The Walter Reed Army Institute of Research-Europe—Middle East conducted infectious disease surveillance in support of Agile Spirit 2025 from 25 July – 6 August, 2025 in the Country of Georgia.
Agile Spirit is an annual exercise organized by U.S. European Command and directed by U.S. Army Europe and Africa. This year, the exercise included over 2,000 participants from forces of the U.S., Bulgaria, Georgia, Germany, Lithuania, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Türkiye, and Ukraine. The exercise is designed to enhance readiness, interoperability, and combine operational capabilities.
WRAIR-EME supported the exercise by coming in early and conducting vector surveillance at Vaziani Military Base and Senaki Airbase. Vector surveillance is conducted by trapping mosquitos, sand flies, and ticks, then analyzing them for vector-borne diseases that pose a risk to service members participating in the exercise.
“Our team has a long-standing and robust partnership with the Georgian Defence Forces,” said Cpt. Cody Phelps, a senior scientist at WRAIR-EME. “We have been collecting mosquitos and other vectors in Georgia for eight years, so our historical knowledge provides additional context for biosurveillance at Agile Spirit. Putting all that data together allows us to better protect force health at these exercises.”
WRAIR-EME’s analysis of the 188 collected vectors revealed no pathogens that posed a risk to the health of the force. The results were reported to Agile Spirit’s medical staff and leadership to inform preparations for the exercise.
“Vectors cause an estimated 15-20% of non-battle injuries,” said Capt. Phelps. “As we prepare for large-scale combat operations, health threats like vector-borne disease that take service members out of the fight are a major threat. So anything we can do to identify and prevent those disease threats is critical to maintaining force power.”
WRAIR-EME conducts biosurveillance in support of multiple military exercises and aims to continue expanding its efforts to strengthen force health protection in support of U.S. European Command and U.S. Army Europe and Africa.
“Vector-borne diseases have real consequences on the battlefield” explained Maj. David Denlinger, the entomologist at WRAIR-EME. “WRAIR-EME is providing information and recommendations to leaders that address some of those consequences. It’s all about protecting force health and global health of our Allies and Partners.”
To learn more about WRAIR-EME, our disease surveillance, and other capabilities, visit our website at https://mrdg.health.mil/