About 30 US Army Special Forces troops arrived in Yemen on 16 May and were expect to begin the training in a week or two. They follow an advance party of about 20 SF soldiers, while several dozen more trainers were to arrive later and expand the project.
Meanwhile, the American troops landing in Georgia in the next few days plan to remain in the former Soviet republic for almost two years, training key units of the Georgian armed forces. Training program commander LTC Robert M. Waltemeyer told reporters that neither he nor his men will survey or go near Pankisi Gorge (just 21 miles by air from Tbilisi, the Georgian capital).
The program officially begins 27 May with a 70-day training cycle for Georgian army staff officers, conducted by 70 U.S. Army personnel.
About 150 American trainers will then conduct four consecutive 100-day tactical training programs for four Georgian Army special forces and commando battalions (about 2,000 troops). That program will end in 2004. - Adam Geibel