Georgia: Military servicemen complete mining training course under NATO Partnership for Peace Program

Tbilisi: Within the framework of the NATO Partnership for Peace Program (PFP), the basic winter mining training course has been completed. NATO member and non-member 25 military servicemen from 6 countries underwent mining training in Bakuriani for three weeks. 

Georgian instructors of Sachkhere Mining Training School, named after Colonel Besik Kutateladze, taught Georgian and foreign military service members the rules of using mining equipment, skiing, technical methods of searching and evacuation of a person trapped in the sea, finding first aid for the injured, crossing the obstacle lane with skiing and providing a snow shelter. During the course, the military also carried out a tactical march.

Deputy Head of Training and Military Education, Colonel Malkhaz Merlan and Head of the Mining Training School, Vice Colonel Ivane Tskhadadze attended the graduation ceremony of the Sachkhere Mining Training School. Malkhaz Merlan addressed the graduates, wished career advancement and stressed the importance of conducting multinational military training.

Graduates were awarded with certificates and badges for completion of the Winter Basic Mining Course.

Notably, the PfP programme outlines bilateral cooperation between NATO and the Euro-Atlantic partner countries, thereby forming the individual relationship of the partners with NATO and defining their prioritized field of cooperation.

• The NATO PfP program is laid on democratic principles with the purpose of establishing stability and eliminating any threats to security while strengthening the security relationships between NATO and non-members in the Euro-Atlantic region.
• Established in 1994, the NATO Partnership for Peace Program allows the participant members to choose their own areas of cooperation, pace and level of progress.     
• Activities on offer under the PfP program touch on virtually every field of NATO activity.
• Since April 2011, all PfP activities and exercises are, in principle, open to all NATO partners, be they from the Euro-Atlantic region, the Mediterranean Dialogue, the Istanbul Cooperation Initiative or global partners.