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| The extensive, four-month training is preparing the Georgian battalion to accomplish their mission in Iraq. |
| By U.S. Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Jonathan Moor U.S. Marine Forces, Europe |
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| KRTSANISI, Georgia, Oct. 11, 2005 --- U.S. Marine Corps Gunnery Sgt. Nathan Guidry is training 16 Republic of Georgia soldiers here to be communications trainers, with interim help from retired Marine Gunnery Sgt. David Moose. The instruction runs from Aug. 29 to Dec. 9 Guidry is the communication chief for U.S. European Command’s Georgia Sustainment and Stability Operations Program; Moose is a technical trainer from the Harris Corporation.
Guidry taught classes on radio communication (talking) procedures, which differ from an average phone conversation, during September and will continue instruction until completion of the Georgia Sustainment and Stability Operations Program mission. Moose gave instruction on the operation and function of the radio and basic radio-to-radio call function checks. “They’re basically getting everything you would get in Marine Corps boot camp and then some, because we’re teaching them our experience, not just the knowledge that comes out of the book,” Guidry said. “They’re very receptive to the training. They love it. They’re very interested and very impressed with it,” he emphasized. The program-trained 22nd Light Infantry Battalion troops will form part of the dedicated force called for in U.N. Security Council Resolution 1546 to protect U.N. forces serving in Iraq. The Georgia Sustainment and Stability Operations Program mission is to assist and enhance Georgia’s military capability to sustain its contribution to the effort in Iraq. The communications training is part of the program mission. “It’s our job to come in and train them to use these new radios,” Moose said. Guidry added that the 22nd Battalion will receive a full complement of radios, worth about $1.6 million, under the program. Guidry outlined the training the Georgian soldiers will apply in using the radios. “The first three weeks I had them every day for two hours before they had to go to their other training,” Guidry said. “I teach them radio procedures, message trafficking, formats, field expedient antennas,” Guidry said. “I go into everything that they’re going to need to use in a military operation or exercise.” Conversational flow using proper radio procedures is a skill that requires some practice, Moose said. Moose trained the soldiers for two weeks in the use of both high-frequency and very-high-frequency radios. “You start off with the basic theory of operations, with how [high-frequency] works. We use [high-frequency] in the military for high-frequency, long-range communications. You’re generally talking on that radio from 200 to 2,000 miles,” |
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Moose explained. “The [very-high-frequency] radios you’re talking short range, maybe three to 15 miles maximum, depending on the power and the antenna you use.” Once they understand the basic theory the training builds upon itself in stages, Moose said. “Basically taking someone who has never touched a radio before or seen a computer and teaching them how to take the most sophisticated [high-frequency] radios in the world and train them on it and also on the [very-high-frequency] handheld radios.” Moose said. “Just like the old crawl-walk-run, you show them what a frequency is, how you program a frequency and different modes of operation,” he continued. “The [high-frequency] radio that they train with here is the exact same radio that the U.S. military has,” he added. Moose stated how impressed he was by how well the Georgian soldiers adapted to the training. Guidry also noticed the Georgian soldiers’ enthusiasm. “They believe in practice-makes-perfect. That’s why they take them home at night and practice with them,” Guidry elaborated. In addition to the communications training, the Georgian soldiers have received infantry training from other Georgia Sustainment and Stability Operations Program Task Force members in areas such as infantry tactics, land navigation, marksmanship and first aid as part of the program. The extensive, four-month training is preparing the 22nd Battalion to accomplish their mission in Iraq. |
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