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1 GREEK ARMED FORCES VICTIM OF POLITICAL BADNESS

By Lieutenant General S. Panagopoulos

From the EL.E.S.M.E website and the columns of the magazine published by the Institute, on numerous occasions we have touched on the shortcomings in the country's Armed Forces. We did this with care and respect for the area we served faithfully, with pride, without political affiliations and guided only by our patriotism. Unfortunately, however, it is now a fact that the political powers at times, disregarding the high mission of the Armed Forces, used the space for enrichment, selfish vote-hunting and serving their political obligations, thus eroding the spirit and morale of their personnel, politicizing many of their cadres, resulting in the demonization of monolithic principles, values ​​and ethics, and the prevalence of meritocracy and factionalism. (Note: The military-political entanglement characterizes two categories of officers. The first is the one that consists of officers with low performance in terms of knowledge, effort and character, whose selfishness and ambition unfortunately lead them to the political vestibules, thus becoming the camarilla with all that this entails. The second is the one that consists of capable executives, but whose ambition to advance or maintain their position makes them slaves to political power. Although they are few in number, the damage they cause is great. These phenomena, over the last 20 to 25 years, have taken the form of an endemic phenomenon, strongly affecting internal cohesion in the sensitive area of ​​the Armed Forces, to which if we add the unilateral disarmament of Greece that has been implemented since 2004 and which in recent years has covered the minimum necessary credits for the maintenance and support of the forces, along with the scarcity due to the absurd and criminal reduction of the term of office brought about by the two political parties in power that have governed the country since the transition to democracy until today, then even the most ignorant person understands where we are today. In my personal opinion, the Armed Forces today are at their worst level since 1950 and the responsibility lies primarily with the political leadership and to a certain extent with the military, which has not shown the former that the limits of political control that it (the political leadership) must exercise in the area of ​​the Armed Forces are defined in the Constitution and the Laws that govern the administration and operation of the Armed Forces, which it itself must respect and not act in excess of. Even more so when it (the political leadership) due to "complex" syndromes or ideologies (fascist or leftist or both), demonstrates aversion towards the space and especially the cadres of the Armed Forces. Today, these conditions have brought about a complete reversal of the balance of power in the region to the detriment of Greece, at a time when the sovereign rights of our homeland, extending to its Exclusive Economic Zones, must be secured for the benefit of the Greek people and the nation and when more than ever, the country's foreign policy 2 must be based on the defensive strength and adequacy of the Armed Forces, so that the deterrence that the latter must exude is evident and clear. These policies against the Armed Forces have unfortunately become particularly intense from 2004 until today, with the main characteristic being the universal disrespect towards Armed Forces personnel and especially officers through the actions and actions of the respective political leadership. The main features are as follows: – In the summer of 2004, at the proposal of the then Minister of National Defense and his disastrous environment for the Armed Forces (Scribblers and Pharisees), the participation of the General Staff of the Hellenic National Defense Council in the KYSEA with a vote was removed by law, a situation that was maintained by law 3883/2010, which was proposed by the Constitutionalist former Minister of Defense. – The personnel of the Armed Forces, and especially its officers, are called by the successor of the Constitutional Minister "Uniformed Democratic Citizens", with intensity and persistence (see discussion in the subcommittees and plenary session of the Parliament on law 3883/2010). As for "Democratic Citizens", according to the writer, this is a redundancy that shows the intellectual "clichés" of a fanatical supporter of a group or party that nullifies the real meaning of the word, while the word "Uniform" is a derogatory characterization (let's not forget that doormen, hotel bellhops, OSE stationmasters, customs officers, and even carnival masquerades are also in uniform). Does anyone call these people "enstallos"?). – Based on the sayings of a "great" politician, the personnel of the Armed Forces are counterproductive. – The usher, the Director of a political party, aspired to power and determined the leadership of the Armed Forces (not just the highest) based on his personal opinions and the "information" he gathered from various "sources", while the Ministers, in order to preserve their position, submitted to this outrageous situation. – The Minister did not engage in his work at