Military of Greece

Hellenic Armed Forces Eλληνικές Ένοπλες Δυνάμεις
Founded	1828
Service branches	Hellenic Army Hellenic Navy Hellenic Air Force
Headquarters	Athens,  Greece
Leadership
Commander-in-chief of the armed forces	President Karolos Papoulias
Minister of National Defense	Dimitris Avramopoulos
Chief of the General Staff of National Defense	General Michail Kostarakos
Manpower
Military age	18 years of age
Conscription	9 months for all men
Available for military service	2,535,174 males, age 15–49 (2008 est.[1]), 2,517,273 females, age 15–49 (2008 est.[1])
Fit for military service	2,084,469 males, age 15–49 (2008 est.[1]), 2,065,956 females, age 15–49 (2008 est.[1])
Reaching military age annually	53,858 males (2008 est.[1]), 50,488 females (2008 est.[1])
Active personnel	177,600 (ranked 29th)
Expenditures
Budget	€7.26 billion. (2009 est[2]
Percent of GDP	3.1% (2009 est.)
Industry
Domestic suppliers	ELBO, EAB, EBO
Foreign suppliers	United States  Germany  France  Russia  Italy  Israel  Armenia
Related articles
Ranks	Greek military ranks

The armed forces of Greece consist of:

• The Hellenic National Defense General Staff
• The Hellenic Army
• The Hellenic Navy
• The Hellenic Air Force

The civilian authority for the Greek military is the Ministry of National Defense.

Greece currently has universal compulsory military service for males, under which all men above 18 years of age serve for 9 months. Women may serve in the Greek military, but cannot be conscripted. According to NATO, in 2008, Greece spent 2.8 percent of G.D.P. on its military, or about €6.9 billion, or around $9.3 billion. Greece is the largest importer of conventional weapons in Europe and its military spending is the highest in the European Union (relative to G.D.P).

Greece is an EU and NATO member country and participates in peacekeeping operations such as ISAF- in Afghanistan, EUFOR in Bosnia and Chad, and KFOR in Kosovo.

Component forces and their organization

Hellenic National Defense General Staff

Main article: Hellenic National Defense General Staff

The Hellenic National Defense General Staff, carries out the operational commanding of the Joint Headquarters and the units that come under them, as well as the rest forces, when it comes to the issues of operation plans implementation and the Crises management System implementation, conduction of operations outside the national territory and participation of the Armed Forces in the confrontation of special situations during peace time.^[3]

Hellenic Army

Main article: Hellenic Army

The basic components of the Hellenic Army are Arms and Corps, the first responsible for combat missions and the latter for logistical support. It is organized in Commands, formations, and units with the basic being brigade, division and corps. Its main mission is to guarantee the territorial integrity and independence of the state.^[4]

Hellenic Navy

Main article: Hellenic Navy

Hellenic Navy disposes a powerful fleet, consisted of strike units (Frigates, Gunboats, Submarines and Fast Attack Guided Missile Vessels) and support vessels in order to conduct naval operations that insure the protection of Hellenic territories.^[5]

Hellenic Air Force

Main article: Hellenic Air Force

Hellenic Air Force incorporates a modern air fleet (for combat, transportation and training), the congruent structure, as well as a modern system of air control, which cooperates with a widespread net of anti aircraft defense. The structure of its forces includes the General Staff of Air Force, the Command Post of Regular Army, the Air Support Command, the Air Training Command and a number of units and services.^[6]

See also

Military of Greece portal

• Conscription in Greece
• Hellenic Military Academy
• Greek military ranks
• Hellenic Republic / Ministry of National Defense
• List of Greek military bases
• Military history of Greece
• Military history of Greece during World War II
• Athens War Museum

References

1. ^ CIA World Factbook, [1]
2. ^ Defence Expenditures of NATO Countries (1985-2009)
3. ^ [2]
4. ^ [3]
5. ^ [4]
6. ^ [5]

External links

• Hellenic Ministry of Defense - Official Site
• Hellenic National Defense General Staff - Official Site
• Hellenic Army General Staff - Official Site
• Hellenic Navy General Staff - Official Site
• Hellenic Air Force General Staff - Official Site
• Defense expenditures of NATO countries
• Information