Georgian Army Brigadier General Irakli Chichinadze (left), Deputy Chief of Defence for Georgia, accepts a commemorative plaque from Spanish Army Brigadier General Jose Martinez, LANDCOM Deputy Chief of Staff for Plans.
Norwegian Army Lieutenant Colonel Tore Bade, LANDCOM’s Military Cooperation (MILCOOP) Branch Head whose office organised the talks, says he’s encouraged by the progress he’s seen over the last year in this burgeoning relationship.
“Our counterparts, our Georgian friends are eager to learn, eager to build their resilience and capability,” he said, emphasizing LANDCOM’s role in helping the Georgian’s become more NATO interoperable. “I already have a number of NATO Partner officers working in my branch, and the prospect of gaining a Georgian staff officer to join us at LANDCOM will certainly elevate the importance of the work we are doing with Georgia’s Land Forces.”
Georgian Army Lieutenant Colonel Giorgi Tvauri, an Army officer who currently serves as part of the Georgian Ministry of Defence General Staff J5 Division, organized Georgia’s side of the talks and knows the significance of their work with LANDCOM.
“The staff talks went very well. I couldn’t imagine they could be so good, we identified some areas of cooperation, and we will have really good cooperation with the upcoming NATO-Georgia Exercise (NAGE),” he said. “We are progressing, our partnership, our cooperation became stronger… our defence forces will be enhanced and resilient.”