all, assigning to a municipal employee the management of his office and coordination with the Chiefs of General Staff and in most cases did not assume the responsibility of signing the official files that were forwarded to him, allowing the aforementioned municipal employee to act instead and write in pencil on the files "Mr. "Minister has taken note." This is the Minister who, despite his brilliant inaction, reserved, at the end of his term, a painful, criminal act for the Armed Forces and their defense adequacy. Namely, the further reduction of the term of office by 3 months, with the consequence that the shortage affecting the manning levels and the operational readiness of Formations and Units will increase, while due to the short term of office, no trained reserves will be produced. – The successor of the Constitutional Minister of Defense, in order to implement his intentions (family or personal or political), in violation of the law that he himself, along with his predecessor, proposed to Parliament and which is currently a law of the state and with the aim of ensuring maximum political control over the Armed Forces, to level the Commands of Formations, Units, Sub-Units, by his order allowed the direct communication of all personnel with him (via e-mail or telephone) bypassing his natural hierarchy, consciously creating a problem of discipline and credibility within the sensitive national space of the Armed Forces. 3 – The above in relation to the unacceptable action of Mr. Beglitis, secretly and secretly" to replace the entire Military Leadership on November 1, 2011, while his government was heading for a vote of confidence (and despite the independence of members of the ruling party's parliamentary group that cast doubt on its survival) are simply mistakes. This is because, as it turned out, this action was intended to support the propaganda of Greek "officials" about an imminent coup by the Greek Armed Forces, due to which the government proposed the famous referendum. All political forces slandered the armament needs of the Armed Forces in order to cover the sinful contracts that the political authorities signed to enrich themselves, showing the defense sector as responsible for the excessive debt. However, according to official data published in 2010, the country's GDP that year was 230 billion. million euros, public debt 328 billion euros, while total defense spending from 1996 to 2010 did not exceed an average of 2,4% of GDP annually, with total equipment spending-purchases amounting to 23 billion. million euros, i.e. 7,2% of public debt in 2010. If the defense equipment is brutally blamed for 7,2% of the public debt, what should the politicians and their miserable fund-bearers say about 92,8% of it? Such respect do they have for the Armed Forces and their officers, those who daily violate the Constitution and the Laws of the Greek State, having led the country to a total bankruptcy. (Bankruptcy of values, principles, institutions, ethics, social cohesion, education, patriotism and finally economic). – The lack of respect for the cadres of the Armed Forces has led the clearly identified Minister above to turn with malice and hatred towards retired officers, with disparaging behavior (which one could say is a little short of insulting), while his monumental and historical phrase "I will cut the umbilical cord between retired and active officers" only provokes laughter and shows the degree of foolishness to which fanaticism and political arrogance lead a person. At the same time, however, the insistence on converting the official Military Officers' Associations from legal entities to legal entities shows a stupid ignorance of the problems that will arise from the creation of numerous military officer organizations as legal entities by political parties, with all that this entails: - We must make special mention of Law 3883/2010, which was proposed to Parliament by the Venizelos-Beglitis duo (Minister and Deputy Minister of National Defense) in September 2010 and which transforms the Armed Forces into a problematic DEKO. The law is entitled "Service development of officers of the Armed Forces, issues of Administration of the Armed Forces, Conscription and related Provisions where: * From the title of the Law (and in the text of the law), the word "officers" has been replaced with the word "officers" with the aim of leveling the ranks of officers and officerizing all non-commissioned officers who are not graduates of the Permanent Non-Commissioned Officer Schools, such as the National Military Academy and the National Military Academy, who will be made permanent. * The Law does not ensure the value of grades and allows their trivialization to continue since: – It does not end the indiscriminate awarding of grades. 