National Guard of Georgia

This article is about the home guard of the country of Georgia. For the military unit in the US State of Georgia, see Georgia National Guard.

The National Guard of Georgia (GNG, Georgian: საქართველოს ეროვნული გვარდია, sak'art'velos erovnuli gvardia) is the gendarmerie and reserve force branch of the Defense Forces of Georgia. It is tasked with responding to external threats, civil disturbances, and natural disasters.^[2]

National Guard of Georgia
საქართველოს ეროვნული გვარდია
Georgian National Guard flag and insignia
Founded	20 December 1990; 34 years ago (1990-12-20)
Country	Georgia
Type	Reserve army Gendarmerie
Role	Gendarmerie Light infantry Home guard
Size	554 primary cadre. Mobilization capacity ranging in the tens of thousands.
Patron	Saint George[1]
Engagements	Georgian Civil War Georgian-Ossetian conflict Georgian-Abkhaz conflict Russian-Georgian war
Commanders
Current commander	Col. Irakli Chumburidze
Notable commanders	Tengiz Kitovani Koba Kobaladze Samson Kutateladze Nikoloz Janjgava
Insignia
GNG shoulder insignia

History

Establishment

The GNG was established on December 20, 1990 after President Zviad Gamsakhurdia ordered the creation of what is now the Defense Forces of Georgia. In January 1991, Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, through the chairman of the Supreme Soviet, Anatoly Lukyanov, instructed Gamsakhurdia to ban the creation of the Guard. The official newspaper of the Soviet Army, Krasnaya Zvezda, published an article mocking the National Guard entitled "Mr. Prefects and Mr. Guardsmen."^[3]

The first military parade of the guard with the participation of the First and Second Guards Brigades was held at Boris Paichadze Stadium on 30 April 1991, where for the first time after 70 years, Georgians swore allegiance to their homeland. Gamsakhurdia personally read the oath of allegiance to the guards.^[3] The parade was led by Colonel Avtandil Tskitishvili, and saw a small detachment of cavalry being paraded. Colonel Gogi Papavadze (Head of the Main Division of the National Guard) was then presented the new flag of the guard by the parade commander.^[3] This day is today commemorated as Defence Forces Day.^[4]

Tengiz Kitovani was then appointed as the head of GNG. The GNG was mainly manned by volunteers and more experienced Georgian officers who were serving in Soviet Armies at the time and returned to Georgia to serve in the newly created Georgian Land Forces. Thus, it became the first national military formation in then-Soviet Georgia which would later provide the basis for the regular armed forces.^[5]

Early years

Almost from its birth, the National Guard became directly involved in Georgian politics. In August 1991, soon after its foundation, the GNG was split between supporters of Gamsakhurdia and Kitovani. The split happened after Kitovani announced that the president was about to dissolve the National Guard. Kitovani and his supporters left the barracks and took up positions near Tbilisi. They joined Prime Minister Tengiz Sigua and the paramilitary leader Jaba Ioseliani during the Georgian Civil War which began in December 1991. The remaining parts of the GNG retained their loyalty towards Gamsakhurdia.^[5]

Units of the National Guard were a major paramilitary force to have fought in the Georgian Civil War, South Ossetian and Abkhazian conflicts in the early 1990s.^[6]

21st century

Following US EUCOM recommendations, new roles, functions, and structure were assigned to the National Guard. As of January 2007, the National Guard of Georgia consisted of 554 veteran personnel.^[7]

Commanders

• Tengiz Kitovani (1990–1992)
• Koba Kobaladze (2001–2004)
• Samson Kutateladze (2004 – February 2006)
• Akaki Bobokhidze (February–November 2006)
• Nikoloz Janjgava (18 January – December 2007)
• Levan Gamkrelidze (until 2017)
• Irakli Chumburidze (2017–present)^[8][9]

Structure

The military band.

The National Guard of Georgia is composed of:^[10]

• Headquarters of the National Guard
• Personnel Department
• Intelligence Department
• Operational Planning Department
• Logistics Department
• Strategic Planning Department
• Civil Defense Service
• Staff Company
• Security Company
• 1st Infantry Brigade (Senaki) (Reserve)
• 2nd Infantry Brigade (Telavi) (Reserve)
• Honour Guard Company
• Military Band of the National Guard

See also

• Georgian Armed Forces
• National Guard
• Ministry of Defense of Georgia
• Military Band of the National Guard of Georgia

References

1. "ქართული ჯარის დიდი დღე". On.ge. May 1, 2017.
2. National Military Strategy of Georgia Archived 2007-06-30 at the Wayback Machine, The Defense Ministry of Georgia. Retrieved on January 27, 2007.
3. "ქართული ჯარის დიდი დღე". On.ge (in Georgian). 2017-05-01. Retrieved 2021-03-14.
4. "georgianpress.ge - 1991 წლის 30 აპრილს ქართული გვარდიის პირველი აღლუმი პრეზიდენტმა ზვიად გამსახურდიამ ჩაიბარა". საინფორმაციო სააგენტო - Georgian Press. Retrieved 2021-03-14.
5. "16 წლის ეროვნული გვარდია: დღესასწაული, რომელსაც სევდა ახლავს". რადიო თავისუფლება.
6. "საქართველოს ეროვნული გვარდია - სამხედრო ისტორია - ისტორია - Publisher - Personal site". geoarmylibrery.ucoz.net.
7. Georgian National Guard Archived 2007-09-28 at the Wayback Machine, The Defense Ministry of Georgia. Retrieved on January 27, 2007.
8. "The National Guard of Georgia Has New Commander - News - MOD.GOV.GE". mod.gov.ge (in Georgian). Retrieved 2021-03-14.
9. "Georgia's National Guard welcomes new chief". Agenda.ge. Retrieved 2021-03-14.
10. Якубов, Леонид. "Структурные подразделения МО, ГШ и ВС Грузии | Разм.инфо".

External links

• Official website