The Minister of National Defence Mr. Panos Panaghiotopoulos, attended today the oath taking ceremony at the Hellenic Army Academy, and performed the sabre award ceremony to the graduating Second Lieutenants.
After the completion of the ceremony, he made the following statement:
“… We honour the traditional contribution, the historic contribution of the Land Army and the Hellenic Army Forces in general to our Nation, our Country, the Hellenic people.
Today, when our country is going through the hammer and the anvil due to the financial crisis, we know that the people and the Armed Forces are standing side by side and we all participate to the common effort to lead the country out of this financial crisis, avoid an even worse situation, get stable and start turning up. We can and we will do it.
The Armed Forces are a part of the Hellenic people. Just like the entire Hellenic people, the men and women serving in the Armed Forces have experienced severe sacrifices. They have lost 37% off their incomes and they currently experience a very difficult everyday life, just like the rest of our people. However, they have disconnected this difficult situation from the need to perform their duty, from the need to carry out their mission. And they do that in the best possible way. They deserve a public praise, all the men and women serving in the Armed Forces.
They do everything within their power to stay faithful to their oath and duty, so that every Greek can feel safe, so that the country can focus on the great national effort to reform the country.
As State, we owe to stand by the Armed Forces. To understand their problems, to constantly try to make their daily life less difficult, to support the dignity of everyone serving in the Armed Forces and, at the same time, develop stronger bonds of solidarity and support of the Armed Forces as well as of the entire Hellenic people.
In this framework, by a decision I have already signed, the vessels of the Hellenic Navy which are in the Aegean, will have military doctors of three specialties and will therefore, during their seaway to ports of small islands along the borderline, offer preventive medicine services to the inhabitants of such remote areas of our country. So that they will also feel that the Armed Forces are standing next to them, that the Armed Forces think of them, that the Armed Forces are contributing. Since, as I already said, the personnel serving in the Armed Forces are a part of Hellenic people. They hear the pain, the problems and the sufferings of every Greek man and woman.
Congratulations for today’s glorious ceremony. Good luck to all the graduates; all the best in their mission; have faith in your duty; may God guide us all to become more useful and helpful for our country”.
