On Friday, December 09, 2022, the Deputy Chief of the Hellenic National Defence General Staff (HNDGS), Vice-Admiral Ioannis Drymousis, attended – on behalf of the Chief of HNDGS, General Konstantinos Floros – the graduation ceremony of the 7th Class of the International Studies School of the National Defence College, which kicked off on Thursday, September 15, 2022.

The school takes place annually within the framework of the international collaborations planned and carried out by the HNDGS in the field of defence studies. A total of 13 students graduated from the said training: 4 from Greece, 1 from Cyprus, 2 from Egypt, 1 from Bulgaria, 2 from the United Arab Emirates, 1 from Jordan and 2 from Saudi Arabia.

The ceremony, which took place at the Armed Forces Officers’ Club, was attended by:

• The Ambassadors of Egypt, Mr. Omar Amer Youssef, the United Arab Emirates, Mr. Sulaiman Hamid Salem Almazrouri, Jordan, Mr. Ahed Ali Sweidat, and Saudi Arabia, Mr. Saad Alammar, in Greece.
• Major General Anastasios Polychronos, on behalf of the Chief of the Hellenic Army General Staff, Lieutenant General Charalambos Lalousis, Rear Admiral Ioannis Pattas, on behalf of the Chief of the Hellenic Navy General Staff, Vice Admiral Stylianos Petrakis, Air Marshal Georgios Karadimas, on behalf of the Chief of the Hellenic Air Force General Staff, Air Marshal Themistocles Bourolias, and Rear Admiral Antonios Mazis, on behalf of the Chief of the Hellenic Coast Guard, Vice Admiral Georgios Alexandrakis.
• Defence Attachés in Greece, Cyprus, Egypt, Bulgaria, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.
• The professor at the Department of Sociology of Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences, Mr. Gerasimos Karabelias, and the assistant professor of International Relations and European Affairs at the American College of Greece, Mr. Nikolaos Lampas.

The purpose of the School was to prepare students to assume the staff duties of a senior officer and focused on strategy, history, international relations and countering terrorism, divided into the following training sessions:

• Research Methodology and Critical Thinking in Strategic Studies.
• Thucydidean Approach to Applied Strategy.
• Managing Maritime Security Threats.
• Strategic Leadership.
• Applied International Relations & Foreign Policy.
• Defense Diplomacy Negotiations and Cultural Awareness.
• Regional Studies.
• Introduction to Peace Support Operations.
• Countering the Changing Threat of International Terrorism.

Source: HNDGS

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