The graduation ceremony of the new 964 ESSO Barracks took place today at the headquarters of the 2020th Battalion of the Army at the "ILIA PAPAKYRIAKOU" Camp in Athalassa.
The diplomas were presented to the new Barracks by the Minister of Defense Mr. Charalambos Petridis, the Commander of the National Guard Lieutenant General Democritus Zervakis, the Deputy Commander of the National Guard Lieutenant General Costas Chrysadis and the Commander of 964 Stratnomatos T. a. Ioannis Papasavvas.
The five capital soldiers were presented with a commemorative statuette.
As part of the graduation ceremony, the young soldiers performed impressive demonstrations such as maneuvers on motorcycles, crossing the arena, precision exercises, martial arts and anti-slip battles.
The coronavirus pandemic and the prevention and spread measures that were implemented did not allow the presence of an audience at today's ceremony.
Greeting of the Minister of Defense Mr. Charalambos Petridis during the graduation ceremony of the 2020 ESSO
With feelings of pride, we are today here at Camp "Elias Papakyriakou" for the graduation ceremony of the new conscripts of 2020 ESSO.
A ceremony that is the culmination of the painstaking training of the young conscripts and the culmination of the continuous effort they made throughout the previous period to join the ranks of the Army from today.
Young Barracks, today 's ceremony is dedicated to you and I'm sure it will remain indelibly in your memory.
You have successfully completed the high level of education and this has made you stronger. You have exceeded your limits by putting aside mental and physical fatigue. You have shown remarkable resilience in the face of every challenge. The saying "Law, Taxis, Discipline" has become your experience and way of life.
Remember that every struggle in life shapes you into the people you are today. Ready fighters, able to defend the homeland when needed, but also conscious and mature future citizens of the Republic of Cyprus.
Thanks to you, as well as the rest of the National Guard personnel, we keep the combat at a high level, securing the deterrent force against any enemy threat.
Wear proudly your capes, your purple berets, and honor the Soldier uniform. You are right and you deserve to be proud. With your own attitude and behavior you became the example for the other hoplites, but also for the whole society.
From today you undertake the mission of supervising, controlling, ensuring law, order, security, discipline and the impeccable performance of the army.
At this point I would like to congratulate the officers and non-commissioned officers of the Army, who undertook and successfully completed your demanding and difficult training, in order to be able to carry out your mission smoothly.
In closing, I want to emphasize that we, and society at large, expect a lot from you and we are confident that you will live up to our expectations.
I congratulate you once again on your success and wish you health, personal and family happiness.
Good term of office. Thank you.