On Thursday 28 September 2023, the Minister of National Defence Mr Nikos Dendias, accompanied by the Deputy Minister of National Defence Mr Ioannis Kefalogiannis, visited the Hellenic Army Academy and inaugurated the renovated facilities of the Recreation Room, the Mess Halls and the Kitchens. The inauguration ceremony, which took place after a tour of the Minister around the Academy, was also attended by the Chief/HAGS Lieutenant General Aggelos Choudeloudis, the Commander of the SPECIAL WARFARE COMMAND Lieutenant General Dimitrios Choupis, the Commander of the HIGHER ARMY SUPPORT MILITARY COMMAND Lieutenant General Georgios Kostidis, the Chief of Staff/HAGS Lieutenant General Stavros Papastathopoulos, the Commander of the Hellenic Army Academy Major General Anastasios Polychronos and members of the faculty. The renovation of the facilities is a donation of Mr Panos Kyriakopoulos, the son of the former commander of the Academy, Othonas Kyriakopoulos. In his address during the ceremony, the Minister of National Defence stated the following: “I am particularly pleased to be here today, in the Hellenic Army Academy, the oldest Education Institution in the country. An Academy which is among the top Military Institutions internationally, an Academy that shapes the Future of the Armed Forces and stands as a beacon of excellence in the training of our new Army Officers. Since 1828, when it was established by my compatriot Ioannis Kapodistrias, the Hellenic Army Academy constitutes, as its name reflects (Evelpidon), the “Good Hope of the Nation”. It instils its students with the sense of honour,
discipline, devotion to the homeland, the Nation and the people. The proud history of the Academy includes countless young people, who were transformed from Cadets to leaders with ethos and vision.
We have been witnesses of the devotion, resilience, commitment to duty that defines the character of our new Army Officers. Ladies and gentlemen, we are experiencing a period where the developments in the region, the security challenges leave no other option but to invest in the training and the personnel of the Armed Forces. This Academy performs the most important part of this necessary preparation.
We all know, as our opponents also know, that our defence capabilities rely mainly on our personnel. This constitutes our main force multiplier. The main pursuit and constitutional obligation of the Ministry of National Defence is to ensure a modern training based on pilot schemes, for the students of the Academy; also, as it is self-evident, to improve the infrastructures of their living conditions. Today, a very important step is made for the improvement of the overall living capability and training of the Cadets. Mr Panos Kyriakopoulos’ donation, the son of a Sacred Company member, General Othonas Kyriakopoulos, a former Commander of the Academy, is a proof of the everlasting spirit of patriotism, of the acknowledgement of the necessary vital role played by this Institution in the shaping of the future of our
homeland’s Armed Forces. The recreation room, in which we are now and the mess halls of the Academy, are not just a set of connected structural materials. It is much deeper than that. It is the proof of the commitment for the improvement of everyday living of our future leaders. Of course, today we must also express our sympathy for the residents of Volos and the rest of Thessaly, who have suffered from the catastrophic floods. But this, ladies and gentlemen, cannot reduce the importance of today’s ceremony, which reflects the fact that the Greek society and the forces arising from it fully comprehend the main role of our homeland’s Armed Forces, for the function of the society and the survival of the nation and the people.
Thank you”.