EXBS: GEORGIA MONTHLY REPORT JUNE 2009

UNCLAS TBILISI 001292 SIPDIS DEPT FOR ISN/ECC - ACHURCH, JHARTSHORN AND LSPRINGER DEPT FOR EUR/ACE - DFROMAN CBP/INA FOR ESEYMOUR-REDD AND RORME USDOE/NNSA FOR TPERRY, EDESCHLER, AND RTALLEY COAST GUARD FOR SATAMAN, SHABTEMICHAEL, AND JCAIRL NRC FOR JRAMSEY E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ETTC MNUC PARM PREL KSTC KNNP GG SUBJECT: EXBS: GEORGIA MONTHLY REPORT JUNE 2009 ¶I. BROAD ITEMS OF INTEREST TO ADVISORS AND AGENCY MANAGERS: ¶1. The Georgian Coast Guard (GCG) anniversary ceremony will be held at the GCG base in Poti on July 25. A U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) delegation has been invited to attend. ¶2. The newly assigned Maritime Advisor (MA),USCG LT Daniel Owen will report to Tbilisi on July 13th for a two year assignment. ¶3. Ambassador Tefft will present a selection of scientific equipment, hazardous material protective gear and three response vehicles to the Nuclear Radiation Safety Service (NRSS) on July 13th. The Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources will attend the presentation, which will be covered by local media. II. COMPLETED ACTIONS FOR THE REPORTING PERIOD. ¶A. SITE ASSESSMENTS AND MEETINGS DURING REPORTING PERIOD June 1 - June 4: The EXBS Advisor International Conference was held at the Courtyard Marriott in Tbilisi with Ambassador Tefft making opening remarks. The Head of the Georgian Border Police (BP) General Zaza Gogava thoroughly presented the security threats and challenges related to control of the borders of Georgia, and NRSS conducted a segment on the capabilities and use of various types of radiation detection equipment. DCM Logsdon hosted a reception for attendees at his residence. June 11: The EXBS advisor (EA) and the EXBS Program Coordinator (PC) met with General Gogava. The General said the GCG will dry-dock the Poti based cutter P-21 on June 12 for inspection and repairs, and will begin a second vessel as soon as the required administrative paperwork is finished. The estimated time for completion of P-21 is three months at a projected cost of 385,000 GEL ($233,000). Similar repairs on the U.S. donated 82 foot cutter P-102 will begin soon after the arrival of Lt. Owen. The Government of Georgia (GOG) has committed to funding the repair of three cutters this year and the U.S. has committed to the repair of two. The Georgian Border Patrol and the Border Guard of Azerbaijan are planning joint operations. To encourage and maximize cross-border cooperation, the possibility of a joint Executive Observation Program and combined U.S.-based border interdiction training for personnel of both services is under consideration. General Gogava mentioned that the Border Patrol has a need for officer duty belts and accessories, night vision devices and thermal imaging cameras. The General acknowledged inconsistencies between the communications systems of the Border Patrol and the rest of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MOIA). MOIA is creating its own network. The Border Patrol is not part of the system and it will most likely be another five years before the green borders are incorporated. He believes that some of the remote posts will never be able to be access the network. Gogava agreed that an Executive Orientation Program to familiarize key technical and management staff of the MOIA and the Border Patrol with the existing state-of-the art communication system in the U.S. would be both timely and productive if it could be arranged. The probable follow-up actions would be an in-country study, conducted Qprobable follow-up actions would be an in-country study, conducted by U.S. government enforcement communications specialists, of Georgian communications needs and the generation of a coherent way forward. The General also said that the hulls of the scuttled vessels are being removed from the piers at Poti, and a Dutch company is measuring the depth of the waters at the base. The depth has to be at least six meters for practical use by GCG cutters. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has obtained a copy of the Dutch report which confirms the current water depth ranges between three and four meters due to accumulated silt. June 22: EA and EC attended the meeting of International Nonproliferation Export Control Program (INECP) representatives and the GOG agencies involved with export control. The purpose of the meeting was to gain support for and to plan strategic trade control enterprise outreach activities for the fall of 2009 and 2010, and to discuss the feasibility of a centralized calibration and repair facility for handheld radiation detection equipment in the inventories of all GOG agencies. EXBS agreed to compile a list of enterprises that might be of interest for an outreach seminar. The Institute of Physics said that they would be capable of handling calibration and repair if they were assisted with resources with and training. June 25: EA briefed the Commanding General of Marine Forces, Europe, BG Tracy Garrett, on the GCG and BP. TRAINING CONDUCTED DURING REPORTING PERIOD: 1) June 1 - August 1: Commanding Officer/Executive Officer Training Two GCG officers are attending eight weeks of intensive USCG command officer training in the U.S. The training will consist of both classroom and practicl instruction. Participants include a GCG boat commander and a mechanical engineer who will be promoted to Executive Officer after training. 2) June 25 - June 27: International Export Control Conference Representatives from the Revenue Service (RS),Ministry of Defense (MOD) and the Ministry of Economic Development (MED) attended the conference, which was held in Istanbul, Turkey. ¶B. EQUIPMENT DELIVERED DURING THE REPORTING PERIOD: (1) CT30 - Revenue Service $18,000 (2) Radiation Pagers - Police Academy $ 2,400 ¶D. IMMINENT TRAINING OR EQUIPMENT STATUS UPDATE: --UPCOMING TRAINING: 1) July 7: NRSS will provide training on TSA (PRM470B) and RIID GR 135 to the representatives of RS and the MOIA. Equipment will be donated by EXBS in conjunction with the training. 2) September: Controlled Deliveries Training will be conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Training participants will include MOIA Special Operations Center, Special Operations Department and Anti terrorist unit. 2) October: USCG Incident Command Systems 300 This training will be delivered as an advanced follow-on to the previously delivered Incident Command Systems 200. The same participants will attend. --EQUIPMENT STATUS: --PENDING PROCUREMENT OR DISTRIBUTION: (2) Thermo Identifiers - NRSS $91,080 (2) Toyota Prados - NRSS $67,650 (6) Radioactive Isotope Identifiers - NRSS $60,390 (6) RIIDs - NRSS, MOIA $42,000 (2) CT30 kits -BP $36,000 (1) Toyota Hilux - NRSS $23,650 (2) Spectrum Analyzer - NRSS $20,812 (5) GPS Units / Maps - NRSS $ 6,518 (10) Gas Masks W/Pouch - NRSS $ 4,015 (3) Radiation pagers - Customs $ 3,600 (20) Filters - NRSS $ 770 (3) cases Tychem Coveralls - NRSS $ 495 (6) Two-way Radios - NRSS $ 462 (6) Power Converters - NRSS $ 198 (1) case Tychem Boot Covers - NRSS $ 72 (7) TSA PRM470B - NRSS, MOIA TBD (4) Radioactive Source Containers - NRSS TBD ¶E. SIGNIFICANT DEVELOPMENTS IN EXPORT CONTROLS, NON-PROLIFERATION OR RELATED BORDER SECURITY: The new EU-based list of war weapons and torture equipment was submitted to the Ministries for review and approval before implementation. III. RED FLAG ISSUES: None POC for this report is Charles Hiscock, EXBS Program Advisor. Telephone +995 32 277312. TEFFT