The Minister of National Defence Mr. Panos Panagiotopoulos, accompanied by the Chief of the Hellenic Navy General Staff Vice Admiral K. Christidis and the Chief of the Hellenic Air Force General Staff Lieutenant General (AF) Antonios Tsantirakis, visited today the 115 Combat Wing, NAMFI, Crete Naval Station and NATO Maritime Interdiction Operational Training Centre (NMIOTC).
To each destination, Mr. Panagiotopoulos was briefed by the Commanders on matters of his pertinence, and he held meetings and personal discussions with a group of F-16 pilots of the 343 Squadron of the 115 Combat Wing, as well as with military and civilian personnel.
Mr. Panagiotopoulos made the following statement:
P. PANAGIOTOPOULOS: My visit here today is dedicated to the memory of Captain Kostas Iliakis who should be an exemplar for the Hellenic Armed Forces and the entire Hellenic people, especially for our youth, for he set an example with his heroic sacrifice. Kostas Iliakis belonged to the 343 Squadron of the 115 Combat Wing.
Today, on the eve of the great celebration of Virgin Mary, I am here in Crete, visiting Hellenic Armed Forces’ important Units and facilities, the 115 Combat Wing, NAMFI, and the Crete Naval Station as well as the NATO Maritime Interdiction Operational Training Centre. I held contacts with their personnel, as well as with personnel of the 5th Cretan Division, and I had the chance to visit and be guided around the facilities.
I am fully aware of the fact that the Armed Forces’ facilities in Crete, the ones I visited today and others I will have the chance to visit shortly at early Autumn, as well as the Armed Forces’ personnel who are on the island, contribute in the best possible way to the establishment of national security and to the respect of our country’s national sovereignty.
Because without national security in a country neither financial growth can be achieved, nor new working posts can be established, new investments be made or tourism grow.
Therefore, the personnel serving in the Armed Forces all over Greece deserve a big thanks and public praise; but, especially here in Crete since they strive and succeed in the best possible way to go through with the mission they have been assigned by the Hellenic people and our nation.
The contribution of everyone serving here, as well as in other regions of our country, yet I am particularly referring to Crete, does not only concern our country’s national security, but also the enhancement of Greece’s geostrategic role at the international scene, the international organisation our country participates in, and the area of military and political alliances Greece has traditionally developed.
The Ministry of National Defence actively contributes to the Prime Minister’s, the Government’s and the entire Hellenic people’s effort, in order to be able to serve the public debt and minimise the Hellenic economy’s deficit. So that Greece will stay in the hard core of the European Union and the Eurozone, recover and progress.
Drastic cuts have been made at the budget of the Ministry of National Defence; cuts which would have been considered unimaginable, for a time only few years ago.
These cuts are made so that we will also contribute to the great national effort, that there will be no need to further cut pensions and wages, that the country will be able to recover and exit the crisis.
These cuts are made under two circumstances. The first is that we do not, and we will not, compromise the effectiveness of the Armed Forces and their operational readiness, which is above and before everything else. The second is that we should make no further cuts to the payroll of men and women serving in the Armed forces. They are a part of the Hellenic people, also bearing a great burden, like the rest of our people.
I have repeatedly said that the payroll of the personnel, men and women, serving in the Armed Forces have already been cut by 37% and further cuts cannot and should not be made.
The Ministry of National Defence contributes to the national effort. We cut expenses because our country must recover quickly, but under no circumstances should the deterrent capability of Greece be compromised – and this shall not happen – nor should the wages of men and women serving in the Armed Forces be further reduced.
The personnel of the Armed Forces deserve a public praise for participating to the great effort, under circumstances of financial crisis, to have a safe and strong Greece; to inspire respect emerging from national sovereignty to all our neighbours who should know that the Hellenic Armed Forces are devoted to their duty and that Greece, by way of its Armed Forces, disposes a great deterrent force.
JOURNALIST: You said, mister Minister, that they wages should not be cut. Is this a commitment concerning the special payroll, that no further cuts will be made?
P. PANAGIOTOPOULOS: Look, as Minister of National Defence, I mean to say what I already said to you. As you know, the Prime Minister Mr. Antonis Samaras is the head of this effort to not reduce the special payroll of people serving in the Armed Forces and, besides the country’s Prime Minister, it is also the President of the Hellenic Republic, Mr. Karolos Papoulias, whom I recently had the chance to inform, that expressed the exact same thoughts.
JOURNALIST: Mister Minister, there is an issue with the airport and port at Souda. It is in the list for infrastructure prospective for denationalization; given the fact that they are military installations, what is the Ministry’s stance on the issue? Can such a prospect occur?
P. PANAGIOTOPOULOS: Please, don’t mix everything up. In the Armed Forces, the State has the first and last say. In matters of national security, it is the State that will continue having the first and last say.
Thank you very much.
