The Minister of National Defence Panos Kammenos, during yesterday’s unscheduled visit to 8th Motorised Brigade and outposts of the frontier and accompanied by HAGS Chief Vassilios Tellidis checked the progress of the Army Activities in the region, pertaining to the augmentation of the Army presence in Epirus and West Macedonia.
The said actions were determined and announced during a related visit of the Minister of National Defence in the region, on June 8, 2015, and concern:
1. The implementation of operational reconnaissance in Epirus and West Macedonia, as well as operational training and activities of Army Aviation detachments.
2. The provision of one UH-1 helicopter at least once per month for the conduct of reconnaissance activities by Commanders, staff officers and personnel from campaign Units of the 8th and 9th Motorised Brig and the 1st Army in Areas of Responsibility of the above-mentioned Formations, with the ability to land near villages and settlements and meet with inhabitants of the local community.
3. The conduct of operational readiness exercises and the activation of “Delta” Force in the said regions, following a proposal by HAGS and an order issued by HNDGS. Moreover, the augmentation of the Army presence with the conduct of exercises by Special Forces Units, including the scheduling of their training activities.
4. The establishment of “Deterrence Day” as of June 2016, once a month for a two-day period, during which reconnaissance of covering itineraries will be held, as well as outpost staffing and small echelon Field Exercises.
5. The increase of number of motorized patrols per Formation, placing the emphasis on patrolling settlements and villages and keeping contact with the local community, thus enhancing the feeling of security in the region.
6. Examining the possibility-advisability to re-operate the 625 Motorised Infantry Battalion as a Recruit Training Centre.
7. As far as the personnel serving in these regions is concerned (career personnel- conscripts) :
a. Career personnel: an effort to rationalize the percentage of staffing Units -Independent Sub-Units and Services of the Formations is underway by implementing unscheduled transfers, if necessary, so that they keep this staffing percentage balanced.
b. Conscripts: aiming to enhance the Covering Units, HAGS has gradually increased by 20 % compared to 2015, the transfers and assignments of conscripts to Units of the 8th and 9th Motorised Infantry Battalions, conscripts who stem from the region , as well as conscripts who are exceptionally transferred there based on social criteria. More specifically for 2016 D’ Conscript Training Series, which was far smaller than previous ones, the said Formations were staffed with the 40% of the assigned force, resulting to the increase of the staffing percentage of the Brigades in peace time.
c. The enhancement with Expert Specialties personnel is under way (Doctors without specialties, Machinery Operators, Chefs, etc) by means of irregular Transfers of Conscripts of the 2016 B’ Training Series, who have completed a 5month stint, within September 2016.
The objectives of the Ministry of National Defence concerning the above-mentioned actions are:
1. To upgrade the surveillance measures of the frontier.
2. To establish a feeling of security and raise the morale of the inhabitants of border regions of northern Greece.
3. To demonstrate a deterring presence in the northern borders.
Additionally, during the visit requests were submitted by Prefectures of the region concerning the contribution of the Ministry of National Defence via the Studies and Construction Unit for the conduct of social service works. All requests have been recorded and will be examined by Engineers Personnel who will evaluate and program them on the spot.
