On Monday 17 June 2024, the Deputy Minister of National Defence Mr Giannis Kefalogiannis, visited the Military School of Combat Support Officers and was welcomed by the Commander of the School Major General Georgios Gouvas.

Mr. Kefalogiannis was briefed on the organisation, the mission and the training project and made a tour at the School’s premises and finally he addressed its students.

The Deputy Minister pointed out that in the context of the continuous care for the upgrade of the School, the establishment of the Information Section is included, which, jointly, with the establishment of the Information Joint Corps and the composition of “Unit 1864”, will contribute decisively in the armouring of the Armed Forces, in the light of the recent challenges of cyber security. At the same time, he stressed that the continuous upgrade of the Armed Forces Military Schools is a high priority for the Ministry, highlighting that the level of the provided training in the Military School of Combat Support Officers is equal or much higher than the one provided in other Universities, a fact which is proven by the efficiency of its graduates in every step of their career.

In his address the Deputy Minister of National Defence stated among other things:

“With great pleasure I am visiting today the historic Military School of Combat Support Officers. The School, which since 1925, as a Military Medical School then and since 1970 as the Military School of Combat Support Officers, trains Officers-scientists. Those graduates, who as Officers have participated in the struggles of the nation, giving even their life, so that we can enjoy today the highest commodity of freedom and who, as scientists, have contributed decisively in the promotion of science in our country, whereas they have been acknowledged even in international science fields.

The Officer who comes from the Military School of Combat Support Officers, due to his mission, has a unique particularity. He must combine the scientific knowledge with the professional efficiency and the art of command as well. The military and political leadership expects from said Officer to provide his scientific knowledge under adverse circumstances, even in a period of operations. At the same time, from his first steps, until the end of his career, he is called to command personnel and structures, and to manage special situations.

Your School is responsible for a multifaceted and demanding double mission:

On one hand, it has to create capable fighters with full cognition of their mission, whom it must also teach the principles of command, and foster all those leadership characteristics which will make them efficient leaders. On the other hand, it is called to form flawless scientists with high cognitive background, who will be able to use the fast progress in their scientific fields and to be the protagonists in the culture and development of their sciences, responding to the current and future challenges.

All these, within a complex geopolitical environment, where the security challenges and the requirements for strong armed forces have been multiplied, whereas, at the same time, the scientific fields still expand and specialise.

The high level cooperation with the academic community of Thessaloniki Aristotle University assures to its students the required scientific background, as well as solid methodological tools and vital knowledge, so that they can not only observe but also have the main role in the developments in the field of their sciences, at both a national and international level. The excellent staff members of the School teach their students the military science and instills them with the art of leadership, using their mental and ethical skills.

The obligation of the state, through the political and military leadership of the Ministry of National Defence, is to support with every means possible the work of the Military School of Combat Support Officers, in order for it to respond to its mission to the highest possible degree.

In the context of the continuous care for the upgrade of the School the establishment of the Information Section is included, which, jointly, with the establishment of the Information Joint Corps and the composition of “Unit 1864”, will contribute decisively in the armouring of the Armed Forces, in the light of the recent challenges of cyber security.

The specific initiative will contribute in facing the problem of disintegration of the information support in the Armed Forces and the integrated facing of the challenges arising at the cyber security level and management of information systems.

When I took the office of the Deputy Minister of National Defence I chose to start my visits in the military structures of our country from the Armed Forces Military Schools. This way, I wanted to project the importance that the political leadership of the Ministry gives to the training of the manpower, through the work of the Military Schools. The cooperation that was inaugurated then continued the immediate time period intensively, in cooperation with the General Staffs and the academic community of all Schools.

Dear students of the Military School of Combat Support Officers, you are members of an elite School, whose level of the provided training is equal or much higher than that provided in other Universities, a fact which is proven by the efficiency of its graduates in every step of their career.

It is a fact that with your graduation new horizons are opened before you. During your career you will be given the opportunity to upgrade your scientific field, to expand your critical ability and shape a strategic perception, following post graduate and PhD studies in Greek Universities and distinguished schools and academies abroad.

The Corps of the Officers, to which you will belong, enjoys the recognition of the whole society. All we citizens know the Officer of the Military School of Combat Support Officers through his scientific efficiency, his professionalism, his social contribution, his multileveled efficiency, his ethos and actions.

We embrace you with trust, believing that you are excellent scientists, respectable professionals and outstanding members of our Armed Forces. Let this be the motive to struggle even harder, projecting the virtues, the abilities and the high level of the Greek Officer of the Military School of Combat Support Officers.

Thank you and I wish you good luck in your exams that are in progress.”