GEORGIAN, U.S. TROOPS HOLD IMMEDIATE RESPONSE EXERCISE AT VAZIANI BASE

Interfax News Agency
July 15 2008
Russia

Georgian-U.S. military drills began at a military base in Georgia
on Tuesday.

The official opening ceremony of the joint international exercise
Immediate Response 2008 will take place on July 15, the Georgian
Defense Ministry told Interfax.

The three-week joint Georgian-U.S. exercise will be held at the
military base in Vaziani, near Tbilisi. Staff officers from Armenia,
Azerbaijan and Ukraine will also participate.

The command post exercise will be held between land brigades. Apart
from theory and practice, the exercise plan also includes humanitarian
operations in extreme conditions.

The exercise will involve around 1,650 servicemen in all, including
450 from Georgia.