TBILISI, Georgia (May 7, 2015) -- After a two-day excursion across the Black Sea, 14 Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicles and approximately a dozen wheeled-support vehicles arrived here, as A Company, 2nd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division prepares to train alongside the Georgian Land Forces in Exercise Noble Partner 15.
Exercise Noble Partner is a Georgian and U.S. military training exercise taking place at Vaziani Training Area, Georgia, from May 11-25, and will include approximately 600 total Service members from both countries. The exercise provides an opportunity to continue the U.S. training relationship with the Georgian Armed Forces as the sponsor of Georgia's participation in the NATO Response Force.
The movement of equipment includes a couple of firsts for both Army Europe and the Georgian army. The movement across approximately 650 nautical miles stretch was the first time a company-sized element of mechanized equipment had been moved across the Black Sea. To add to that feat, this is the first time the U.S. track vehicles will be utilized for training here.
"We opened a new mode of execution for movement in which that instead of our traditional lines of line (road) and rail we went across the Black Sea so now we have an additional abilities and options for movement into different parts of Europe," said Chief Warrant Officer 4 Mark Shawen, one of the logistical planners for the movement of the equipment.
"I am feeling pretty interested and excited," said Georgian army Maj. Lasha Chanchaleishvili,
speaking about the upcoming exercise. Additionally, Chanchaleishvili said receiving the cargo from the ship was a challenge but after finally managing the offload, he was grateful for the experience to continue working with the U.S. Soldiers.
The equipment then moved to a railhead near the Vaziani Training area, where the equipment was soon offloaded.
This movement of equipment shows Army Europe's freedom of movement capabilities across the European theater while acting closely with ally and partner nations, allowing logistical movements, like the one at hand, to allow support for NATO missions.
The offloading of the equipment took approximately 7 hours. U.S. and Georgian Soldiers were quickly becoming acquainted while working together to move the equipment off the railcars and onto the loading platform.
Although the verbal communication barrier was evident, hand and arm signals quickly became the main method of interaction and camaraderie was soon being built.
Maj. Gen. Vakhtang Kapanadze, Chief of General Staff of Georgian Armed Forces, was at the unloading to observe the equipment arrival and his soldiers' interaction with their U.S. counterparts. He expressed that this event is more than a partnership.
"We are not just partners, this is a brotherhood," the general said.
Mobile cranes and heavy-duty chains lifted the nearly 750 metric tons of equipment over the course of the day. Drivers from A Company then convoyed to the nearby training area to start preparing for the upcoming exercise.
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