The Minister of National Defence Panos Kammenos, the Chief of HNDGS Admiral Evangelos Apostolakis, the Chief of HAGS Lieutenant General Alkiviadis Stefanis, the Chief of HNGS Vice Admiral Nikolaos Tsounis and the Chief of HAFGS Lieutenant General Christos Christodoulou attended the final stage of the Field Exercise “PARMENION 2017” at “Psilos Stalos” firing range in Lavara, Evros.

The Minister of National Defence made the following address:

“It is a special moment and a great honour for me to be with you today, in Evros, in this remote area of Greece and observe the final stage of the joint exercise “Parmenion 2017”.

It is a great pleasure for us that MPs of the region, local authorities, residents of Thrace, Evros, Alexandroupoli, Orestiada and of all the local municipalities, as well as schools and pupils of the region, are with us today.

You presence here has a symbolic meaning. It shows the confidence of the Greek people to the Armed Forces of their country. This is a point of reference for the whole Nation and an important proof of unity, concord, solidarity and national cohesion.

It is also a special honour to host diplomatic and military delegations from other countries. From this podium, I thank them for their constant willingness for cooperation, for the development of our bilateral relations in all fields and particularly in the field of defence and security.

You can easily realize that this last thing is particularly important for our region, for the wider region of Eastern Mediterranean which plays a very important role nowadays for global stability and peace.

We ought to turn this area into a place where the observation and the implementation of the rules of international law and international agreements, relations of good neighbourhood, the peaceful settlement of disputes and problems, will prevail.

I assure you that Greece is a country which realizes the challenges and the capabilities of the Eastern Mediterranean Sea and is a country which has and will always have a strong interest in this area.

And we have proved in action that we manage to adopt a stabilizing role across time. In parallel, we are a European country, a country that participates actively in the developments, within the Euro-Atlantic institutions.

Being in the centre of an axis of instability, we ought to continue, despite the side effects of the financial crisis, with our defence planning and national preparation.

From this historical part of Greece, and from every corner of Greece, we send a message of peace and friendship to all our neighbours. Yet it is also a clear message that our national sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence are not subject to negotiations and cannot be compromised. We do not intend to cede even the least of them.

And, to this end, the Armed Forces will not spare efforts in order to respond to the challenges, to guard the country and to defend not only the interests of our country but the interests of the entire Greek people as well.

Our policy does not turn against anybody. Our policy has been identified with the promotion of common interests. It has been identified with seeking a common prospect of security, development and cooperation for all the countries and the peoples of this area.

Chief of the Hellenic National Defence General Staff,

Chiefs,

Today, watching the final stage of the exercise “Parmenion” which is a capstone of a year’s training course for all the services of the Armed Forces and for the other bodies of the state, defending the Aegean Sea and Evros prefecture, I would like to express my satisfaction and confidence that the protection of our frontier, the defence of our country’s dignity is in very good hands.

I am very satisfied also to have been informed about the successful conduct of yesterday’s nocturnal exercise.

I am particularly glad for the enhanced and targeted participation of the National Guard all over Greece.

From this same podium, last year, I declared 2017 as “the Year of the National Guard”. Actually, even I did not expect that over these few months our National Guard would have been organized so completely and surpass even our own expectations. Trained National Guards who cannot be separated from the active Armed Forces. They have been enriched with new ones who learnt from the experience of the older. Yesterday, there was a 92-year-old national guard in Rhodes. In parallel, young soldiers who had just completed their military service a few months ago came to us. They were integrated in the National Guard forces and we saw them participating in the exercise today, just like they will be called on to fight, if needed.

Once more the personnel of the Armed Forces confirmed to specialists and non specialists the deterrence capability of the army and the capability to defend our national space and our national and sovereignty rights from any threat, whether it is conventional or asymmetric. Once more, they made us proud, they made me proud personally, as Minister of National Defence, and the Greek people as well, who realize that the money they can barely afford for the defence of their country, are spent wisely.

There are no political disagreements in the Armed Forces. And I would like to ask everybody to maintain what was achieved in the past: the Armed Forces to be kept away from any political debates; and all the political parties to vote for the budget of the Armed Forces, during the vote for the budget in the Parliament.

I want to clarify that we are all optimistic about the future of the Armed Forces.

Whoever has the possibility to cooperate with the Armed Forces can confirm it on a daily basis. The personnel have vision and hopefulness and they are hard workers.

I realize this too in every contact with the men and women of the Armed Forces; that in this country, there is tradition; there are points of reference and values.

Dear personnel of the Armed Forces, Officers, NCOs, Soldiers and National Guards,

I would like to express you my feelings of gratitude for your labour.

Of course, we all acknowledge your work and loyalty to our country. We all know that you have been trained and prepared, but mostly, that you maintain a high morale. We know that you are ready to respect the oath you have taken, the oath we all have taken: to defend the flag, to the last drop of our blood.

For this reason, the Armed Forces everyday earn the acknowledgement of the Greek people and the gratitude of the Greek state. Everybody in parson and all together, you showed the readiness and responsibility required for so big an exercise. The results fully vindicated your labour and the conclusions and lessons learnt from this exercise will be valuable for the future.

Once more, you give us strength and certainty, so we can say that we are capable, we are prepared and willing to face any challenge.

Be proud to serve here, in the area of responsibility of the historic D’ Army Corps, and of the key role you are playing in ensuring the defence and in consolidating a sense of security among the Greek people and particularly among the residents of this remote area.

We ought many things to residents of remote areas who show their love and care for the personnel of the Armed Forces with their immediate and effective contribution.

And the Armed Forces requite it by offering a various social work, by reinforcing the bonds with the community and by forging social cohesion.

I make a special mention to the reservists who were asked to abandon their jobs for a few days and contribute to the successful execution of this exercise.

Hard working days which create strong sentiments of patriotism in your souls along with the conscience that, by participating in the Armed Forces, you also participate in the effort to ensure the security of this country and of your fellow citizens.

Ladies and gentlemen,

With these few thoughts, allow me to reiterate our thanks to all the foreign delegates and observers, to express our warmest congratulations and thanks to the Hellenic National Defence General Staff which had the general coordination of the exercise, but mostly to the men and women who participated and whose eyes reflect their principles and morale.  

I wish you and your families health and strength from the depths of my heart.

Finally, I thank the residents of Evros who embrace the Armed Forces and stand by you everyday. It is not by chance that a great percentage of conscripts refuse to be assigned from Evros to the islands and to central Greece.

It is exactly the opposite of what happened in the past and this has happened thanks to the reinforcement of the units which will be continued with the new organization chart of the Armed Forces. With the new structure of forces, we will be able to enrich our forces with personnel and assets in order for remote areas to lead the exit from this hard crisis the entire Greek people and the personnel of the Armed Forces have been going through.

I wish Virgin Mary be always with you and we always have successful operations like today’s exercise.

I wish you strength.”