WASHINGTON, Dec. 16 (UPI) -- The Marine Corps Monday assumed control of an Army Special Forces mission to train and equip Georgian soldiers for counter-terror operations in the dangerous Pankisi gorge of the former Soviet republic.
A Special Forces-trained commando battalion -- roughly 1,000 men -- graduated from the first program earlier Monday.
The Marines will now train a light infantry battalion and a mechanized company team in counter-terror operations.
The training program began in late May 2002 and, according to present plans, will continue until this May.
Moscow has charged the Pankisi gorge in Georgia -- nestled between the Caspian and Black seas, north of Iran and Turkey and south of Russia -- is a haven for Chechen terrorists, and U.S. officials say al Qaida members expelled from Afghanistan have fled to the mountainous area to continue their operations.
Georgian officials told United Press International in October the gorge had been largely cleared of the terrorist element, but said the commandos will invariably be needed in the future. Georgian Minister of State Security Valeri Khaburdzania said two oil pipelines soon to be built across Georgia -- Baku-Tbilisi-Supsa and Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan -- will require armed protection.
The Marine Corps and U.S. Special Operations Command signed an agreement to increase their cooperation a year ago, allowing the Marine Corps to pick up some of the Special Forces' missions. Special Forces have been seriously stressed as they have played a central and continuing role in the war in Afghanistan and in counter-terror operations worldwide.
The Marine Corps is already "special operations capable," meaning some of its expeditionary forces can conduct specialized demolition, clandestine reconnaissance and surveillance, raids, in-extremis hostage recovery, and enabling operations for follow-on forces for limited time periods when other forces are inappropriate or unavailable.
The Marines were the first in Afghanistan after U.S. Special Forces helped coordinate the ground war, which resulted in the expulsion of the Taliban after just two months of fighting.
