TBILISI, Georgia, July 18 (UPI) -- The Bush administration will continue training the Georgian military under the Pentagon's Sustainment and Stability Operations Program.
At an official opening ceremony for the Krtsanissi Training Center, Georgian Defense Minister Irakly Okruashvili told journalists: "The SSOP program was completed in Georgia four months ago, but when Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili visited the United States it was decided to go on with the program."
SSOP will continue for 15 more months at a cost of $30 million to the Pentagon.
Interfax-AVN reported from Tbilisi on July 17 that U.S. military instructors will train the 31st Battalion of Georgia's 3rd Infantry Brigade for three months. About 500 servicemen will undergo combat, physical, topographical, and firing training under SSOP.
Okruashvili said that "the 22nd Battalion, the 2nd Infantry Brigade, will undertake a similar training program this autumn."
The United States has already spent over $120 million on the Georgian Train and Equip Program, or GTEP and SSOP.
