Transnational training program Exercise Noble Partner 2017 recently began with a focus on cooperation and interoperability at Vaziani Military Base in Georgia.
Exercise Noble Partner 2017 is a European-led U.S. Army exercise hosted at the Vaziani Military Base and Camp Norio training areas in Georgia. The goal of the exercise is to prepare and assess Georgian forces for certification and participation in 2017’s NATO Response Force (NRF), according to an announcement.
NRF comprises land, air, marine and special ops forces readily available to the eight contributing nations, including Armenia, Germany, Slovenia, Turkey, Ukraine and the United Kingdom in addition to the U.S. and Georgia.
Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili, Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirkashvili, Defense Minister Levan Izoaria and U.S. Ambassador to Georgia Ian Kelly served as speakers at the opening ceremony.
"The United States supports the sovereignty and territorial integrity of its partners," Kelly said in the release. "Those gathered here seeking to build readiness and interoperability in the face of aggression are critical to that end."
Multinational mission planning, command, control, maneuvering and joint operations highlight the annual exercise; over 2,000 U.S. troops are affiliated with the mission, and almost a quarter of the American soldiers are from the 2nd Cavalry Regiment based in Vilseck, Germany.
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