U.S. Military Trainers Say Georgian Troops Were Not Ready For War

This really is an excellent article over here at Breitbart, I suggest you read the entire article. A handful of U.S. military advisers who had been sent into Georgia for some training, basically have revealed that the Georgian troops being sent to defend against the Russians simply were not prepared for that action. Look at some of the details:

U.S. military trainers—the only American boots on the ground—say the Georgian soldiers they knew who were sent to battle the Russians had fighting spirit but were not ready for war.
The Georgians were "beginning to walk, but by no means were they running," said Army Capt. Jeff Barta, who helped train a Georgian brigade for peacekeeping service in Iraq. "If that was a U.S. brigade it would not have gone into combat."

"From what I've heard, a lot of the 4th Brigade was hit pretty hard," said Rachel Dejong, 24, a Navy medic from Richmond, Ind.
The Georgian company commander who was training alongside Barta was killed.
"Some of the soldiers seemed really grateful for the things we taught them," said Barta, a 31-year-old from Columbus, Ohio, but he acknowledged it was not nearly enough.

The trainers go on to explain some of the downfalls of the Georgian troops here:

They inherited bad habits from the Red Army, whose soldiers wouldn't move without a direct order from a superior, and need to be taught to think on their own, Barta said. To make things more difficult, many soldiers "come from the hills of Georgia, and some of them sign for their paycheck with an X," he said.

And as far as communications equipment and weaponry, this has come out:

The Americans were training them to use the U.S. military's M-4 rifles, he said. But when fighting broke out, the Georgians went back to the Soviet AK-47, the only weapon they trusted. They appeared incapable of firing single shots, instead letting off bursts of automatic fire, which is wildly inaccurate and wastes ammunition, he said.
Another problem was communications: As soon as combat began, the army's communications network largely collapsed, he said, so troops conducted operations using regular cell phones. That left their communications easily accessible to Russian intelligence.

Now, I'm sure the Russians knew ahead of time that they would meet with this kind of novice and untrained expertise on the Georgian side and that is probably why the Russians moved so fast into the area. At the same time, I doubt that even with adequate training if the Georgians could have stood up to Russia but considering what the U.S. trainers are saying, it does explain the huge losses from the fighting.

US trainers say Georgian troops weren't ready

TBILISI, Georgia (AP) - U.S. military trainers—the only American boots on the ground—say the Georgian soldiers they knew who were sent to battle the Russians had fighting spirit but were not ready for war.
The Georgians were "beginning to walk, but by no means were they running," said Army Capt. Jeff Barta, who helped train a Georgian brigade for peacekeeping service in Iraq. "If that was a U.S. brigade it would not have gone into combat."
Now on standby at the Sheraton Hotel, unarmed and in civilian clothes, six of the American trainers offered a glimpse at the 5-year-old U.S. mission and at the performance of the outnumbered and outgunned Georgian military in its defeat by Russia.
The Americans arrived for work Aug. 7 to unexpectedly find training was over for the unit they had been assigned to for three weeks, the 4th Brigade: The Georgian soldiers were sitting on their rucksacks and singing folk songs as an Orthodox priest walked among them chanting and waving incense.
Then buses and trucks took the troops off toward Georgia's breakaway region of South Ossetia, where there had been sporadic clashes and shelling during the previous week. That night the Georgian army began an offensive trying to retake the Russian-supported region, and by the following morning hundreds of Russian tanks were rolling across the border.
"From what I've heard, a lot of the 4th Brigade was hit pretty hard," said Rachel Dejong, 24, a Navy medic from Richmond, Ind.
The Georgian company commander who was training alongside Barta was killed.
"Some of the soldiers seemed really grateful for the things we taught them," said Barta, a 31-year-old from Columbus, Ohio, but he acknowledged it was not nearly enough.