The message of the Chief of General Staff, General Konstantinos Floros, to the Chiefs of Staff to face the Turkish challenges
One would expect that the latest statements by Recep Tayyip Erdogan and other officials of the Turkish government would provoke an acute – if not proportional – reaction from the Greek Armed Forces. However, in GEETHA they have chosen to face national issues with composure and professionalism.
According to information from Realnews, against the background of the constantly escalating Turkish rhetoric, the Chief of General Staff, General Konstantinos Floros, is said, in the context of the instructions he gave to the Chiefs of Staff, to say: “Nothing has changed since ’20 in terms of determination. and the will of the Greek Armed Forces for any challenge that may arise. We have our eyes open, we will answer “.
With his composure and determination in his luggage, the Chief of General Staff made, last week, a three-day trip to Ohrid, the lakeside town of Skopje, to attend the Summit of Chiefs of General Staff of National Defense of the Balkan Countries for the 15th year ( Balkan Chiefs of Defense Conference). His Turkish counterpart, Yasar Guler, was also there. The two Leaders, although they have met in several Sessions, have never had a bilateral meeting on the sidelines. Not even at the NATO Summit in Athens a year ago.
In Ohrid it was like “two strangers in the same city”. This is because the two men did not exchange a word, except for a handshake of modesty – and this for purely formal reasons. An eyewitness confessed to “R” that the Chief of GEETHA gave the impression that if he could, he would avoid even this handshake. Those who know him well believe that behind his expressionless gaze there was much he could say.
At the same time, according to confirmed information of “R”, the Turkish Leader has broken every record of his predecessor, since he is the only one who has not communicated even once by phone with his Greek counterpart. One would expect this to have happened in January 2020, when K. Floros took over as Head of GEETHA. But the Turk – former Commander of the infamous Turkish Gendarmerie – has not kept up the pretense either.
A common finding in the Greek Pentagon is that – so far – the provocative Turkish rhetoric has no corresponding sequence in the field. If one excludes the violations of the national airspace mainly by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), which also reach the limits of hybrid warfare and the creation of impressions, in no way does this situation remind us of 2020, with the armed fighters, the Fleets to have come out, the hybrid threats with the instrumentalization of immigrants and, of course, the drilling policy.
However, this does not mean that the instructions given by the Head of GEETHA at an unsuspected time do not apply. The first is that “there will be no point crisis.” That is, for every challenge, the entire Greek Armed Forces will be mobilized, which will be in a position of universal response – and not only at the point of crisis. In simple words, the Imia-type crisis is not going to be repeated, something that has been embossed with the General’s earlier statement in a meeting with the accredited editors of the Ministry of Defense that, if someone steps on a Greek rock, “first we will burn them and then we will go to see who they were “.
Until we get to this point, however, the Armed Forces – under the direction of the leadership – follow the rules of the “frozen” Confidence Building Measures (FMMs), sending a clear message in every direction that the country is a reliable ally, a serious interlocutor and -the main – implements international treaties and agreements. Discussions on the MOE may have been “frozen”, but under the Papoulias-Yilmaz Memorandum of 1987, the two countries had agreed to refrain from any action that could be provoked between 15 June and 15 June. September. Thus, the Greek Armed Forces have not planned – nor are they going to announce – any exercise for the specific period of time, as long as there is no challenge. “We will not violate the MOE, but at the same time we have our ears and eyes open. We are evaluating and redefining the tactics “, is the message sent by the Greek Pentagon.
At the same time, there is intense mobility in the General Staff, which, in cooperation with the General Staff, is proceeding with a complete renewal and modernization of the Army Air Force. As “R” had revealed – the agreement with the Israelis for the upgrade of the Apache AH-64A attack helicopters is already “running”. At the same time, in cooperation with the Americans, the acquisition of about 20 new attack helicopters of type E is being considered, as well as the upgrade of the nine existing D, also in version E. The aim is to create two-grade attack helicopters, with the latest technology. Conditions are now ripe for the supply of 40 to 48 Blackhawk helicopters in the L version, which will replace the aging Huey UH-1H single-engine engines.
At the same time, the procedures for receiving from the French an additional six NH-90 helicopters are “running”, the delivery of which has been pending for years, simultaneously with the flow of spare parts for the existing 14 helicopters.
