On Friday, 22 September 2017, the Alternate Minister of National Defence, Dimitris Vitsas, awarded the diplomas to the graduates of the 7th e-learning course training class of the Hellenic National Defence College in a ceremony that took place in the Athens Armed Forces Officers’ Club, in the presence of the Chief of Hellenic National Defence General Staff, Admiral Evangelos Apostolakis, the Chief of Hellenic Navy General Staff, Vice Admiral Nikolaos Tsounis, and the Commandant of the Hellenic National Defence College, Vice Admiral Alexandros Diakopoulos.
Graduates included 70 Army Officers, 22 Navy Officers, 12 Air Force Officers, 16 Cypriot Officers, 2 Hellenic Police Officers, 1 Fire Service Officer, and 3 Civilian Employees.
The Alternate Minister of National Defence gave the following address:
“It is a great honour to be in this diploma award ceremony for the graduates of the 7th e-learning course training class of the Hellenic National Defence College.
The Hellenic National Defence College is a joint post-graduate studies school of the Armed Forces, offering the highest level of joint training.
Our era is very demanding in terms of knowledge and education. It is an era that has opened new horizons to knowledge and this has directly affected the Armed Forces.
Our goal is:
• To upgrade the Hellenic National Defence College as much as possible
• To further enhance our existing bonds with Greek and foreign higher education institutions
• To maintain its post-graduate character.
We want the Hellenic National Defence College graduates to be modern operational Officers, with joint perception, capable of grasping all matters at the tactical, operational, and strategic level.
Our country, thanks to the efforts of its citizens, yours and those of your families, regains its pace. We must strip ourselves of the burdens of the past and move forward, having developed the most important force multiplier available: you.
When we speak of a force multiplier we mean constant education, focusing on new knowledge and learning about new scientific achievements, exercising under real conditions, and constant repetition, so that our response is like a reflex.
At this point, I would like to offer you some advice:
Invest in your newly acquired knowledge. Do not settle for less in your life, much less in your professional career, becoming overwhelmed by routine, confrontations, and banality. Take risks and manage change, take full advantage of and increase the resources available, dream and plan actions.
Your thought must be complex, as staff Officers and leaders. You must think in a way that fully exploits all parameters which, for good or for bad, are many and complex, keeping an open mind, with flexibility, speed, and adaptability, if needed.
We are currently experiencing changes that affect geopolitics, geostrategy, and geoeconomics.
The sweeping changes that have happened and continue during the past years have created a new set of data that contribute to an unstable security environment, which directly affects Greece, Cyprus, and the entire Southeast Europe.
Clearly, Greece is aware of the problems and particular conditions of the region and has managed to act as a stabilising factor towards peaceful coexistence.
Our government has chosen to follow a firm policy of principles and positions based on the respect of human rights, the inviolability of the borders, and regional co-operation through the framework of international organizations and equal bilateral relations.
Dealing with these basic priorities, combined with the new conditions in the global environment, requires proper professionals, fully aware of their mission. With a grasp of how things develop, not only in our broader region, but also globally.
So, please, give your all, with high morale, dignity, professional competence, and sense of responsibility. Take care of yourselves, in the proving ground, in your difficult everyday lives.
In conclusion, I would like to wish everyone and your families good health and prosperity”.
