In the complete upgrade of its institution National Guard, that is, the department of ordinary citizens who are called to contribute voluntarily to the security of our homeland, the government is ready to move forward in the near future according to exclusive information of newsbeast.gr. The aim is to shield as well as possible the country's defense against Turkey, which continues to threaten Greek territorial integrity.
So, at Ministry of Defense In the first place, the introduction of incentives has been "locked" in order to increase the participation rate of the National Guard in military training to 100%, that is, for everyone to participate. To have a picture of the situation that prevails today, it is enough to consider that in 2018 the participation rate of national guards in education was of the order of 35% while in 2019 a decrease was recorded.
At the same time, new units are planned to be set up in the areas of Attica and Thessaloniki, which will contribute primarily to the field of cyber defense to avoid hacker attacks, to provide first aid to the injured and to deal with any natural disasters.
In the context of strengthening the National Guard, the full activation of its reserve officers is also being considered, so that they can also participate in the operational readiness exercises.. The new business plan also wants to increase the staffing of the National Guard Battalions, mainly in the islands of the Eastern Aegean and the prefecture of Evros, and in order to do this, the possibility of women participating in military training is being examined, something that did not happen until today. In addition, there will be training of members on days and outside Sundays and strengthening of cooperation with the National Guard of Cyprus.
The final decisions will be provided in the relevant bill that the Ministry of National Defense is expected to submit to Parliament in January. and is currently being developed by a team under the Deputy Minister of National Defense and former Chief of the General Staff of the Army, General e.a. Alkiviadis Stefani. In fact, the member of the government, answering in writing a few days ago a question submitted by the president of the "Hellenic Solution" Kyriakos Velopoulos, pointed out with meaning that the Ministry of National Defense (MFA) and the General Staff of the Army (GES), in the context of support of the National Guard institution encourages the National Guard to submit new proposals and ideas, which are evaluated according to the procedures provided and used appropriately. The same document also announces the strengthening of the National Guard with new, more modern equipment.
"On the occasion of the proclamation of 2020 as the year of" Research, Technological Development and Innovation "for the Armed Forces, he underlines, instructions were issued to the Major Administrations and the Major Formations for the submission of innovative ideas by National Guard, to strengthen the footprint of the National Guard in the Army and in the ED in general ".
So, it is not excluded to see in this section of the Greek Army even a vehicle - a patent made by a member of the National Guard. Its active member and member of LEFED (Reserve Club of the Armed Forces). It is a handmade vehicle vehicle without a factory chassis and with a Mitsubishi 2000 cc engine, which according to the question submitted by Mr. Velopoulos to the Ministry of National Defense, "can be used for patrols and various other missions, as it can be moved in any kind of soil. It has a 360 degree rotation tower, can be accompanied by a drone, has a tablet device installed with "installed" maps, while it will soon have its own thermal camera ".
Mr. Alkiviadis Stefanis, representing the ministry, did not rule out the use of this vehicle if he passes the evaluation of the competent bodies.. "The proposal of this vehicle was submitted by the National Guard of TET Xanthi on November 7 this year. The proposal in question will be evaluated by the competent bodies of the General Assembly, on the basis of the procedures provided by the current institutional texts ", the Undersecretary states.
The institution of the national guard has existed almost since the establishment of the Greek state. It was legislated in the distant 1843 but in 1879 it was abolished with the passage of the then law "On conscription". Several years later, in 1944, the National Guard Command was formed with its level being that of a division consisting of 40 units. In 1948, during the Civil War, the institution of the national guard was revived and the so-called National Guard Battalions (TEA) were organized, and then a special directorate was created in the General Staff of the Army.
Legislative Decree 485/1970 regulates the issues of the National Guard, which was repealed by law 1295/1982 which formed the current legal framework for the operation of the National Guard. The National Guard, according to law 1295/1982, is established in peacetime as its organic armed force Army. The personnel and material for its manning and equipment are specified in the Organizational and Material Tables (WHO), while the reserve officers and hoplites are called "military in action". They are subject to martial law and regulations only at the time they perform ordered service. But now the General Staff is again setting up a National Guard Directorate, in the context of upgrading the institution.
As pointed out by the Ministry of National Defense, "in the new form of war, the battlefield area is identified with the entire territorial area of the country, making necessary the timely and active mobilization of the entire population in the context of national defense. "During the last wars in different parts of the world, it was found that even the most modern means of war are not able to bend the resistance of the population of an area, when this resistance is organized, universal and decisive."
Consequently, the mission of the National Guard consists on the one hand in contributing to the defense of the country, in maintaining the deterrent capacity of the Army and in strengthening and assisting the Armed Forces in fulfilling their mission and on the other hand in producing national and social work. these years in local communities.