Senaki Mili-
tary Base which was built on the territo-
ry of a military airdrome in a very short
period of time. The construction of the
military base on reclaimed swampland
started on April 4, 2005 and the Presi-
dent of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili
opened the renovated base on Novem-
ber 19, 2005. The Senaki Military base
is the first of its kind in the post-Soviet
space. Its western standard barracks of-
fer excellent conditions for military ser-
vants and can accommodate up to 3,500
servicemen. At their disposal are 15 bar-
racks, training grounds, a sports hall, din-
ing facilities and a swimming-pool. Nine
blocks of flats with 232 apartments for
officers and their families were built.
Construction work was carried out by the
International Building Company and cost
17.5 million GEL.
On August 22, 2006, the President of
Georgia and U.S. Senator Richard Lugar
opened a Mountain Training School in
Sachkhere with a solemn ceremony. The
Sachkhere Mountain Training School
was established with the support and as-
sistance of the French government. The
school is designed to prepare light infan-
try units in mountain tactics as well as to
train and retrain mountain instructors and
is therefore surrounded by excellent nat-
ural conditions for practical training.
Equipped with modern mountain equip-
ment, facilities and technical means the
Sachkhere School provides an excellent
opportunity for training modern, compat-
ible mountain units of the Georgian
Armed Forces as well as of different PfP
and NATO countries. The Sachkhere
Mountain Training School has excellent
training facilities such as a gymnasium
and training wall for mountain climbing.
A newly built, modern hotel with 200
Senaki Military Base
beds is also functioning on the territory
of the school.
The Central Military Hospital was
opened on October 3, 2006 in Gori. The
reconstruction work on the Military Hos-
pital took four months. The medical in-
stitution meets international standards
and is outfitted with modern equipment.
It offers high professional services for
both military personnel and civilians and
is designated to hold 150 patients. The
Military Hospital can host various medi-
cal trainings as well. The NATO assess-
ment team which visited in February gave
the Military Hospital a high evaluation.
The construction of the new military
base in Gori is also worth mentioning.
Construction started on July 5, 2006 and
the base will start functioning by the end
of 2007. The base will cover 64 hectares
and will serve 4,000 military service per-
sonnel. According to the project 40 new
buildings will be constructed. Barracks,
the dining facility, sports hall and swim-
ming-pool are under construction. The
total cost of construction amounts to GEL
30 million and it is being built by the
Georgian-Turkish “International Build-
ing Company”. Simultaneously, a block
of flats is being built for officers and their
families.
A new building of the Defence Min-
istry was opened on July 19th by the
speaker of the Parliament of Georgia. The
ceremony was attended by Members of
Parliament and the Government, the Dip-
lomatic Corps accredited in Georgia and
public figures. Sharing his view on the
building Ambassador of the United
States, John Tefft declared: “The build-
ing is wonderful. I would like to say that
it is a kind of symbol of rebirth of the
Georgian military and of the Ministry of
Defence of Georgia. The United States
is a big partner of Georgia rebuilding the
military and helping Georgia trying to
achieve NATO standards. We are proud
that role we’ll keep working on that.”
The construction of new blocks of
flats for officers on the territory of the
3rd Massive is currently in progress. New
and comfortable flats will be granted to
officers annually step by step.
A new base for a Special Operations
Group of the Georgian Defence Minis-
try was opened two weeks ago in Vashlij-
vari. Regarding this fact, the President of
Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili, Defence
Minister David Kezerashvili, Chief of
Joint Staff of the Georgian Armed Forc-
es Col. Zaza Gogava and Commanders
of Land, Navy and Air Forces visited the
military base.
The new facility can accommodate
approximately 500 servicemen. Con-
struction work was carried out by the
company Business Comfort. The con-
struction of a new complex started in
December 2006 and the total cost
amounted to GEL 9 million. It fully meets
European standards and is equipped with
an air conditioning and heating system.
Besides the living quarters, there is also
a dining facility, sports hall, ammunition
storehouse and shooting gallery. Con-
struction of infrastructure of the Special
Operations Group base is not yet com-
pleted. By the end of 2008, another bar-
rack, special purpose school, shooting
area and helicopter landing strip will be
built. The auto-park area will also be ren-
ovated and arranged. The President of
Georgia cut the ribbon and viewed the
new base. After this, the President made
a comment: “This new military unit is
another step forward. This used to be an
old militia barracks where the President’s
private security guard was trained. I re-
spect my security guards greatly, but to-
day the protection of our motherland is
more important than the protection of any
individual, even the President. So, despite
their complaints, we granted this entire
facility to the Special Operations Group
of the Defence Ministry. A new, well-
equipped center like a five-star hotel has
been built here, at the entrance of Tbilisi,
next to the monument of King David the
Builder. It will provide reliable safety for
our capital. I want to underline that in the
nearest future we are will be completing
the construction of a military base in Gori,
at the beginning of the road to Tskhinva-
li. Anyone can witness how the construc-
tion work is going there. The modern-
ization of the Vaziani military base is in-
tensively going on. We decided to mod-
ernize Kutaisi military base and expand
it towards Khoni. New reservist training
centers have been arranged in Telavi and
other places. The material and technical
base of the Defence Ministry has also
been renovated. I am very glad that mon-
ey is invested in construction of roads,
schools and infrastructure. This is the
money invested in the future of our coun-
try. That’s why we increase financing and
improve the quality therefore. This cen-
ter is a clear example that was built in
several months.”
By Tea Chonishvili

CONDITIONS:
· High salary starting from GEL 567 in
January with a perspective 15% increase
· Adequate nutrition
· Free medical service
· Modern equipment
· For successful students the perspective to
continue study abroad
· Physical preparedness
· Free foreign language study
· Social and legal guarantees
· According to military specialty additional
salary compensation

Registration is possible in the military mobilizing

staffs (former military commissariats) of cities and
regions or in the 4th Infantry Brigade of Land
Serving for Georgia Forces to the following address: No 38a Kakheti
Highway, Tbilisi

For additional information contact the Land

The Georgian Ministry of Defence is now Forces Command.
Address: No 177a Uznadze St., Tbilisi
manning the Georgian Armed Forces and Tel.: 91 19 08
invites qualified citizens of Georgia to join
in this contract-based professional service. Ministry of Defence of Georgia
No 20 Gen. Kvinitadze St., Tbilisi 0112
E-mail: pr@mod.gov.ge www.mod.gov.ge