E. Liakoulis with 1st GEETHA: “Larissa, a central region in matters of national defense”

Meeting at the Pentagon with the Chief of the GEETHA, General Dimitrios Houpis, carried out by Secretary of the Parliamentary Group of PASOK – Movement for Change and Member of Parliament for Larissa, Evangelia Liakoulis, in order to discuss issues of national defense of general as well as local interest such as the Stefanovikei base.

During the meeting, the two sides discussed institutional issues of the prefecture of Larissa that fall under the responsibilities of the Ministry of National Defense, while they also touched on the current developments regarding the operational readiness of the country’s Armed Forces, in light of the tension that is being observed and the new flare-up in the Middle East and the Southeast Mediterranean basin, but also of the ongoing war in Ukraine.

Especially for the province of Larissa, Evangelia Liakoulis referred to the need for the Staff to review the possibility of the 1st CLASS staying at the “Lieutenant Perissakis” Camp in Stefanovikio – and in any case, to find a fair solution for the Armed Forces officers who they already serve in it and a large number of them come from Thessaly.

At the center of the discussion between the MP of Larissa and the 1st GEETHA were also issues of a service nature, in relation to the development and financial benefits of the Armed Forces executives, who saw their benefits being reduced, like the rest of the citizens, from the ongoing inflation, but in addition they are very often asked to move-relocate to other cities, with all that this entails for their income and family stability.

At the end of the meeting, the Head of GEETHA presented the MP of Larissa with a commemorative plaque, while Evangelia Liakoulis pointed out the following:

“Today I had a very constructive meeting with the 1st Commander-in-Chief, General Dimitrios Houpis, who confirmed my now established opinion, that the men and women who serve in the Armed Forces do not just practice a profession, but a function. An invaluable function, which is carried out every day under very adverse conditions and for which no kind of financial reward can be an equal compensation. It is mainly, however, the sincere willingness to give to the Motherland and their fellow citizens that “thickens” their ranks. And for this very reason we are and will be indebted to them in perpetuity.

With the Chief, however, we also discussed a multitude of other issues, such as the issue of the 1st CLASS staying at the “Lieutenant Perissakis” Camp in Stefanovikio, for which I received the commitment that there would be a fair and acceptable solution, while our overall discussion confirmed that the Armed Forces rightfully occupy one of the first positions in the trust of the citizens, in the relevant public opinion measurements. They are the custodians of our sovereign rights, they are the defenders of our Freedom against all kinds of outside intrigues and – not by chance – PASOK has always voted for all the relevant contracts and purchases of weapons systems that are required, in order for the Armed Forces to carry out the work smoothly them, regardless of governments and micro-political expediencies, as some – in name only – “patriotic” – “progressive” political forces are used to doing. However, special care must be taken by the government for the financial benefits and the fair career development of the men and women who serve in the defense of the country, if we want them to perform their work with dignity. All these are requested by us and we will continue with every means at our disposal to claim them from the government, until they are satisfied. Finally, I thanked the Chief very much for the social partnership of 1^her Army in the voluntary efforts of our Social Voluntary Network No One Alone, just like this year which grants the Larissa Guard Officers Club on Lazarus Saturday for our action. a fact that confirms the social role of our army and its inseparable relationship with the needs of the People.