Photo By Sgt. Alicia Brocuglio | U.S. Marine Capt. Robert A. Porter (left), deputy officer in charge, operations...... read more read more
HOHENFELS, Germany - Camaraderie is often built between troops while training and living together. They overcome struggles and learn how to rely on one another when needed. In the United States, we see this often when service members come home from deployment. For soldiers of the Georgia National Army’s 22nd Infantry Battalion and U.S. Marines’ Georgian Liaison Team building camaraderie is no different, despite language and cultural differences.
The Georgian Deployment Program has had two rotation cycles at Joint Multinational Readiness Center for their Mission Readiness Exercise as the final training step before deploying to Afghanistan as part of a NATO mission.
Their cooperative training is a 4-month cycle where Marines work one-on-one with Georgian soldiers to build a cohesive working relationship. For example, a Marine communication expert works directly with a Georgian communication expert and so on. As with any co-worker, individuals begin to develop relationships and learn how the other operates both in their professional and personal life.
Marine Capt. Robert A. Porter, deputy officer in charge, operations officer and company adviser of the liaison team, explains he has come to know the Georgians he works with.
“There are four Georgian soldiers I work closely with, and I have started to understand how they work and function together so I know how I can help them improve,” said Porter. “I talk to these [soldiers], I know who is married with children, and a little bit about what is going on in their lives. We spend a lot of time together and get to know each other’s culture.”
There is a high level of respect for one another’s culture, they understand the value behind this training and have spent time learning about the other culture. While working in the command operations center, Porter used Kartuli, a Kartvelian language spoken by the Georgians, to greet the Georgian Battalion priest as he walked by.
Understanding language, religion, and daily living is all a part of understanding another culture. Food is a big part of the Georgian culture as well. The dining facility does try to make food similar to what the Georgian soldiers would find at home.
“The Georgians are very prideful of their country and their food,” said Porter.
Another Marine who works with the Georgian Army at squad level agrees with Porter.
“They definitely like to eat a lot; katchapory, beef dumpling and really good grilled pork,” said Corp. Robin L. Kovis, scout sniper, with the liaison team.
Kovis works directly with Georgian soldiers; his job as part of the GLT is to advise and assist. Prior to starting the joint phase of training, the Marines spent three months training that included learning the language and culture of their new partners.
“Culturally I have learned a lot, but I’ve also learned that they don’t operate like the U.S. Military does,” said Kovis. Where Marines rely more on squad- and platoon-level leadership, Georgian operations rely more on higher level command decisions.
“Their political situation shapes a lot of what they do,” said Porter. “They were built under a Soviet doctrine, and they are trying to change that to a U.S. Military doctrine. Decentralization is what we are really teaching, so there is leadership at a lower level to meet commanders’ intent.”
Marines were tasked to help the Georgian National Army prepare infantry battalion to prepare to Afghanistan as part of Georgian Deployment Program. The training followed a similar schedule to basic training an American service member would be familiar with such as basic marksmanship training moving into squad movements and operations, to platoon, company and then battalion type drills.
“[U.S. Service Members] are taught to take initiative to get the job done, I don’t think they are training their soldiers like that yet. We are trying to help them change that,” said Porter. “We aren’t here to promote the Marines, we want to promote the Georgian Army. At the end of the day we want to help these soldiers be better.”
The cohesion is apparent among the soldiers and Marines while at a simulation training exercise at Hohenfels Training Area. Georgia Army Corp. Edisgsher Kajaia waves to Kovis in passing and says, “What’s up, man?” They have been working together for the entirety of the rotation, developing a friendship that extends outside of their military duty.
“We learned very much from our friendship with Marine, they share every experience they had,” said Kajaia. “We are soldiers and we will share the same job, we may be from different countries, talk different or look different. Out there [on missions] I should be able to tell what the Marine needs by looking at their eyes with no words.”
Both Marines and Georgian soldiers agree that great progress has been made.
“Right now, for this moment, we are trying our best, and trying everything to make it better, we have seen progress,” said Kajaia.
| Date Taken: | 08.10.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 08.21.2015 14:52 |
| Story ID: | 173914 |
| Location: | HOHENFELS, BY, DE |
| Web Views: | 72 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Marines and Georgians show camaraderie has no language barrier, by SGT Alicia Brocuglio, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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