By Maj. Chris Belcher
22nd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment
FORWARD OPERATING BASE MACKENZIE, Ad Duluiyah, Iraq -- The Soldiers of Company C, 386th Engineer Battalion, Texas National Guard, Task Force Liberty, have spent the last two weeks training their replacements for the force protection mission here.
This is not your typical relief in place because the soldiers replacing them are from the Republic of Georgia; Company A, 11th Battalion, 1st Brigade, Georgian Light Infantry.
The engineers were responsible for training the Georgian soldiers on the new duties of protecting Forward Operating Base Mackenzie.
They were trained on U.S. weapons used at the observation posts, the rules of engagement, observation post procedures, and personnel and vehicle search procedures.
Georgian soldiers had to rely on their interpreters during classes because of language barriers.
"The Georgian alphabet and the American alphabet aren't the same so they (the Georgians) had no clue what the Power Point presentation said. We pretty much had to teach the whole class through the interpreter." said 2nd Lt. Joshua Kluesner, platoon leader.
June 6 the Georgians and Americans spent their first day together guarding the FOB. The training had moved from the classroom and range to the actual sites where they will do the important mission of ensuring the safety of all personnel who live and work on FOB Mackenzie.
They did a combined inspection of the soldiers and their equipment, known as "Guard Mount" then loaded trucks for the ride out to the observations points and the gate.
"The Georgians have very good military discipline and they're coming along nicely," Kluesner said.
The National Guardsmen will spend about three months sharing the mission with the Georgian Light Infantry soldiers before handing the mission over to them entirely.
Once the American Soldiers finish the transition with the Georgians their year in Iraq will be over and they will head for home.
| Date Taken: | 06.17.2005 |
| Date Posted: | 06.17.2005 12:51 |
| Story ID: | 2182 |
| Location: | SAMARRA, IQ |
| Web Views: | 35 |
| Downloads: | 6 |
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