GEORGIA: U.S. TRAINING STARTS SEPTEMBER 1 FOR

C O N F I D E N T I A L TBILISI 001505 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/30/2019 TAGS: PREL MASS PTER GG SUBJECT: GEORGIA: U.S. TRAINING STARTS SEPTEMBER 1 FOR GEORGIAN BATTALION FOR COUNTERINSURGENCY OPERATIONS IN AFGHANISTAN Classified By: AMBASSADOR JOHN F. TEFFT, REASON: 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (U) This is an action request, please see paragraph 6. ¶2. (C) Summary: Members of the Georgian ISAF Deployment Training Program (GIDTP),led by the United States Marine Corps (USMC),will begin training a Georgian infantry battalion on September 1. The training will continue through February 2010. Subsequently, the USMC will train three other Georgian infantry battalions in succession for six months each, in order to maintain a battalion-sized Georgian military presence in Afghanistan for two years. The objective of the program is to prepare Georgian infantry battalions to conduct operations in a counter-insurgency (COIN) environment and to be capable of owning or sharing battlespace as part of a U.S. Marine Expeditionary Brigade (MEB) in Afghanistan. End Summary. JUNE ASSESSMENT OF GEORGIAN PREPAREDNESS ¶3. (C) Following a June 2009 assessment of the Georgian 31st Battalion, Col. Scott Cottrell, Director of the Marine Corps Training Advisory Group, briefed the Ambassador on U.S. Marine training plans in anticipation of Georgian deployment to Afghanistan alongside U.S. forces. During a six month training period, the Georgians will be trained to work in a COIN environment; the pre-deployment training program aims to train Georgian battalions so that they will be capable of owning their own battle space. Also, the program is designed to build Georgia,s ability to conduct this type of training themselves, so that they can continue to make effective contributions to U.S. and NATO-led coalitions in the future. ¶4. (C) There will be four iterations of training and with each iteration, Georgian trainers will accept increasingly more responsibility. By the fourth session, U.S. trainers will no longer be serving as primary instructors, but as assistant instructors. The first Georgian battalion to be trained, the 31st, should be ready for deployment to Afghanistan by March 1, 2010. According to Cottrell, a significant challenge for U.S. military training in Georgia (as has been the case in other countries) will be institutionalizing training so that it can continue independent of U.S. involvement. LANGUAGE SKILLS PRESENT MAJOR HURDLE ¶5. (C) Poor English skills will present the most significant challenge to Georgian interoperability in Afghanistan. ODC has requested $500,000 in 2009 supplemental funding (from the $1 billion USG post-conflict pledge of support to Georgia) in order to support increased English language training in the armed forces. Additionally, Col. Cottrell recommended using IMET to increase the professional military education of the leaders of follow-on battalions. This would greatly enhance the chances of successful deployments for these battalions and improve the professionalism of the Georgian Armed Forces in general. ¶6. (C) Action Request: Post requests that the Department, in cooperation with Department of Defense, develop a public diplomacy strategy to anticipate and quell any stories from the media that may misconstrue the purpose of this training as offensive in nature. TEFFT