On Thursday, 14 May 2026, the Minister of National Defence Mr. Nikos Dendias, accompanied by the Chief of Hellenic National Defence General Staff, General Dimitrios Choupis, the Chief of Hellenic Army General Staff, Lieutenant General Georgios Kostidis, and the Commanding General of the Supreme Military Command of the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean “AEGEAS”, Lieutenant General Dimitrios Vakentis, visited the Area of Responsibility of the Supreme Military Command of the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean.

First, they went to the Area of Responsibility of the 79th Higher National Guard Battalions Command “MYKALI”, where they attended the inauguration ceremony of the new personnel readiness building on the islet of AGATHONISI. The equipment of this building is a donation from “Eurobank”, which was represented for the inauguration ceremony by its Deputy CEO, Stavros Ioannou.

The ceremony was attended by MP for Samos Mr. Christodoulos Stefanadis, MPs for the Dodecanese Mr. Vasilios Ypsilantis, Mr. Ioannis Pappas, and Ms. Tsampika Iatridi, the Mayor of Agathonisi Mr. Evangelos Kottoros, His Eminence, the Metropolitan of Mesogea and Lavreotiki, Mr. Nikolaos, the Chief of Hellenic Navy General Staff, Vice Admiral Dimitrios – Eleftherios Kataras HN, the Chief of Hellenic Air Force General Staff, Lieutenant General (HAF) Dimosthenis Grigoriadis, active duty and retired Armed and Security Forces officers, and other guests.

Subsequently, they went to the Area of Responsibility of the 80th Higher National Guard Battalions Command “KOS”, where they attended Field Exercise “IASON – POSEIDON 1/26” on the islet of PLATI.

Field Exercise “IASON – POSEIDON 1/26” is a medium-scale exercise on the manning of islets and the execution of a special amphibious action and involved personnel and assets of the 80th Higher National Guard Battalions Command, the Hellenic Special Warfare Command, the 1st Army Aviation Brigade “KILKIS LAHANAS”, and a pair of F-16 fighter aircraft of the Hellenic Air Force.

The objective of the exercise was to train the personnel, increase the operational readiness and combat effectiveness, and promote jointness and common operational perception.

#ΕλληνικόςΣτρατός, #HellenicArmy