The Georgia Sustainment and Stability Operations Program (GSSOP) was a security assistance program designed to create an increased capability in the Georgian

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distin ...

support Support may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Supporting character Business and finance * Support (technical analysis) * Child support * Customer support * Income Support Construction * Support (structure), or lateral support, a ...

Operation Iraqi Freedom stability missions. Launched in January 2005, GSSOP was also designed to help solidify the progress made during the Georgia Train and Equip Program (GTEP) of 2002–2004 and continue to assist in the implementation of

western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US * Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that i ...

standards in the Georgian armed forces. The first phase of the program (GSSOP-I) lasted about 18 months and cost approximately $60 million. It ended in October 2006 to be succeeded by GSSOP-II, which lasted until June 2007. The training was conducted, primarily at the Krtsanisi National Training Centre near

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Kura River with a population of approximately 1.5 million p ...

, by the

United States Army Special Forces The United States Army Special Forces (SF), colloquially known as the "Green Berets" due to their distinctive service headgear, are a special operations force of the United States Army. The Green Berets are geared towards nine doctrinal mis ...

and

United States Marine Corps Forces, Europe Marine Corps Forces Europe and Africa (abbreviated as MARFOREUR/AF), headquartered in Panzer Kaserne-Barracks in Böblingen, Germany, is the U.S. Marine Corps component of the U.S. European Command and U.S. Africa Command. History In February ...

. The beneficiaries were the 22nd,22nd Battalion Graduate SSOP Training

Ministry of Defense of Georgia The Ministry of Defense of Georgia (, ''sakartvelos tavdatsvis saministro'') is the Georgian government ministry in charge of the Defense Forces of Georgia and regulating activities in defence of the country from external threats, preserving te ...

. December 19, 2005 23rd, 31st, 32nd and 33rdTwo Units of the III Brigade Graduate SSOP Program
Ministry of Defense of Georgia. December 21, 2006 Light Infantry Battalions, logistic battalions of the 1st,Logistics Battalions Complete SSOP
Ministry of Defense of Georgia. March 24, 2006 2nd, and 3rd Infantry Brigades, the reconnaissance companies of the 2nd and 3rd Infantry Brigades, communication companies of the 2nd and 3rd Brigades, and an independent military police company. On August 31, 2009, the U.S. and Georgia inaugurated the Georgia Deployment Program—International Security Assistance Force (GDP—ISAF) In order to prepare the Georgian units for deployment in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bord ...

as part of the

International Security Assistance Force The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) was a multinational military mission in Afghanistan from 2001 to 2014. It was established by United Nations Security Council United Nations Security Council Resolution 1386, Resolution 1386 pursua ...

. Originally planned as a two-year engagement, the success of past missions has extended the pairing as the Georgia Deployment Program—

Resolute Support Mission Resolute Support Mission (RSM) or Operation Resolute Support was a NATO-led multinational mission in Afghanistan. It began on 1 January 2015 as the successor to the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), which was completed on 28 Dec ...

(GDP—RSM) into 2020.

References

{{War on Terror, state=collapsed Military history of Georgia (country) Operations involving American special forces United States Marine Corps in the 21st century Non-combat military operations involving the United States 2005 in Georgia (country) 2006 in Georgia (country) 2007 in Georgia (country) 2008 in Georgia (country) 2009 in Georgia (country)