13th "Shavnabada" Light Infantry Battalion

The 13th "Shavnabada" Light Infantry Battalion (Georgian: მე-13 "შავნაბადა"-ს მსუბუქი ქვეითი ბატალიონი) also known as the (official name) 13th Light Infantry Battalion (formerly the 113th mechanized infantry Battalion) is a military unit within the Georgian Armed Forces, so named for a type of cloak worn by medieval warriors. The most famous cloak is said to have worn by the patron saint of Georgia, Saint George, when he, according to a legend, appeared to lead Georgian army to a victory. The battalion's crest includes the word "Shavnabada" in Georgian, the battalion's symbol, the Griffin, and the number "13".

13th Light Infantry Battalion
13th "Shavnabada" Light Infantry Battalion Shoulder Sleeve Insignia.
Active	January 7, 1992 –
Country	Georgia
Branch	Georgian Land Forces
Type	Light Infantry (Conventional)
Size	~400-600
Part of	Joint Staff of the Armed Forces of Georgia (JSAFG) Georgian Land Forces 1st Infantry Brigade (1BDE)
Nickname(s)	Shavnabada
Motto(s)	Be a man among men ("იყავი კაცი კაცებს შორის")
Anniversaries	July 2
Engagements	Abkhazia, 1992-93 South Ossetia, 1992 South Ossetia 2004 Operation Iraqi Freedom 2005, 2008 War in Afghanistan, since 2009
Commanders
Current commander	N/A
Notable commanders	Colonel Akia Barbakadze Major General Koba Kobaladze Colonel Giorgi Shengelia

The "Shavnabada" Light Infantry Battalion was established with the independence of Georgia from the Soviet Union in 1991. It saw combat in Abkhazia in the course of the 1992-93 war conducting an amphibious assault against Gagra from the Black Sea. In 2003, the battalion received Georgia Train and Equip Program (GTEP) from the U.S. Marine Corps.

More than 90 percent of the soldiers served in Iraq (Operation Iraqi Freedom) in 2005 with the United States Army's 3rd Infantry Division in the Green Zone of Baghdad. Veterans of that deployment in Baghdad's Green Zone with the U.S. Army's 3rd Infantry Division wear the 3ID's famous division patch on their right shoulders. It is a point of considerable pride in the Georgian Army to be one of those members who fought alongside the 3ID in Baghdad. Many are also veterans of fighting a guerilla insurgency in the South Ossetia region of the country in October 2004. From 2010 to 2011, the battalion served as part of ISAF in Helmand, Afghanistan.

External links

• 13th Battalion Celebrates Independence Day in Baghdad.
• Shavnabada Battalion Welcomed Home from Iraq. Ministry of Defense of Georgia. October 9, 2005.
• Ambassador Tefft Welcomes Home Georgia’s 13th Battalion From Iraq. Embassy of the U.S. to Georgia. October 9, 2005.
• Mortars 'rain down from heaven' in Georgia
• Images from OIF 3 -- 2005