RC(SW) commanding general visits Georgian soldiers

Photo By Chief Warrant Officer Bryan Nygaard | Lt. Col. Phridoa Tereladze, commanding officer of 32nd Georgian Light Infantry Battalion, watches as a CH-53E Sea Stallion helicopter carrying Maj. Gen. John A. Toolan, commanding general of Regional Command Southwest, leaves Combat Outpost Shukvani, May 4. Toolan, a native of Brooklyn, N.Y., met with key leaders of 32nd LIB as part of his battlefield circulation to assess the status and needs of Georgian soldiers.  

COMBAT OUTPOST SHUKVANI, AFGHANISTAN

05.16.2011

Story by Cpl. Bryan Nygaard     

Regional Command Southwest

COMBAT OUTPOST SHUKVANI, Afghanistan -- Maj. Gen. John A. Toolan, commanding general of Regional Command Southwest, visited Combat Outpost Shukvani to meet with key leaders of 32nd Georgian Light Infantry Battalion, May 4. The visit was part of Toolan’s battlefield circulation to assess the status and needs of Georgian soldiers.

During the past six months, 32nd LIB has worked under the command of Regimental Combat Team 8 to improve security, cultivate the local government and advance the development of Afghan National Security Forces.

“The Georgians have done amazing work out here,” said Toolan, a native of Brooklyn, N.Y. “They’re warriors, absolute warriors. They like to fight. Here they are near Sangin and Musa Qala, one of the most dangerous places in Helmand province, and there’s no where else they’d rather be.”

Toolan toured COP Shukvani with officers of 32nd LIB, while discussing past and ongoing operations and viewing different lookout posts in the battalion’s area of operations. Toolan also inquired about any gear or support he can provide the Georgian soldiers that they felt are needed to be more successful.

Soldiers with 32nd LIB have turned over two patrol bases and a checkpoint to ANSF, but Lt. Col. Phridoa Tereladze, commanding officer of 32nd LIB, is most impressed with the overall development of the battalion’s leadership.

“Every commander from squad leader to company commander has learned how to make better decisions given the situation they’re in,” Tereladze said. “We have accomplished all of the missions we were tasked with, but there is still room for improvement. I wish for the 33rd LIB to finish out even more successfully than we did. If we have to, we will come back.”

Toolan asked Tereladze to present him with the finest soldiers of 32nd LIB. The general commended them for their efforts throughout their deployment and presented each of them with his challenge coin before he left the camp.

The Republic of Georgia currently has just over 900 troops deployed to Afghanistan.

• Date Taken: 05.16.2011
• Date Posted: 05.16.2011 09:47
• Story ID: 70462
• Location: COMBAT OUTPOST SHUKVANI, AF