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From Monday, July 11 to Saturday, the Chief of the Hellenic National Defence General Staff, General Konstantinos Floros, made an official visit to the USA and the Hellenic General Staff proceeded with full information for every meeting of the Greek Chief of Staff.
We will present you some of the most important meetings so as not to tire you with long texts.
On Monday, July 11, the Chief of the Hellenic National Defence General Staff went to the Pentagon, where he met with the Chief of Staff of the Army General James C. McConville, with whom they discussed matters of mutual interest with an emphasis on the Russian invasion of Ukraine and its consequences for the defense architecture and security of the Euro-Atlantic area, as well as in the close Military Cooperation between Greece and the United States which, in addition to the updated Mutual Defense Cooperation Agreement (MDCA), also includes operational cooperation and joint training activities that are constantly being strengthened both numerically as well as qualitatively.
On Tuesday, July 12, and in the context of the “Letter of Request” (LOR for LOA) mission that has preceded for the acquisition of the 5th generation Fighter Aircraft F-35, the Greek Chief, General Konstantinos Floros, went to Fort Worth in Dallas, Texas, on Lockheed Martin’s facilities that house its production line.
There he was informed about the state-of-the-art facilities of the assembly line, painting, initial and final checks and flight tests and about the 3 types of the F-35 (A, B and C), furthermore he was given a tour by the company’s staff.
He also visited the flight test line of the factory where the F-35s that are preparing to be delivered to their users are housed, while he was also briefed on both the international sales of the F-35 and the interoperability of its use at the European level, as well as the progress of the program to modernize the Hellenic Air Force’s F-16 fighters to the Viper version and the modernization of the Hellenic Navy’s P-3B Naval Operations Aircraft.
On Wednesday, July 13, 2022, the Head of the General Assembly met in a particularly cordial atmosphere with the Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee of the US Senate, Senator Robert Menendez, with whom he discussed the developments in Ukraine, the situation in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East East, Greece’s initiatives in terms of establishing and maintaining bilateral and multilateral cooperative forms of cooperation that promote security and stability in the Eastern Mediterranean region and more broadly, for the mutually beneficial and rapidly evolving deepening of the Military Cooperation between Greece and the US and the contribution of the strategic relationship between the two countries and of course for the Turkish provocations and the possible consequences in the region.
On Thursday, July 14, 2022, the Chief of Hellenic National Defence General Staff met with the Commander of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) Lieutenant General Scott D. Berrier with whom they discussed the current defense and security challenges, the upgrading of the cooperation of the two countries in matters of collection, analysis and exchange of information, as well as the importance of early detection of threats to ensure stability in the wider region.
Afterwards, General Konstantinos Floros met with the Director of the Defense Security Cooperation Agency, Mr. James A. Hursch, with whom they discussed the strategic cooperation of the two countries and the prospects for securing and strengthening our military capabilities. On this, the Chief of the Hellenic General Staff mentioned the high priority equipment programs for Greece, as well as the need to use all the available support and financing tools for their implementation (FMS, EDA, FMF).
Subsequently and immediately after the completion of the vote in the House of Representatives for the approval of the US Defense Budget, which also included a provision for the under conditions modernization and acquisition of F-16s from Turkey, the Greek General met and had a discussion on issues of mutual interest with the Co-President of the American Hellenic Council Mr. Gus Billirakis, in the presence of the Member of the House of Representatives Ms. Nicole Malliotakis and the Greek Ambassador to the USA Ms. Alexandras Papadopoulou.
Afterwards, the Chief of the Hellenic National Defence General Staff met in a particularly warm atmosphere with his US counterpart, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (CJCS), General Mark A. Milley, following his official invitation, on the basis of which the visit to the US took place, with whom they discussed matters of mutual interest with particular emphasis on the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the parameters of its war effort, its consequences for the defense and security of the Euro-Atlantic area, the measures taken by the Alliance to strengthen its Eastern Wing and the increase of its deterrent capacity, as well as in the role of Souda and Alexandroupoli to serve the development and deployment of forces, means and material. Finally, he pointed out to his counterpart the importance of the challenges facing Greece due to the serious revisionist tendencies that are developing in the region.
On Friday, July 15, 2022, the Chief of the Hellenic General Staff visited the United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) in Tampa, Florida, where he was briefed on its mission, organization, means and actions. He then met with USSOCOM Commander General Richard D. Clarke with whom they discussed matters of mutual interest, with particular emphasis on current trends in the field of Special Operations and the resulting organizational, equipment and operational training requirements to support them. In this context, the Chief of the Hellenic National Defence General Staff referred to the Hellenic Special Forces – Special Operations Forces and the processes of their rapid adaptation to modern standards, among other things, through their recent incorporation into the newly created Special Warfare Command of the Hellenic Special Forces.
The Chief of the Hellenic National Defence General Staff referred to the extensive upgrading of the administrative and educational infrastructures of the Special Warfare Command which are in progress and have become a pole of attraction for the Special Operations Forces of friends, partners and allied countries and the execution of joint operational training activities. In this context and with the aim of deepening the cooperation between Greece and the USA, the Greek Chief and the Commander of USSOCOM confirmed their intention for the exchange of Liaison Officers and the organization of conferences and other actions by the Special Warfare Command regarding Special Operations.
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