Role of Georgia in the War in Afghanistan ( 2001 – present ) Georgia joined the war in Afghanistan in 2004 and the country had become the largest non - NATO and the largest per capita troop contributor to the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan by late 2012 , with over 1 , 560 personnel on the ground as of May 2013 . Georgia currently provides two full infantry battalions serving with the United States forces in the Helmand province . At various times , the country has also deployed an infantry company serving with the French contingent in Kabul , medical personnel within the Lithuanian Provincial Reconstruction Team in Chaghcharan , and some individual staff officers . Since 2010 , 29 Georgian servicemen have been killed and at least 120 wounded . Initial involvement , 2004 – 2009 . Georgia , aspiring to accede to the NATO membership , first joined the coalition war efforts in Afghanistan in 2004 , when 50 servicemen of the 16th Mountain Battalion were deployed for 100 days under the German command as part of security efforts during the Afghan presidential election in October 2004 . In November 2007 Georgian medical personnel joined the Lithuanian - led Provincial Reconstruction Team in Chaghcharan in the Ghor province of central Afghanistan . On March 2 , 2005 , the Georgian Foreign Minister Salome Zourabichvili and NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer signed an agreement in Brussels regarding the provision of Georgia ' s support to and transit of NATO forces and NATO personnel bound to Afghanistan . Troops deployment , 2009 – present . Georgia became more energetically involved in the coalition campaign in 2009 , when , on October 16 , 173 - strong company of the 23rd Battalion , 2nd Infantry Brigade , was sent under the French command to the Camp Warehouse in Kabul . With the planned withdrawal of the French from Afghanistan , in June 2013 , this unit , then consisting of 50 soldiers , was redeployed to Camp Phoenix , maintained by the United States army and used for training of the Afghan military . Georgia increased its presence to a battalion - size contingent of 749 troops deployed in the volatile Helmand province of south Afghanistan for service with the United States Marines in April 2010 , and doubled its contribution to 1 , 571 soldiers in October 2012 . Beyond this , Georgian artillery instructors served with the French contingent in the Kandahar province from April 2011 to April 2012 , and two liaison officers were attached to the Turkish staff in Kabul from January 2010 to January 2011 . Thereby , by October 2012 , Georgia had become one of the largest non - NATO contributors to the ISAF operation together with Australia , whose contribution was an annual average of 1 , 550 . The Georgian troops deployed in Afghanistan had been trained with the help of the U . S . military within the frame of the Georgia Deployment Program – International Security Assistance Force ( GDP – ISAF ) , launched in 2009 , at the Krtsanisi National Training Centre in Georgia and the Joint Multinational Readiness Center in Hohenfels , Germany . In February 2013 Georgia offered NATO to provide training to the Afghan military both in Georgia and on the ground in Afghanistan after the planned withdrawal of the NATO combat mission in 2014 . Casualties . The first Georgian fatality occurred on September 5 , 2010 . Overall , 29 Georgian soldiers have been killed and at least 170 wounded in Afghanistan . The highest number of Georgian fatalities in a single incident was on June 6 , 2013 , when an explosive - laden truck hit an outpost of Georgian soldiers in Helmand , killing 7 and injuring 9 . On September 30 , 2010 , when a mine blast killed four servicemen , the highest - ranking Georgian in Afghanistan , Colonel Ramaz Gogiashvili was killed . The largest attack on the area of responsibility of the Georgian forces occurred on May 14 , 2013 , when a suicide bombing with an explosives - laden truck at the ISAF base at Shir Ghazay , Helmand province , was followed by an attack by a group of insurgents . The Georgians killed all intruders and secured the territory , losing three killed and 27 wounded in the blast . The Ministry of Defense of Georgia has shown some reluctance to release information about non - fatal casualties . According to the information obtained by the Tbilisi - based Institute for Development of Freedom of Information from the ministry , 23 Georgian servicemen were wounded in 2010 , 62 in 2011 , 45 in 2012 , and 4 more were wounded as of January 30 , 2013 . The best known survivor is the highly decorated Lieutenant Colonel Alex Tugushi ( born 1976 ) , commander of the 31st Infantry Battalion , who lost both legs in a blast in December 2011 .