With honors and special thanks on behalf of the Minister of National Defense Nikos Dendias to the person of lieutenant general e.a. and former commander of the 1st Army Ioannis Tsioplou, the reception began after the ceremony of handing over the baton to Lt. Gen. Demokritos Konstantakos, which preceded in the courtyard of the “General Nikolaos Plastiras” Camp.

“We responded with absolute competence and self-sacrifice, and this is a great honor,” the minister said in his greeting to Mr. Tsioplo, adding that “under your leadership, the Greek army proved its dual role: defender of the homeland and supporter of the society in the difficult moment”.

As he underlined, the Greek Armed Forces “are in a phase of mutation. They must evolve so that in 2030 they are fully ready to face the challenges of times that change everything around them: they magnify threats, multiply problems, create new data.”

Already in the new organizational structure, a Development Directorate has been foreseen under the command of a general, as has also been foreseen a Directorate for Dealing with Natural Disasters, which will create mixed crisis units. Units that will be ready to respond in zero time to environmental challenges”.

Watch the video:

See photos: