The Minister of National Defence Mr. Panos Panagiotopoulos attended today the official celebrations for the patron-saint of the Hellenic Air Force, Archangel Michael, which took place at the Hellenic Air Force Academy (Dekelia Airport), at Tatoi-Attica.

The celebration was also attended by: the member of the official opposition, MP in Piraeus A’ Electoral District & Islands with the ‘Coalition of the Radical Left’ party Mr. Theodoros Dritsas, the member of the ‘Panhellenic Socialist Movement’ party, former Deputy Minister of National Defence Mr. Kostas Spiliopoulos, the ‘Independent Greeks’ party leader Mr. Panos Kammenos, the member of the ‘Popular Orthodox Rally’ party, former Alternate Minister of National Defence Mr. Georgios Georgiou, the former Prime Minister Mr. Ioannis Grivas, the Chief of the Hellenic National Defence General Staff General Michail Kostarakos, the Chief of the Hellenic Air Force General Staff Lieutenant General (AF) Antonios Tsantirakis, the Chief of the Hellenic Navy General Staff Vice Admiral Kosmas Christidis, the Chief of the Hellenic Army General Staff Lieutenant General Konstantinos Gkinis, senior cadres of the Armed Forces and Security Corps, former Chiefs and Deputy Chiefs of the Armed Forces, retired Officers of the Armed Forces and foreign Embassies’ Attachés.

After the ceremony, Mr. Panagiotopoulos addressed the attendees with the following:

“Ladies and gentlemen,

Today our Air Force, one of the most glorious services of the Hellenic Armed Forces, one of the three iron arms of the Hellenic Republic’s National Defence, is celebrating.

Given the occasion, allow me to share some thoughts with you.

The Armed Forces, a part of which is our glorious Air Force, are also an exceptional part of the Greek people. At an extremely important and critical time, when everything is changing in our broader region, where rapid reversals and alterations take place in the South-Eastern Mediterranean, the Balkans, the Middle East and the Arab world, Greece still remains a key country for the international security system and this is due to its geostrategic and geopolitical position, due to the sacrifices made by the Greek people and, before everything else, due to our potent Armed Forces.

Naturally, it is well known that our country experiences a very difficult circumstance. We are going through the hammer and the anvil as far as our financial and fiscal problems are concerned. However, other countries have gone through similar financial and fiscal difficulties as well and they have recovered; and more will experience them in the future.

What characterises Greece, a fundamental component of our identity, is neither our financial problems nor the difficult fiscal circumstance, it is the fact that we are a key country for the international security system. This is something we should negotiate with very smartly at all directions.

Under no circumstances should we allow any fiscal or financial problems – which after a steep path, with sacrifices, will sometime be overcome – raise problems of national security, national sovereignty and national independence for our country. For the benefit of national security comes before economy.

If the benefit of national security is not guaranteed, and it is guaranteed by the Hellenic Armed Forces, we can have neither financial growth, neither investments, nor any form of social and financial activity.

I am aware of the fact that the Armed Forces today, as a part of the Hellenic people, just like the rest of the Hellenic people, bear an insufferable burden. In this struggle, in this extraordinary financial war the markets have declared upon us, Greece can and should win. The personnel of the Armed Forces, in service or retired, are once more at the frontline. We are one family.

We give the battle at the frontline. We bear insufferable burdens and a great historic responsibility, however once more we will carry it out.

The Armed Forces do not divide us, they unite us. It is a point of reference for the entire civilised world, a point of reference for the entire Nation, a field of exaltation, unity, concord, solidarity and National Cohesion.

With these thoughts I would like to call the men and women who serve in the Air Force to be strictly devoted to the supreme duty that has been consecrated to them by the Constitution of the Hellenic Republican State, by our Nation, by the Greek People.

As Minister of National Defence of the Hellenic Republic, I am proud because we have the best Armed Forces. I am proud because we have the best pilots in the Air Force, who would not be able to fly and perform interceptions in the Aegean Sea – when bad neighbours are trying to contest our country’s National Sovereignty – if the base units and ground support units were nor staffed with competent cadres of the Air Force.

All the men and women who serve in the Armed Forces and, in this instance, the men and women who serve in our Air Force, deserve a public praise by the Hellenic people.

Carry on with your effort. Carry on with your mission. We are proud of you. We are proud of what you accomplish every day, at all areas of assessment of a service.

Many happy returns for this day; may God light our way and give us courage to continue this hard struggle, we will come out of as winners”.