Paying the Blood Price: Reflections from Georgian Veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan

Georgia sent soldiers to support the two U.S.-led conflicts largely in an effort to curry favor with Americans: politicians, policymakers, bureaucrats, the public, and American servicemen and women. The U.S.-Georgian relationship has evolved over the past 20 years. U.S. policymakers have expressed gratitude for Georgian military involvement. Many Georgians have expressed the importance and intentionality of sending troops to support the American military missions as part of a strategy to align politically with the U.S. and the West. There has not been research, however, into the thoughts and feelings of the soldiers—or their families—who served alongside the Americans, or those of their American counterparts. The research team will address two questions: (1) How do Georgian veterans reflect on their time serving and how do they view current affairs?, and (2) How do American veterans view the soldiers and countries who supported those soldiers’ time abroad?