The “Agile Spirit” joint military exercises hosted by Georgia have been successfully concluded, where roughly 4,000 military personnel from 15 allied forces participated in military drills that were spread across five different training locations in Georgia. 1,600 of the participating personnel were from the Georgian defense forces, and roughly 700 were American.
“Our main task over the coming years will be to pay maximum attention to the development and empowerment of the Defense Forces and cementing our country’s defense capabilities,” Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili stated in a recent speech on Georgian Defense Ministry’s 10-year plan. Agile Spirit and close cooperation with our allies are an essential part of our national and regional security plan.
The “Agile Spirit” drills are representative of the close security ties between Georgia and the allied partners. “Agile Spirit 2021 enhances U.S., Georgian, allied, and regional partner forces’ readiness and interoperability in a realistic training environment,” the United States Army said in a statement. Between July 26 and August 6, various drills conducted in unique terrains allowed Georgia and western partners to train for a variety of potential combat scenarios. The exercises have been conducted annually in Georgia since 2011.