U.S. Marines play key role in Immediate Response 10 

Marines with the 1st Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, from Marine Corps Base, Camp Pendleton, Calif., trained and bonded with Georgian soldiers here, as they role-played as the opposing force for the field exercises of Immediate Response 2010.

The Marines, who were each partnered with a Georgian army counterpart, were part of a bilateral exercise between U.S. forces and the Georgian army designed to enhance interoperability between both forces for future deployments to Afghanistan. 

During the exercise the Marines and Georgians trained together in combatives and physical fitness, studied each other’s tactics, and fought together as the opposing force against a combined U.S. Army and Georgian unit.

“The Georgians were all excited about training with us,” said Pfc. Matthew Lechleiter, with 1/4. “They always wanted to learn.”

“The Georgians had training from the Israelis on how to clear rooms and buildings,” said Cpl. Paul White, with 1/4.  “They are very good techniques that I think would be very effective.”

 “I learned a lot from them and their tactics,” added Lechleiter, “they bring the fight right away and don’t mess around.”
The joint training gave both the Marines and Georgians the opportunity to work through the barriers of different languages and different tactics, and come together to accomplish a mission.

“The language barrier was hard at first, but after a while you find ways to work around it,” said Seaman Dallas Belford, a Navy corpsman assigned to 1/4.

“It took a couple of days to recognize the hand and arm signals that were used and to learn the common phrases between the languages in order to get the base communication down,” said White.

During the exercise, the Marines and their Georgian partners road- marched together, ate together and slept together in four-man tents at their bivouac site, with two Marines and two Georgians in each tent. The closeness of their training paid off with friendships and mutual respect.

“The Georgians are generally upbeat, hard workers and professional,” said Belford.

“This is the first time I’ve been out of the country,” said Pfc. Izaak Esson. “I know a few Georgians now that are near and dear to me.”