The elite of the Special Forces managed with 2 groups of free shooters to win the 1st and 4th place in an International Competition in which 36 countries participated. Turkey has sunk.
The Chief of the GETHA General Konstantinos Floros awarded the Moral Award of “Honorable Mention” to six Officers and Non-Commissioned Officers of the newly created Special Warfare Command (DEP) – the “Shadows of the Aegean” – of the GETHA who distinguished themselves in the international military sniper competition “European Best Sniper” Team Competition 2022″.
The Competition was organized by the Joint Multinational Readiness Center (JMRC) of the US 7th Army Training Command and took place in Hohenfels, Germany.
The Faculty of GEETHA participated with 2 Teams (pairs) of Sniper Shooters which won 1st (ETA) and 4th place (7th MAK) among 36 teams from 18 countries (Bulgaria, Germany, Greece, Estonia, USA, Italy, Croatia , Republic of Cyprus, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Turkey, Czech Republic and Finland).
The intentions of the “Shadows” were evident from day one when they took first place, with the USA trailing and the Turks being… invisible.
Sniper teams competed over 8 days in aerial shooting, moving targets, high angle shooting, trench warfare, unknown distance, stalks, night target detection and pistol course.
The final ranking brought the 1st team from the Faculty to the first place and to the 2nd place to the 1st team of Latvia and to the third place to the 2nd team of Italy.
The ceremony, which took place at the Special Forces Training Center (STF) at the “LIEDER-GENERAL ANDREA KALLINSKI” Camp in Nea Peramo Attica, was attended by the Chief of General Staff Vice Admiral Stylianos Petrakis PN, the Chief of General Staff Vice Admiral (I) Themistoklis Bourolias, the Inspector General of the Army – Doctrine and Training Commander (DIDOE) Lieutenant General Nikolaos Flaris as the representative of GES Chief Lieutenant General Charalambos Lalousis, DEP Commander Lieutenant General Georgios Tsitsikostas, DDEE Commander Major General Georgios Manouras and GES/DEP Director Major General Dimitrios Vounisios.
During his brief greeting, the Head of the Greek Army pointed out that the significant distinction of the Hellenic Special Forces and Special Operations Forces is a great and enviable success, stressing that the determination combined with their persistent and painstaking training makes them capable of responding to demanding scenarios of increased complexity and difficulty.
He also pointed out that since it was established in April 2020, the Faculty has modernized and upgraded the capabilities of designing and executing Special Operations, contributing to the promotion of interdisciplinarity and common operational understanding. He also referred to the acclaim and acceptance enjoyed at an international level by both the Faculty and its subordinate Commands and Units, due to their excellent performance in exercises, joint trainings and operational actions with friends, partners and allies.
Concluding his greeting, he congratulated the awardees for their success in the Competition and urged all the staff of the Faculty to continue developing their skills and abilities, promoting the Greek fighting ability at an international level.
This was followed by a static demonstration of sniper materials and equipment and a presentation of two newly acquired POLARIS MRZR Special Mission Vehicles, which are used in reconnaissance missions, material transfers and casualty transport and can be transported by Armed Forces aircraft.
He then gave instructions and directions for the completion of the works at the new facilities of the KEED, which, in combination with those that have already been delivered, in addition to the significant upgrade of the operational and repair capabilities of the Faculty, will also be a pole of attraction for the Special Operations Forces of friends , partner and allied countries and the joint execution of high-level educational activities.
