Deputy Minister of National Defense Thanasis Davakis attended today’s swearing-in ceremony for Olympic champions commissioned as active reserve officers, which took place at the Armed Forces Officers’ Club. According to the announcement, the event was also attended by the Chief of the Hellenic National Defense General Staff (GEETHA), General Dimitrios Houpis; the Chief of the Hellenic Navy General Staff (GEN), Vice Admiral Dimitrios-Eleftherios Kataras HN; the Deputy Chief of the Hellenic Army General Staff (GES), Lieutenant General Andreas Koronakis, representing the Army Chief of Staff; the Director of Branch B of the Hellenic Air Force General Staff (GEA), Air Commodore (I) Argyrios Moustrouphis, representing the Air Force Chief of Staff; and the President of the Hellenic Olympic Committee, Isidoros Kouvellos. Also in attendance were senior and high-ranking officers of the Armed Forces, along with family members and friends of those being sworn in.
Who was sworn in as reserve officers
The following Olympic champions were sworn in and commissioned as active reserve officers:
– Second Lieutenant (Infantry) Apostolos Christou
– Second Lieutenant (Armored) Theodoros Tselidis
– Second Lieutenant (Support) Zoe Fitsiou
– Ensign (OL) Emmanouil Karalis
– Ensign (OL) Dimitra-Eleni Kontou
– Pilot Officer (D) Antonios Papakonstantinou
– Pilot Officer (D) Petros Gkaidatzis
“Today we officially welcome into the ranks of our armed forces athletes of the highest caliber — individuals who have already honored and elevated our national emblem to the very top of the world sporting stage,” Deputy Minister Davakis emphasized in his address. “In antiquity, Olympic champions were figures of immense importance and prestige in the ancient Greek world. City-states would tear down their walls to allow Olympic victors to enter — a profoundly symbolic act that demonstrated the greatness, the standing, and the value that the winners of the Olympic Games held in the eyes of the Greeks,” the Deputy Minister of National Defense noted.
“Today, we are not tearing down walls — we are opening the gates of the Armed Forces, this sacred institution for our Homeland, which owes its very existence to the sacrifices of its children who fought for freedom and independence,” he said. Concluding his remarks, he stated: “I wish you wholeheartedly a distinguished and successful career in your new duties, with the absolute certainty that you will serve the Armed Forces with the same selflessness, passion, and dignity you have demonstrated throughout the years on the international sporting stage.”
