HOHENFELS, Germany -- It is blistering cold outside, snow and ice cover a majority of the roads and vegetation at the Joint Multinational Readiness Center, Hohenfels, Germany, and with every footstep crunching can be heard. This has been a typical scene for an Amherst, Virginia, native.
U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Spencer L. Jimick, a member of the Georgia Liaison Team, has been with the 43rd Georgian Infantry Battalion, since Nov. 4, as an infantry advisor, training the Georgian soldiers in preparation for their deployment to Afghanistan.
"I know them all on a personal level from when I was with them in Georgia," says Jimick. "They have that Southern [United States] welcoming feel to them, like if you shake their hand they'll invite you for a meal, so they're pretty cool guys."
My first interaction with the Georgians was at a chow hall in Afghanistan, but I never thought I would be working with them here, said Jimick.
After his return from Afghanistan, Jimick wanted to deploy again. His opportunity came as part of the Georgia Liaison Team in September 2014, and he attended three weeks of pre-deployment training at the Marine Corps Security Cooperation Group, Fort Story, Virginia. The training provides tactical directives, foreign weapon system familiarization, cultural emersion and basic language skills.
Jimick deployed to the Republic of Georgia to train the soldiers of the 43rd Georgian Infantry Battalion, Nov. 4. After spending more than three months with the Georgian Battalion, he arrived at the Mission Rehearsal Exercise, the final training evolution before the Goergians deploy to Afghanistan.
As a noncommissioned officer in the U.S. Marine Corps, Jimick is expected to display small unit leadership. His role as a small unit leader in the Marine Corps plays a big role in training the Georgian soldiers.
"Since day one they didn't have small unit leadership. They look to their platoon commander and wait for him to issue any type of order before they would even think about moving," said Jimick. "Now they're running squad lanes and squad leaders are the ones who are making the decisions."
The Marine Corps Security Cooperation Group is responsible for putting together the MRE. The Marine Corps Security Cooperation Group provides logistics, communication and operational support throughout the exercise. Marine Forces Europe oversees the Georgia Deployment Program while MCSCG handles the MRE and ensures its success.
For more on the Marines and the Georgian exercise, visit www.eur.army.mil/JMTC/GMRE.html.
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