Coast Guard Of Georgia
The Georgian Coast Guard is the maritime arm of the Georgian Border Police, within the Ministry for Internal Affairs. It is responsible for the maritime protection of the entire 310 km (190 mi) coastline of Georgia, as well as the Georgian territorial waters. The primary missions of the service are administration of the territorial waters, marine pollution protection, maritime law enforcement, search and rescue, port security and maritime defense. The former Georgian Navy was absorbed into the Coast Guard in 2009.
The Georgian Navy (Georgian Naval Forces; Georgian: საქართველოს სამხედრო საზღვაო ძალები, sak'art'velos samkhedro-sazghvao dzalebi) was a branch of the Georgian Defense Ministry armed forces until 2009, when it was merged with the Coast Guard and transferred to the Ministry for Internal Affairs. Before the 2008 South Ossetia war, the Georgian Navy consisted of 19 boats and 531 personnel of which 181 were officers, 200 NCOs, 114 conscripts and 36 civilians.
The headquarters and a principal Coast Guard base are located at the Black Sea port of Poti. A second smaller base is in Batumi, Adjaria. Besides the Poti-based force, the Coast Guard also includes a special counter-terrorist Detachment. Maritime surveillance radar stations are maintained at Anaklia, Poti, Supsa, Chakvi and Gonio, providing coverage of all territorial seas.
The current (2012) commander of the Georgian Coast Guard is Captain 2nd Rank Lasha Kharabadze.
Read more about Coast Guard Of Georgia: History, Georgian Navy, Georgian Coast Guard, Former Georgian Navy Vessels, Today's Coast Guard Vessels, Coast Guard Absorbs Navy in 2009
Famous quotes containing the words coast, guard and/or georgia:
“How happy is the sailor’s life,
From coast to coast to roam;
In every port he finds a wife,
In every land a home.”
—Isaac Bickerstaffe (c. 1735–1812)
“Standing navies, as well as standing armies, serve to keep alive the spirit of war even in the meek heart of peace. In its very embers and smoulderings, they nourish that fatal fire, and half-pay officers, as the priests of Mars, yet guard the temple, though no god be there.”
—Herman Melville (1819–1891)
“Being a Georgia author is a rather specious dignity, on the same order as, for the pig, being a Talmadge ham.”
—Flannery O’Connor (1925–1964)