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The Krtsanisi National Training Centre (Georgian: ეროვნული სასწავლო ცენტრი „კრწანისი“, erovnuli sasts'avlo tsent'ri k'rts'anisi) is a major training facility for the military of Georgia, located at the Krtsanisi settlement, outside Georgia’s capital city of Tbilisi, at the foothills of the Iaghluja mountainous range. It is operated by the Georgian Armed Forces Joint Staff Military Training and Education Command. It is also known as the Krtsanisi Training Area (KTA), especially in the United States sources.
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History
The training centre Krtsanisi was formed on the basis of the former Iaghluja shooting range on April 22, 1997. Since 2002, the centre has been a principal ground for the U.S.-sponsored training programs for the Georgian military (GTEP, GSSOP, GDP–ISAF). From 2002 to 2007, $6.5 million of GSSOP funds were used to build barracks, classrooms, a dining hall, and other infrastructure at the Krtsanisi centre. In 2010, the centre was equipped with the Multiple Integrated Laser Engagement System (MILES).
On January 11, 2011, an explosion of 120mm mortar shell during artillery drills killed three and injured thirteen soldiers at the Krtsanisi centre.
Since August 2015, the facility also hosts the NATO–Georgia Joint Training and Evaluation Center (JTEC).
Structure and courses
The Centre maintains seven principal training courses:
Major Malkhaz Merlani (b. 1976) has been the chief of the centre since 2010.