“I would like to thank in particular the military reporters for their presence here today. This is a presentation we prepared quite a few days ago. I would like to thank in particular for their presence the Alternate Minister, the Deputy Minister, the Special Secretary, the Chief of Hellenic National Defence General Staff, Admiral Evangelos Apostolakis, whom we see in his uniform for the last time.

As of tomorrow, after 42 years of service, Admiral Evangelos Apostolakis will put on his suit and assume the duties of Minister of National Defence. It is a great pleasure and honour and I can truly say that I could not imagine a succession that would be smoother or a safer choice, not only for the government, but for the entire Greek people and the nation.

I would also like to thank for their presence the Chief of Hellenic Army General Staff, the Chief of Hellenic Navy General Staff, the Chief of Hellenic Air Force General Staff, the Deputy Chief of Hellenic National Defence General Staff, and the Directors of all branches of the Ministry of National Defence.

We are going to present the results of the Ministry’s actions during these three years. I want to wholeheartedly thank the military and political leadership, the Officers, NCOs, National Guardsmen, and Enlisted Soldiers because each and every one of them added a little something to the implementation of a programme in a period of economic crisis. Due to this economic crisis, the budget of the Ministry of National Defence was cut by 60%, but this did not prevent us from doing all these actions, with particular focus on the personnel, the country’s greatest weapon system.

I would like to thank the Prime Minister for his trust, as well as the other Ministers of the Government and the Alternate Ministers who served in the Ministry and the Directors of the Ministry Directorates. Regarding the financial programme, I would like to mention in particular General Prassakis, who helped us all, the military and political leadership, making us the only Ministry where no creditor ever set foot.

Without further ado, I kindly invite the Director of my military office, Colonel Georgios Niveroglou, to present the results of our work during these three years. One last thing, I would like to thank the military reporters and say that our cooperation all these years was excellent. There was never an issue that could damage national interests. When so requested, you all respected confidentiality. I can’t mention certain examples, but I would like the Greek people to know that the military reporters showed great discretion and always cooperated with regard to confidentiality, doing their job and their reporting in a responsible manner. For this reason, the role of the military reporter is a unique one and must be protected. All journalists do their job, but the military reporter is, may I say, “classified”.

So, thank you for our cooperation. We tried, together with the Director of Press and Public Information, Mr. Kousoulas, and the military leadership of the sections related to the media, to keep you informed as much as possible. If any mistakes were made at some point, I accept them, but I believe that the information was exemplary. In addition to the military reporters, I would also like to say that our TV show “With Virtue and Boldness” and its contributors also played an important role, resulting in the Greek people electing the Armed Forces as the institution they trust the most, with acceptance rates over 90%”.