Vladimer Chachibaia

Who is Vladimer Chachibaia?

Colonel Vladimer Chachibaia is a Georgian military officer who was a Chief of Joint Staff of the Armed Forces of Georgia from November 4, 2008 to March 5, 2009.

Chachibaia was a private in the Soviet Air Forces from 1989 until 1991, when he joined the recently established National Guard of Georgia as a NCO. He commanded a National Guard platoon in the Georgian Civil War of 1992-1993 and continued his service in the Georgian army as a recon and special task forces officer. He studied at the United Military Academy in Tbilisi, Georgia from 1993 to 1994 and has attended several course of military training in the United States since 1999, including at the U.S. Army War College in the years 2007-2008.

Chachibaia commanded a Georgian contingent within the Multinational force in Iraq in 2004 and was appointed a commander of the 3rd Infantry Brigade of the Armed Forces of Georgia in 2005. He has since served for the General Staff, now the Joint Staff of the Armed Forces of Georgia and was an acting commander of the Georgian Land Forces in 2006. Having briefly served a Head of Education Department of the JS GAF in September–November 2008, Chachibaia replaced General Zaza Gogava as the Chief of JS GAF after the August 2008 war with Russia. He briefly served as Deputy Defense Minister in 2009 and became Deputy Chief of Joint Staff of Georgian Armed Forces in 2012.