[Dimitris Sarelas/Intime News]
I’m among those who believe that Greece’s ongoing defense procurements program is essential. I also believe that the changes – reforms, actually, if the term isn’t too frightening to some people – being introduced by the Defense Ministry are necessary if we want armed forces that are capable of doing their duty. You cannot have a modern military without modernizing its defense systems and how it is structured and operates – that much seems pretty obvious.
Alas, the recent incident with the navy cadets chanting nationalist slogans at the March 25 Greek Independence Day parade made me question my position, but also the effectiveness of the military’s organizational overhaul. Some, if not many, of those chest-thumping cadets shouting the slogans are expected to one day man the country’s state-of-the-art frigates. How can anyone trust them to do so efficiently after such a performance?
I’m no expert, but I understand that discipline is the cornerstone of a well-functioning military. What do military personnel who go rogue and engage in political sloganeering – especially when it contradicts official and declared government policy – represent? And how capable are they of fulfilling the expectations and responsibilities entrusted to them by their country, duties for which they are paid from the state budget?
There have been numerous reactions to the incident, albeit lukewarm ones, though I am not convinced that they have been entirely sincere. I cannot know for sure, but I wonder whether the commanders of the cadets that brought shame on their flag have been reprimanded. Surely this is the first essential step in imposing administrative control.
The prime minister, if I remember correctly, recently said – on an entirely different occasion and before this incident – that there will be zero tolerance of behavior which flouts regulations and disciplinary infractions. Will this also be the case here, or will the Defense Ministry and the Hellenic Navy bury the case on some pretext or other? One former minister and serving lawmaker has already suggested as much. An acting minister went even further by saying that we should not be too hard on these “boys.” He left me in no doubt of the quality of his service to his ministry or to the kind of state to which he aspires. A portion of the press has espoused a similar attitude by downplaying the issue. Why, I wonder. Even certain parties in the opposition have shown a relaxed stance on the matter.
If, of course, the state avoids taking exemplary disciplinary action against those who disrespected their uniform and the anniversary of the start of the War of Independence, then I will feel that the money we invest in armaments for the defense of the country is money wasted. Impunity – a phenomenon that pervades every sector of this country – has no place in a modern state and, obviously, not in a modern military.
Kostas Kostis is a professor of economic and social history at the University of Athens.