Welcome!

Today Georgia is marking the 16th anniversary of the founding of its armed forces, which have been achieving great progress of late.

Our troops are constantly prepared. The process of modernization - equipping and training them - is proceeding at an unheard-of pace.

We have begun formulating a much better system of training for our military. More than 1,000 of the university graduates who underwent reservist training in the first group have expressed their desire to enlist in the army. There are long lines of people waiting to undergo reservist training. I want to thank those boys.

More and more people are learning the meaning and importance of our armed forces. Everyone realizes that the armed forces are a complicated organism, though it is not as dangerous as the reality show "Barracks" makes it seem. Serving in the real army is an honourable pursuit, though at the same time a difficult one.

The real army is a place where people's lives and dignity are respected and valued. The Georgian state is spending enormous resources on improving the real army.

Georgia has traditionally had great military leaders. These people left their mark on history - every Persian knows the name of Davit Khan Undiladze. He built one of Persia's most beautiful cities, Isfahan.

Giorgi Ungiadze won major battles. Petre Bagrationi fought for the Russian empire's forces and won a key battle. Dimitri Amilakhvari was a great French officer, while Mosulashvili was a national hero of Italy.

John Malkhaz Shalikashvili was chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the US military. He held one of the world's highest military posts. This person is a Georgian and his father a Georgian officer.

Thus, Georgia and Georgians have military service in their blood. We have always been able to attain victory and defeat the most formidable of foes.

We have a special chance, honour and privilege to be strong, have a modern army, defend our independent country and ensure its security.

We are printing 120,000 brochures entitled "Values and Standards of the Georgian Army", which we will distribute to our 100,000 reservists and 20,000 military personnel. These brochures illustrate the values and motivation of our army.

Remember that one motivated person can have a great impact on the rest. Victory goes not to the person with the greatest physical strength, but rather to the one who is more convinced than his opponent of the righteousness of his endeavour.

There is a moment in every battle where each side thinks it has been defeated. Victory is achieved by those who do not retreat even in such situations.

This is Georgia's experience. This is the experience of Georgia's main symbol, St George: he who is more resolute and strong spiritually defeats a physically stronger, but unrighteous force.

The main thing is for us to take initiative - our opponent must never be allowed to impose its own plans and rules of the game on us. We must respond with flexible and well thought-out actions to each of their calculations, each of their strategies and steps.

Doing so allows even the smallest army to compete with a much larger army and find advantages over it. Our greatest strength lies not in having a large population, but in our inner energy and the consolidation of our multiethnic society.

No matter how much our opinions may differ, we must never put personal ambitions and intrigues ahead of our common national interests.

Our strength is not only ethnic Georgians, but also the ethnic Ossetians, Abkhaz, Jews, Armenians and Azeris who are ready to fight alongside one another, as was the case during the time of King Davit Aghmashenebeli. These people are part of the unified people of Georgia.

Those Armenians, Ossetians, Azeris and representatives of other ethnic groups who gave their lives and spilled their blood for Georgia are our greatest heroes.

Georgia's opponent is not some single ethnic group. Our opponent is everyone who seeks to undermine our territorial integrity and the security of our citizens.

We ourselves must defend our people.

Our strength is in defending ourselves.

The function of the Georgian armed forces is not to attack someone, but rather to protect our territorial integrity and ensure that each Georgian citizen can sleep peacefully at night confident in the knowledge that their future is secure.

We are counting on you. We pay our deepest respects to those who have given their lives for Georgia in past years.

Georgia has a great future - our main victory will come when each of us makes a contribution to this future.

Let us serve Georgia!

Communications Office
of the President of Georgia