4 – It does not end the unethical, reprehensible and catalytic return of deserters to service during peacetime, and the conduct of a review of the personnel after appeals to delete negative information and subsequent positive re-examination and retroactive promotion. – The transfer system becomes complex, time-consuming, bureaucratic and inefficient, while the system of extraordinary or regular crises acquires the same characteristics. – The disciplinary control of Armed Forces personnel is adapted to the unfair and ineffective corresponding system of the Public Administration. – While the institution of the EFYES (High Readiness Reserves) of 2005 is being abolished and which did not work, the new institution of the Special Armed Forces Reserves with a three-year obligation is being introduced, which has not been implemented for more than a year since its implementation. The non-implementation of this institution, combined with the freeze on the recruitment of EPOP, due to the country's well-known budgetary problems, in addition to the nine-month term, has created a huge shortage of strength in relation to the established ceiling, which affects the manning of the Branches, Formations and Units, their operational readiness and combat capability, while it is certain that it does not produce a trained reserve. – Unused camps are handed over without compensation to various bodies (Universities, Local Authorities, Foundations) at the expense of the Hellenic National Defence Force and the Military Police/Naval Forces. (Already the Corinthian Camps, Mr.'s electoral district. Begliti, Chalkida, Kavala and Thessaloniki are available to the Local Government without any compensation at the expense of the Greek Armed Forces and the National Economy, as long as it was possible to utilize them for this purpose. – A free shot is being given to the most important constructive step taken in the last 30 years in the Armed Forces, Interbranch Organization, due to the amendments made by this law to the corresponding 2292/95 (on the operation of the Ministry of National Defense), while the projected vertical command structure that gives the General Staff of the Hellenic National Defense General Command the full command of the Armed Forces is false since each Chief of General Staff maintains the full command of the Branch under his command, thus creating a diarchy in each Branch (General Staff of the Hellenic National Defense General Command and Branch General Command). While the defense adequacy of each country is part of the hard core of state power along with foreign policy, in order to support its National Strategy, and this is how the "exuberant" Mr. Venizelos, it seems that the demands for fiscal restraint of the state imposed by the Troika will be largely ensured by the Armed Forces. Already in the last two years, the operating budget of the Armed Forces has been reduced by 50% and their development program has been reduced to zero. Now, further savings are being made at the expense of the Armed Forces through the abolition of Unit Formations and the reduction of the ceiling of the main weapons systems. It is a fact that through the National Defense Planning, the review of the force structure and their medium-term program is foreseen every three years (in accordance with Law 3889/2010 of Mr. Venizelos, who made the five-year medium-term three years). 5 The initiation of this planning by the competent institutions of the Armed Forces Branches begins with the issuance of guidelines issued by the Minister of National Defense to the Chief of the Hellenic National Defense General Staff and the Chiefs of the Branches. These instructions are based on the National Defense Policy, the National Military Strategy, the Military Situation Assessment, and human and financial resources. At the beginning of last October, the then Minister of National Defense, Mr. Beglitis (fortunately a former member of the Ministry of National Defense), instead of issuing guidelines for the drafting of a new force structure, issued an order imposing this structure from above (with the abolition of Unit Formations, reduction of weapons systems). This action was anti-institutional, it was not based on the 2005 PEA, since after seven years no new one has been approved, and it was based on proposals from the General Staff and economic "factors" who are attempting, through the Armed Forces, to reduce state spending, without caring about their dissolution (because that was coming). The non-acceptance of these positions by the Chiefs of the General Staffs of the Branches and the convening of these Supreme Councils for the submission of relevant proposals by the competent bodies is what angered the Minister and led him in an unspeakable way to demobilize the entire Military Leadership (not for the reason put forward by the wretched government officials regarding an imminent coup, which we mentioned above), and to choose new ones, not, we want to believe, because they are convenient with the views and ideologies of the departed Minister (although the information and personal knowledge about some are negative, which in time and based on their attitude and behavior we will expose, and this because it is unforgivable for a Major Formation Commander who was called upon by his natural leadership to submit proposals regarding the anti-institutional structure of his Branch by Mr. Beglitis, to answer "no comment" because he was coordinated with the aforementioned former Minister who rewarded him on merit). What we have mentioned above is the bare minimum of what is happening, while the real situation cannot be fully exposed for favorable reasons. However, the restoration of the existing problems must begin immediately