The Deputy Minister of National Defence Mr. Nikolaos Hardalias attended today, Tuesday 8 February 2022, the DV Day of the Basic Helo Dunker Escape School; personnel of the US Armed Forces also participated in this school.
The ceremony, held in the installations of the Naval Helicopter Base at Kotroni-Marathon, was also attended by the Deputy Chief/HNDGS Vice Admiral Ioannis Drymoussis HN, representing the Chief/HNDGS General Konstantinos Floros, the US Ambassador to Greece Mr. Geoffrey Pyatt, the Chief/HAGS Lieutenant General Charalambos Laloussis, the Chief/HNGS Rear Admiral Stylianos Petrakis HN, the Chief/HAFGS Lieutenant General Themistoklis Bourolias and the Chief of Hellenic Fleet Rear Admiral Panagiotis Lymperis HN.
The training, which was joined for the second time by US Armed Forces personnel and is held from Monday 31 January to Thursday 10 February 2022, is held in the Hellenic Navy’s Aviation School and is a 2-day course for each training team. It includes theoretical and practical training and aims at exposing the trainees to the preparation procedure for helicopter water landing, the use of lifesaving
equipment and the rescue procedure, and at providing them with the ability to escape from capsized helicopter, with or without the use of HEED (HELICOPTER EMERGENCY EGRESS DEVICE).
On DV Day, the subjects of practical training were presented by eight of sixty-two trainees of the US Army Combat Aviation Brigade, which is deployed at the Army Aviation Base in Stefanovikeio, in the context of US Operation “ATLANTIC RESOLVE”, and the Mutual Defence Cooperation Agreement (MDCA)
signed between Greece and the US.
The aforementioned activity demonstrates the high level of the training provided by the Hellenic Armed Forces, as well as the constantly upgrading and multileveled military cooperation between Greece and the US.
After the completion of the event, at the Naval Helicopter Base, the Deputy Minister of National Defence made the following statement:
“It is a joy for us to complete this training stage, in this school as well, following a request by our friend and allied Americans. I believe that the image speaks for itself. Following synergies, through training, through all these alliances, our strategy’s sign is pretty clear. We want a strong country, among friends, among allies with a leading role in the broader region.
We would also like to thank the personnel from the Hellenic Navy and the Hellenic National Defence General Staff, the efforts of whom make clear the mentality, the will and, most importantly, the capabilities of the Hellenic Armed Forces.
