The Alternate Minister of National Defence Dimitris Vitsas attended the Change of Command ceremony of the D Army Corps in Xanthi, on Monday, 30 January, 2017, between the outgoing Commander Lieutenant General Iosif Mavrakis and the newly appointed Commander Lieutenant General Georgios Kampas. The ceremony was attended also by the Commander of the Hellenic First Army Lieutenant General Dimokritos Zervakis who represented the Chief of HAGS.

The Alternate Minister, during the briefing that he attended, he discussed with the military personnel who serve at frontier outposts via an internet camera.

The Alternate Minister stated the following after the ceremony:

“My attendance of this ceremony as a representative of the political leadership of the Ministry of National Defence, has a strong symbolism, namely that we pay great attention to the active presence of the D Army Corps in a sensitive area, such as Thrace. I am saying sensitive because Thrace was for quite many years – as its residents say – neglected and it is very important for us to cooperate all together, the Armed Forces, the Ministry, the Government and the locals so as to bring growth to this area because there are still capabilities, there are people and we can achieve new things here, if we utilize the manpower and, at the same time, we ensure conditions of security and operation towards this direction.

I would like to wish good luck to the outgoing Commander Mr. Mavrakis in his civilian life and I am sure that general Kampas with whom we have cooperated, will enhance the D Army Corps to an even higher standard. He enjoys our full confidence and he has the military and political mind to cooperate with all the bodies of the area.

Answering a question about the latest Turkish challenges he said: “ We, as Ministry of National Defence, we do our job and our job is to take all the necessary measures so as to ensure deterrence on one hand and the sovereignty of our country on the other hand. This is what we do and we prove it on every occasion. Our sovereignty is not called into question; we do not even put it under any discussion. We want to live peacefully, we want to live according to international treaties and we get prepared for everything.”