and without delay. This restoration is not difficult to achieve, as long as there is political will from responsible politicians who will chart a new course. This is absolutely necessary since in the last ten (10) years each new year has been worse than the previous one for the Armed Forces, not only due to the general economic situation of the country but also because vote-buying, political factionalism, the degradation of institutions and the value of the ranks of the Armed Forces' cadres, meritocracy, the deliberate creation of an image of unreliability at the expense of officers, and games about tenure, which crucially affect the operational readiness of the Armed Forces and the level of reserve required, have severely shaken the morale of the personnel and the operational readiness and effectiveness of the Armed Forces. Without exaggeration, a more general effort to re-establish the Armed Forces must be initiated with steady steps. Personally, I believe that at this juncture, the following is urgently required: 6 – The allocation of the necessary funds for maintenance, support and training, as well as the utilization of all existing operational material. – The drafting of a new National Defense Policy (NDP) based on geopolitical rearrangements, risks or threats against the country in its immediate and wider environment, with a medium-term perspective, without political obsessions, verbalizations or understatements, so that the following emerge effortlessly from it: * The National Strategic Goals and the National Objectives, so that national interests are safeguarded. * The mission and tasks of the Armed Forces as well as the directions for their organization, structure and development. (A prerequisite for the PEA is the preparation of the Military Situation Assessment (MSA) based on real data and the real operational capabilities of potential adversaries, without theoretical political approaches with discounts in the assessment of potential risks such as e.g. the theory of Mr. Venizelou that the heated incident is localized and that we respond to challenges with STRATEGIC COOLNESS. – New National Military Strategy (NNMS) based on: * The National Defense Strategy and the National Defense Strategy * The National Defense Strategy * The available financial and human resources. (The Force Structure of each branch is drawn up by its competent bodies. The proposals of the Branches are approved by the SAGE and after the consent of the Minister of National Defense, the Force Structure is introduced to the KYSEA for final approval. – Revision of the Law on "Hierarchy and Development of Officers of the Armed Forces" in order to stop the dangerous "DECALISATION" of the Armed Forces brought about by Law 3883/2010 of Messrs. Venizelou and Beglitis according to our observations above. The goal is to create credibility and implement meritocracy. – Revision of Law 2292/95, as amended by the legal monstrosity of Messrs. Venizelos and Beglitis (Law 3883/2010) so that: * Intersectoral cooperation can be restored and strengthened. * To form a simple and clear vertical management structure, based on pure logic and simple strategic terminology and not on the legal soliloquies of a "constitutionalist". * A new Force Structure for each Branch, based on the factors mentioned above (PEA, ETHSS, SAK available resources), so that Armed Forces emerge, with a simple and flexible organization, operational capability and efficiency, capable of responding to the modern operational field and covering the mission given by the PEA. – Increase in service time to 15 months in the Army and 18 months in the Navy and Air Force. – The protection and strengthening of the morale of the Armed Forces. – The creation in everyone (politicians-military and citizens) of belief and knowledge that: * The National Strategy is based on two pillars: foreign policy and defense policy. * The strength of a nation is its economic and military power. 7 * The Armed Forces are not the spoils of the political elite, but by constitution they exist and operate in favor of the people and the nation. * Faith in the mission and the maintenance of military virtues by all members of the Armed Forces are absolutely essential. PS – It is striking the magnitude of the stupidity and the bottomless depth of immoderation possessed by certain politicians, who, while damaging the Armed Forces, roam the various radio or television media presenting themselves either as saviors of the Armed Forces or as victims of their "establishment". Of course, they do this on the safe side because they are supported by intertwined circles, but also because in our bankrupt and spiritually bankrupt homeland, figures such as Aristophanes, Psathas, Tsiphorus and others are absent to look after them. – I believe that the completely unacceptable from all sides and isolated incident that occurred in the Trade Union Congress on 17-11-2011 and which shows disciplinary problems, and indeed very serious ones, should not be an alibi for government officials who, in order to justify the improbable proposal for a referendum in the period 31 October - 1 November 2011, raised the risk of a coup. I hope that those who support them in various ways will not lead them into repeating such a slide.