President Saakashvili said on March 15 that the country with occupied territories had no alternative other than to have strong army.
 
“We should continue perfection of our readiness; we have obtained and will obtain new equipment; we will also improve training and social conditions [for servicemen],” he said at a meeting with the Georgian artillerist.
 
“Georgia should always take care of its defense capabilities and of strength of its army – it has no alternative in the light of the environment in which we are and in the condition when Georgia’s two regions remain occupied.”
 
The President awarded 67 Georgian artillerist with medals for their performance during the August war. He said that there had been “not a single failure” in performance of the Georgia’s artillery during the war.
 
“If not you and if not those several days that you have won, the Georgia’s capital and the entire country would have been left unprotected,” Saakashvili said. “The fact that Russia has totally reviewed its military doctrine is a result of the Georgia’s artillery’s good performance and large number of casualties inflicted among the aggressors. “
 
Chief of staff of the Georgian armed forces, Devi Chankotadze, told journalists that Georgia “now has more artillery, than we had when the conflict started” in August. Chankotadze, who was a commander of the Georgian land forces’ artillery brigade, became army chief of staff earlier this month.