On Thursday, 2 May 2019, the students’ graduation ceremony of the 71st National Defence College Training Series was held at the Hellenic Armed Forces Officers Club in Athens.
His Excellency, the President of the Hellenic Republic, Prokopios Pavlopoulos, honoured the ceremony with his presence and presented the graduation certificates to the students.
The Minister of National Defence Evangelos Apostolakis, the Alternate Minister of National Defence Panos Rigas, as well as the Chief of the Hellenic National Defence General Staff General Christos Christodoulou HAF, the Chief of the Hellenic Army General Staff Lieutenant General Georgios Kambas, the Chief of the Hellenic Navy General Staff Vice Admiral Nikolaos Tsounis HN, the Chief of the Hellenic Air Force General Staff Lieutenant General Georgios Blioumis HAF and the Chief of the Hellenic Coast Guard Vice Admiral Stamatios Raptis CG attended the ceremony. Members of the Parliament, representatives of the Armed and Security Forces and graduates’ families attended as well.
In total, 61 Officers graduated, (56 from the Armed Forces, 2 from the Security Forces, 1 from Cyprus, 1 from Egypt and 1 from Albania) and 3 Permanent Civilians from the Ministry of National Defence, the Ministry of Education, Research and Religious Affairs and the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport.
The Minister of National Defence made the following address:
“Your Excellency, Mr President of the Hellenic Republic,
I am delighted to be here today, attending the graduation ceremony of the 71st National Defence College Training Series, as a representative of the Government and Minister of National Defence.
Allow me to begin stating that, in the context of the unstable and competitive international system that surrounds us, Greece plays an important role regarding the stability in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Balkans, promoting both cooperation and friendship among the people and the countries.
Of course, the developments in the wider region leave us no other choice but to try our best, to achieve the ultimate efficiency and readiness level.
We are successful in this.
The Armed Forces’ personnel are the main source of our power. Their training is a force multiplier, constituting an important part of our defence preparation.
In this context, today, another training period in the National Defence College is completed, which, since its establishment in 1950, performs its part successfully, with regard to our members’ training.
The co-training conducted in the National Defence College contributes in a common understanding among the Armed Forces’ members and other wider public sector services, regarding contemporary challenges and concerns of the international arena. And of course, it promotes jointness, whose essential and effective promotion is an everyday concern for us. At the same time, it further contributes in strengthening relations with other states, since we are delighted to provide training to international Officers.
It is extremely important that through the National Defence College an opportunity is presented to members of high educational level to possess a full understanding of the wider sector of Strategic Studies and also of the international arena and the developments that affect defence and security issues, at a national and regional level. This helps each of the graduates to fulfill, in the best possible manner, the duties that he/she is going to undertake, after returning to his/her post.
This is exactly what we achieve through the National Defence College attendance. We inspire our members to keep on learning all their lives and being educated and to acquire a truly strategic stand and point of view. A strategic point of view, so that they can see the big picture and at the same time to be able to focus on every minor detail.
Dear graduates,
Being convinced that you will meet the great expectations after graduating from the College, I congratulate you and I wish you success in performing your duties and completing the rest of your service in the Army.
The completion of your studies constitutes an important turning-point in your career. The responsibility that you undertake on your graduation day is crucial but also proportional to your very high training level.
I urge you to take every given opportunity to make use of the knowledge you acquired, making the time you spent as students in the National Defence College an asset.
Addressing the graduates from the National Guard of Cyprus and the Armed Forces of Egypt and Albania, I would like to point out that your attendance in the National Defence College is a proof of the ties among our countries’ Armed Forces.
The attendance of the Hellenic Police and Coast Guard Officers, as well as of Ministries’ Employees is also of great importance. Beyond the apparent educational benefit, the members’ interaction during the participation in joint training is the basis for further improvement of the cooperation and interoperability level among the Armed Forces, the Security Forces and the other state services, mainly to the benefit of the whole society.
Of course, I would also like to refer to the National Defence College personnel, both military and civilian, as well as the cooperating professors. Your tireless efforts and the quality of your work achieved the high level of training provided by the National Defence College, for which you are praiseworthy.
Addressing the graduates’ families, I would like to thank them from the bottom of my heart for their patience and understanding, supporting our members in their strenuous and time-consuming effort to meet their highly professional requirements, like the National Defence College attendance.
Your Excellency, Mr President of the Hellenic Republic,
The Armed Forces systematically invest in their members’ training. This strategic choice is already fruitful, since our members today are highly professional and efficient. These qualitative characteristics, combined with the high morale and readiness of our members, provide me the opportunity to assure you that the Armed Forces can fulfill their mission successfully.
Thank you.”
