The Minister of National Defence Mr. Panos Kammenos, the Alternate Minister of National Defence Mr. Dimitris Vitsas, the Chief of HNDGS Admiral Evangelos Apostolakis and the Chief of HNGS Vice Admiral Nikolaos Tsounis attended the inauguration ceremony of the Inter-service Unit for Medically Assisted Reproduction of the Naval Hospital of Athens.
The Minister of National Defence during his address mentioned the following, among others:
“It is a great pleasure and honour for me to attend this very important moment of the inauguration of this great Inter-service Medical Unit.
I would like, first of all, to compliment the effort of all the participants for the development of this initiative, which was completed with the function of the “Inter-service Unit for Medically Assisted Reproduction”, in the brief period of 14 months.
Doctors, nurses and the whole personnel contributed, in the best possible way, so that today we have a fully functional medical unit. Once more it is proven that the Hellenic Armed Forces’ mightiest weapon is its personnel. I always believed that the Armed Forces are not just a professional branch in the wider public sector. They are workers committed to the service of higher and nobler ideals.
I want to express my profound satisfaction, because the unit will cover the needs of the three services of the Armed Forces, as well as of the Security Forces. All special health services will be provided for the diagnosis and treatment of infertility, while all the techniques of assisted reproduction and artificial insemination will be applied, without burdening our cadres’ family budget.
The foundation of this Inter-service Unit is something we owed to the cadres of the Armed Forces, who despite facing every day difficulties, conduct their challenging duties with great success at the field units, the combat wings and the warships. So we owe them our support in any way since they guard Thermopylae. Furthermore, I have been informed that there already is high interest and the turnout of cadres at the unit is particularly increased.
The Armed Forces demonstrate their social aspect daily, as an integral part of Greek society. In this context I am certain that you will participate in activities which will support weak social groups of the Greek society, through your provided services.
In any case we must not forget that your work is valuable and it will contribute to one of the greatest problems of the Greek society, which is none other than the demographic problem plaguing our country.
At this point I would like to mention the General Staffs’ great effort so that the Armed Forces will be able to adapt to current and future requirements, focusing on inter-service capabilities, professionalism and interoperability. Through inter-service function and the excellent cooperation between all the services of the Armed Forces and Security Forces, the utilisation of our infrastructure is daily improved, along with our services and the capabilities of our personnel, while at the same time costs are decreased.
Our next goal is the foundation of the Inter-service Pediatric Clinic which will cover the needs of the children of all the cadres in the Armed and Security Forces.
Dear doctors and nurses, your excellent expertise in modern methods and techniques applied by the unit as well as your cooperation in issues of research and innovation with domestic universities as well as those of the EU, USA and NATO, demonstrate your mark in progress, in expectations and hopes, which will shape our country’s future.
I would like to assure you that the Ministry of National Defence will stand by your side, for your demanding work and the exceptional services you provide.
Once more I would like to wish success to your duties and particularly thank the honorary Chief of the Hellenic Navy attending today’s ceremony, who backed this effort with all his strength, in order to succeed and inaugurate this Unit within 14 months.
I wish you all the best”.
