New Deputy Chief of Army Staff Appointed - Some Key Army Officials Dismissed
September 13, 2008
Some senior military figures, including the deputy chief of staff, the commander of land forces and the chief of the national guard, have been dismissed from their posts.
The Georgian Ministry of Defense said on September 3 that Alexandre Osepaishvili, the deputy chief of staff of the armed forces, had been replaced by Devi Chankotadze. The latter was the commander of an artillery brigade of the land forces before his new appointment. He has been replaced in his previous post by Vakhtang Maisuradze.
Mamuka Balakhadze, the commander of land forces, has been replaced by Zurab Agladze.
Davit Aptsiauri, the commander of the national guard, has also been dismissed. The national guard is in charge of reserve troops. Many accounts - from reservists themselves and eyewitnesses - have been circulating about the chaos and uncoordinated nature of the mobilisation and deployment of reservists to Gori and other areas close to the frontline in the early days of the conflict.
“Those who have failed to fulfill their duties will of course be dismissed, or downgraded,” Batu Kutelia, the deputy defense minister, told Rustavi 2 TV on September 3. “Evaluation is ongoing following combat activities about how systems worked.
Davit Nairashvili was appointed as deputy chief of staff of the Georgian armed forces, the Defense Ministry said on September 12. Nairashvili, who was commander of the air forces, replaced Giga Tatishvili.
Also on September 12, President Saakashvili promoted Davit Nairashvili from Colonel’s rank into Brigadier General, the MoD said.
Source: Civil.Ge, September 2008
www.civil.ge/eng/article.php?id=19402
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