Pentagon closely monitoring Georgia situation

Army Times
Friday, August 8, 2008

Pentagon officials say the roughly 130 U.S. troops and contractors in the former Soviet republic of Georgia have all been accounted for, and there are no plans to pull them out in the face of a military clash between Georgia and Russia over the breakaway Georgian province of South Ossetia.

Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman told reporters Aug. 8 that U.S. officials have had some contact with Georgian authorities, but the Georgians had made no requests for assistance. Whitman said he does not believe U.S. military officials have had any contact with the Russians.

U.S. officials were continuing to monitor the situation closely as of Friday afternoon.

He said the 130 Americans in Georgia, which include “a few dozen” civilian contractors, are all working to prepare the Georgian forces for their next deployment to Iraq. All those U.S. trainers, he said, have been accounted for, none has been injured, and there are no plans to pull them out of the country.

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He said the trainers are in the area of the Georgian capital, Tblisi, but he would not say exactly where.

• A d v e r t i s e m e n t

Georgia has about 2,000 troops deployed to Iraq, making it the third largest coalition force contributor behind the U.S. and Great Britain.

The U.S. called Aug. 8 for an immediate cease-fire in the conflict, which began when Russia sent columns of tanks and reportedly bombed Georgian air bases after Georgia launched a major military offensive to retake the breakaway province of South Ossetia.

One of the air bases reportedly bombed was Vaziani, where in July about 1,000 U.S. Marines and soldiers participated in a combat-skills training exercise with Georgian forces.

The exercise, Operation Immediate Response 2008, ended less than 10 days before the current clash between Georgia and Russia began.

The Marines and soldiers taught combat skills to Georgian soldiers, as well as about 30 troops from nearby Armenia, Azerbaijan and Ukraine. The U.S. troops included about 300 reservists with 3rd Battalion, 25th Marines, and about 300 Army reservists with the Winder, Ga.-based 1st Battalion, 121st Infantry Regiment.

The exercise included simulated attacks from roadside bombs and other challenges troops might expect in Iraq.

Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili praised the exercise July 21, saying on Georgian television that it showed the country had “the best trained and equipped army” in the strategic Caucasus mountain region, according to the Associated Press.

The region includes Russia, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia.

On a regular basis, about 25 to 30 Marines are stationed in Georgia, said Maj. David Nevers, a Marine Corps spokesman.

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