Today, Friday 18 May 18, the Alternate Minister of National Defence Fotis Kouvelis, accompanied by the Chief of HAGS Lieutenant General Alkiviadis Stefanis, visited formations and units of the Hellenic Army located in the area of Larissa and Trikala. He particularly visited the NCOs School in Trikala, the 1st Army HQ in Larissa, the Hellenic European Union Operational Headquarters, as well as the 404 Larissa General Military Hospital. Furthermore he had a meeting with the board of the Union of the Hellenic Ministry of National Defence Civilian Employees, from the regions of Thessaly – Macedonia – Epirus – Central Greece and the boards of the regional offices of Larissa of the Retired Army and Air Force Officers Association.

The Alternate Minister of National Defence addressed the Command and students of the NCOs School and noted that:

“The Greek NCO has been established in our consciousness as the unsung hero, who, in the spirit of self-denial and pure patriotism, serves our homeland and struggles daily to defend our national sovereign rights”.

He also added:

“Towards that direction, the Ministry fully aware of the multi-faceted role of the NCO established the three-year duration of studies at the NCOs School, the seed bed of career NCOs, aiming on one hand to solidify a modern training programme and on the other hand to upgrade the military training and academic education, according to the most modern methods, so that the modern NCO will be shaped based on the model of the Excellent Career NCO, and will constitute the backbone of the Army”.

In reference to our country’s Armed Forces in general, he stressed that:

“Our country is geographically located at a place requiring a powerful army. This means that we must continuously modernise the model of the Armed Forces, making it current, more powerful and flexible, giving priority not only to armaments, but also to our personnel’s education and training.

We overcome the crisis and 2018 will be a focal point. The Armed Forces, maintaining high operational readiness, contribute simultaneously to the aforementioned result, along with the rest of the Greek people, who has been submitted to sacrifices.

At this point I would like to once more stress, something which I already knew but also ascertained during my last visits to the three Services’ units, that the country maintains a military force capable to defend its territorial integrity and national independence.

The Armed Forces simultaneously constitute the basic source of contribution to society. They stand by the Greek citizen and contribute with numerous actions to the management of issues arising from the increased refugee flows, search and rescue, air evacuations, prevention and suppression of forest fires, medical support of inhabitants in frontier areas, voluntary blood donation, countering the consequences of natural disasters, the construction of small technical projects and any type of assistance to fellow humans in need”.

The Alternate Minister of National Defence stressed the necessity of further strengthening the relations of the NCOs School students with the citizens of the area, noting that:

“You experience it, you comprehend it daily, through your interaction with the local society. A local society which has embraced the School and actively participates in every School’s event. I urge you to continue and strengthen even more your ties with it. Stand by its side, as you do now, and I am certain that you will find a powerful ally in your every effort”.

Referring to the characteristics governing the stance of a military person, he stressed:

“With your induction to the School, you chose to serve the country, with the mission to defend its liberty and sovereignty, with decency, courage and high sense of responsibility. The calling of the Military Person will give you a great feeling. The highest moral satisfaction, which can be felt only by those who offer their services to the Homeland. So I call you to apply and cultivate the pure military spirit. Draw from Hellenism’s virtues and abide, unwaveringly, by the rules of conscious discipline”.

The Alternate Minister of National Defence made a statement after the completion of his visit to the NCOs School:

“The NCOs School located in the city of Trikala is a very important training facility, which trains the Armed Forces members of tomorrow. Career NCOs are the backbone of our Armed Forces. Excellent training, with an exceptionally important and effective structure. I would like to congratulate the Chief of the Hellenic Army General Staff, the School’s Commander, the training personnel and every other member of the personnel. Another essential feature is the fact that the Trikala society has embraced the NCOs School, and that is very important. Concerning the more general issues, I have to say that our country is one of peace. It does not claim anything that does not belong to it. With its Armed Forces, our deterrent forces, we are determined to defend our national sovereign rights to the last and we allow no one to question them. 

The Alternate Minister of National Defence, talking to the members and personnel of the 1st Army mentioned, among other things, the following:

“You fulfill daily your important national duties and from the beginning I want to stress that we are proud of you. You play a central role in guaranteeing defence and solidifying the Hellenic people’s sense of security. The responsibility, discipline and enthusiasm which I can discern throughout the military personnel, prove your daily volition to defend our territorial integrity and national interests.

The political and military leaderships of the Ministry of National Defence, being fully aware of the difficulties and problems under which you execute your essential mission, continuously materialise multiple actions for the improvement of your own and your families’ living conditions.

You must be proud of the duty you have undertaken, and of the fact that you have dedicated a great part of your life to the service of the Homeland and society. The Greek society itself recognises this, because your contribution does not consist solely of the defence of the country’s territorial integrity and independence, but also of the Greek citizen’s daily life, since you stand by him/her whenever you are needed.

That is why you earn the public recognition, the public praise and the State’s gratitude. The homeland entrusts you with its future and the Greek people with securing its peace and prosperity.

On this occasion, we once more declare that our national rights, the application of international treaties, like the Treaty of Lausanne and the respect to International Law are not negotiable. Those who covet our homeland’s rights must know that we will not be proven inferior of our ancestors’ sacrifice and our debt to the nation”.

The Alternate Minister of National Defence, after the conclusion of his visit to the 1st Army stated the following:

“The 1st Army is exceptionally organised with what that may entail for our country’s deterrence force. Because we may be a country of peace, a country wishing to promote peace in the wider region, but we have to keep our deterrence force in a very good condition, because we do not allow our national sovereign rights to be called in question, as they are promoted and recorded in an exceptionally clear and particular way by the international treaties and the International Law.

He then visited the 404 Larissa Military Hospital, where he stated the following:

“I complete my visit to Larissa, leaving from the 404 Larissa Military Hospital. The level of contribution of the medical care services in general is high, with scientifically exceptional medical and nursing personnel. The Hospital has also opened its doors to non military individuals. This is the social presence of the Armed Forces”.

Answering a question by journalists regarding the pressure exercised to Turkey for the release of the two Greek military men held at the prison of Adrianople, he mentioned:

“The pressure exercised to Turkey is related to European actions but also actions from across the Atlantic, since the USA also exercise pressure. But you see Erdogan has integrated this issue, of the unacceptable and illegal detention of our two military men, to his own policy. The policy of tension. The rhetoric of tension only seeks to shape a climate, which he naively believes will allow him to negotiate and achieve Turkey’s presence in the wider region of the Cyprus Exclusive Economic Zone.

Of course, he simultaneously tries to reduce the tension due to his great domestic problems, using his rhetoric of tension externally, while promoting his election campaign with authoritarianism, unacceptable nationalism and hostility which he wishes to shape with all the neighbouring countries and particularly with Greece. But this policy will not go far, because Turkey’s foreign policy is vulnerable, fragile, inconsistent and contradictory”.