On Thursday 27 August 2026, the Deputy Minister of National Defence Thanasis Davakis, visited the headquarters of the 80^th Higher National Guard Battalions Command “KOS” and the Pserimos Surveillance Outpost in the Area of Responsibility of the Supreme Military Command of the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean.

The Deputy Minister was welcomed by the Mayor of Kalymnos Ioannis Mastrokoukos, the Commanding General of the Supreme Military Command of the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean, Lieutenant General Dimitrios Vakentis, the Commanding General of the 80^th Higher National Guard Battalions Command, Brigadier General Grigorios Garoufalias, and the Commander of the 282^nd Mechanised National Guard Battalion, Infantry Lieutenant Colonel Avakoum Papadopoulos. Afterwards, Mr. Davakis visited Pserimos, where he met with the personnel of the Surveillance Outpost and residents of the island.

On the occasion of his visit, the Deputy Minister of National Defence Thanasis Davakis, made the following statement:

“Today, I found myself close to the personnel and soldiers of the 80^th Higher National Guard Battalions Command and the Pserimos Surveillance Outpost, in the heart of our Aegean.

Once more, I confirmed the high morale, excellent training, and operational readiness of the women and men of the Armed Forces, who defend our national sovereignty with self-denial.

Furthermore, I had the opportunity to discuss with the residents of the remote Pserimos island and listen to the problems they are facing, such as the issue regarding the availability of doctors at the island’s Regional Clinic, which we are continuously staffing with an enlisted medical doctor and whom I would like to thank.

The social contribution of our Armed Forces is constant and ever present, particularly in areas of our Aegean such as Pserimos”.