“Now the army is turning into a sophisticated system of handling systems”
“Everything changes in the Armed Forces. The 21st century soldier is a soldier who, first of all, should know how to handle a drone. Have to handle anti-Drone. “
This was stressed by the Minister of National Defense, Nikos Dendias, who participated in a discussion on Tuesday, June 3, with journalists Alexandra Fotakis, Dimitris Maniatis, Anastasia Giamalis, on “The Renaissance of the Defense Industry, Innovation, New High Level jobs and the Armed Forces of the New Age”.
“It’s not,” he continued, “the old logic of the 40km course I did at the 25kg of Infantry Officers’ School of Infantry Officers and a Tommy Gun (Thomson sub -pure) in hand and a 2.5kg helmet. It’s not what exists today. “
“It must have another possibility and will have another possibility,” he explained, stressing that this would happen with the application of the “Agenda 2030”.
Referring to why a young person chooses to join the Armed force, The Minister of National Defense noted, among other things: “I think he will have a brilliant career in front of him. And I mean a job in the most sophisticated technologically environment or one of the most sophisticated ones that can be found in Greece or even in the world today. “
“Folder machines, highly promoted perceptions, but there is something else beyond and above it. There is something that is called a love for the homeland, a willingness to serve, a willingness to wear the uniform with the coat of arms, ”he added.
For increases in executives, he stressed that “we have achieved significant savings in the functioning of the system, which we re -established as an increase in Armed Forces executives”.
“There is,” he continued, “and further room for it. We can do more in this direction. “
In addition, he said that the ministry improves “military schools themselves” in terms of facilities, while aiming to develop them as “sophisticated university environments”.
“But besides that, the career itself has changed character. In the past, the army was as everyone has it in their perception, with the exception of perhaps the pilots, an environment of suffering and self -denial. It is now turning into a sophisticated environment of systems, and even the most advanced systems on the planet, either in the Air Force, the Navy, or where it was much less common, in the land army. So, I think it’s a career that can fill a human life, “said Mr. Dendias.
For the family of executives, Mr Dendias said: “We make the military family, the military family, the most protected environment that can be made. From residential, when we shift someone, we give him the key to staying in a house. It will take years to do this, but the agenda is also called “2030”. We build over 1,000 houses a year, kindergartens for children and better health services than military hospitals. “
“We are trying to help overall. And sophisticated services for children with disabilities, for children with autism, the creation of a roof for retirees when they retire. Because the retirees are a very important part. When you take out the uniform, it does not mean that the organization you served for 25, 30, 35, 40, 50 years, has to forget you, indifferent to you. He has to care about you, protect you when you are weaker, to the end of your life, “he said.
In particular for the Navy, he explained that he cannot compete in salaries of the corresponding crews of the Merchant Navy, however, as he said, “I believe that what can balance the lack of money is the very good work environment.”
“At the end of the day, your heart, your soul, should say that. Everything in life is not money, there are other satisfaction. If someone wearing the uniform of the Greek officer, the Armed Forces executive says nothing, it is very difficult to attract him as much money as I give him, ”he explained.
“We must try to have an honest exchange of services and remuneration. What existed, partly because of the crisis, was not an honest transaction. The Greek state did not attribute to the executive what he had to give him. A very large part was purely for the sake of patriotism, ”the Minister of National Defense said.
“Despite the increases that have been made, and what we will do, again they are not sufficient. I need to find a way to have a further increase in wages. We need to get to a level of decent living potential, “he said.
On the term of office, Mr Dendias said: “We are preparing a complete legislation for the term of office that will include the term of office, reserve and ethnic guard and I think we will be ready to present it in about a couple of months.”
“It is concerned,” he added, “a completely different term than we have in mind. But, again to be honest, we are not talking about “spit”. We are talking about a term that is an opportunity, which will be a window of knowledge, a window of education. “
One of the opportunity, he said, the Greek citizen to be “turned” into a 9 months into a modern fighter.
“I hope we do it. But there is also a need for all this, as a whole of the political system, as a whole of the country’s social forces. When, for example, we obviously have necessary mergers of camps, it must, with reactions from local communities, which if you want to some extent I understand, as a whole, society and the political system to support the reform, ”he said.
“We have to go to something new,” he said, adding that this is exactly the ‘agenda 2030’. “This can not do this one man or a government. The Armed Forces must be supported, and their reform, by society and the political system as a whole or intense majority. Otherwise this will not be achieved, ”he said.
For national participation in weapons systems, he explained that “25% is average”.
“There are,” he said, “programs, we have already personalized programs of more than $ 1 billion, in which Greek participation will be 100%.”
“That is, the whole will be entrusted to the productive forces of our country. There are also programs where we do not have the know -how to go to 25%. But we will go to 25%, ”he said.
“Let’s go to 25% from the legislated 0%. It was “à volonté”, if you want to give something. So this is a huge jump. So they are also jobs and it is also revenue for the Greek State. And it’s in two ways. Businesses are taxed, employees and employers pay insurance contributions. It is a different, healthy cycle, virtuous cycle of activity. “
Specifically for the ODA, he said it is in the wider public sector, and “there has already been a legislation that gives the ODA potential, it is possible to bonus”.
“There will be an additional possibility of improvement for special occupations, which I understand that conditions must be elementary competitive. But again, I do not hide that the ODA cannot offer the salaries offered by Boeing tomorrow, “he explained, adding:” We as a Greek State and a 100% shareholder and the ODA, what we will attempt is the ODA to have a priority in dealing with. That is, we can be able to be assigned, if the ODA may serve them, as a matter of priority. “
“If we make it profits and revenue, beyond that, the redistribution of this revenue is much easier than the current situation in which every end of the year one has to go to the Treasury to cover the damage to the Greek airline industry,” Mr Dendias said.
Answering a question about the depreciation of the state defense industry over time, Mr Dendias said: “I do not blame anyone. You have noticed it. I blame neither parties nor previous governments. This is unhappy. The job is how we make things from now on. “
“First,” he explained, “in the ’25 we must have clarified all the pathogens of the past and see how many damage we have really had at the ODA over the years. And beyond that ’26 we can lead the ODA to a virtuous circle and develop it. I’m sure we will succeed. “
“We also have a great success already. The “Centaur”. It is the first time that the country has been able to produce an innovative system absolutely necessary for its defense at a price of 40% -50% cheaper than if we would buy it from abroad. And, in fact, a system of completely specialized, because it is aimed at a specific threat facing the country, not a general and vague threat of drones, but a specific source, a specific know -how, a specific function, ”he added.
“This shows that the ODA if you give it space can go a long way,” he said.
He made it clear that regarding the possibility of acquiring a fourth FDI frigate “Belharra” this is a government decision, while explaining: “Obviously there are orders to the Prime Minister. In the afternoon there is a meeting in the House where we must discuss. “
“Greece must create a new modern navy. Because of the crisis you want, because of some maybe not very smart choices in the past, we have a navy that with the great effort of its executives responds to its mission, but is outdated. We have to make a different navy, “he said.
A Navy, as he typically said, “a different perception as a whole”.
“Agenda 2030” is not “a staple or a line or a parade of new systems. It is a different perception of the country’s defense, a perception of the 21st century. This is holistic and is served by a series of systems, ”the Minister of National Defense concluded.