The Minister of National Defence Panos Kammenos, accompanied by the Chief of HAGS Lieutenant General Vasileios Tellidis, visited the islands off the beaten track: Folegandros, Sikinos, Thirasia, Anafi and Donousa. He offered the pupils gifts for the holidays and delivered computers and other necessary materiel to schools. He also met with mayors of the islands and local bodies which informed him about the problems that the islands off the beaten track face. He also visited the Monastery of Panagia Kalamiotissa, Anafi.

The Minister of National Defence made the following statement:

“Together with the Chief of Hellenic Army General Staff, Lieutenant General Vasileios Tellidis and personnel of all the three General Staffs, we visited islands off the beaten track in Cyclades, which have no Army units – the Army being mostly present in Eastern Aegean islands and in Evros prefecture – to convey the message that the Armed Forces are here, by the islands of the Aegean, mostly by the ones off the beaten track. In peace time the Armed Forces may offer and they do offer social work.

With the creation of our new service, “DIDERGON”, successor of the historic “Joint Groups of Reconstruction Machines”, we assume a project on every island to help the creation of an infrastructure which will facilitate the locals’ life. In parallel, personnel of the Armed Forces, and mostly conscripts, who can offer social work thanks to their specialties, will be sent on small islands.

Teachers of foreign languages, in cooperation with the Ministry of Education, will be able to fill the gaps, mainly on small islands. Doctors, in cooperation with the Ministry of Health, will be able to serve their military service in rural medical offices. Moreover, expeditions of military doctors with specialties which do not exist on these islands, such as gynecologists and pediatricians, will be sent to island off the beaten track. Thus, the Armed Forces will contribute to local communities which fulfill a national function.

Their residence on small islands is connected to the continental shelf, which means national sovereignty. We thank them for their sincerely amazing welcome and hospitality and we tell them that the Armed Forces are here, with them”.