Subscribe
Occupying a stretch of road on the north side of the Hellenic Air Force’s 115th Combat Wing Air Base, NSA Souda Bay relies on its Hellenic military partner to accomplish its support operations and to keep up the reputation of being a “kilometer of excellence”. Thankfully, there is the Greek Representatives Office to help make this possible.
The Greek Representatives Office acts as a liaison between NSA Souda Bay and the 115th Combat Wing. While the 115th CW’s commanding officer, Hellenic Air Force Col. Evangelos Tzikas, assumes the official title of Greek representative, he relies on the assistant Greek representatives located in NSA Souda Bay's Command Administration building to be his eyes and ears to the activities taking places on this side of the installation Hellenic Air Force Col. Stelios Leivaditakis, assistant Greek representative, said that the Greek Representatives Office is there to “support every routine or urgent requirement from the United States Armed Forces” to coordinate activities with the 115th Combat Wing by following the guidelines of the agreements between the U.S. Navy and the Hellenic Air Force.
The Greek Representatives Office, also composed of a Hellenic Air Force major and four sergeants, receives requests every day from many departments (air operations, security, maintenance, training, fire department, public affairs, etc.) which require coordination with the 115th Combat Wing to complete their work.
“We follow the data input from the [U.S.] Armed Forces and then we put the data into a loop of information in order to solve whatever necessary needs clarification,” said Leivaditakis. “Then we return that information back to the United States Armed Forces for everything to be functional here.”
These routine tasks may be related to an aircraft landing here for refueling or a specific mission, or Team Souda personnel requiring a base access pass. They also support the installation’s exercise program by coordinating access to the firing range and the Joint Fire Training Center.
Leivaditakis said in addition to their routine requirements, there are also urgent requirements that may exist which require someone to always be in the office 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The four sergeants work a 24-hour shift program to be available should Team Souda need assistance outside of normal business hours.
“Anything that needs to be like a deviation from the ordinary program that needs to be fulfilled, (the sergeants) call me and they call the central operations center of the 115th,” said Leivaditakis. “We give them the guidelines in order to proceed after working hours, whenever we have something.”
Work Hard, Play Hard
In the office, Hellenic Air Force Maj. Antonis Renieris, assistant Greek representative, said his role is the same as the deputy Greek representative, which is to “represent my country to ensure that we comply with bilateral agreements with the U.S. government.” Outside the office, Renieris is an avid long-distance runner, having completed 12 marathons and several other half-marathon, 10K and 5K races.
“Many people watch me around running and say ‘What are you crazy or something?’” said Renieris. “But this relaxes me. This is my happiness.”
In 2019, Renieris completed the Crete Marathon 42K race in Chania and competed in a 5K race in Paleochora, where he finished in second place for his age group. He does not have any plans yet to compete in any races in 2020 as he has competed in many marathons in a row and is now
focusing on his maintenance.
Hellenic Air Force Sgt. Roussos “Akis” Bantsis, who has been working in the Greek Representatives Office for the past six years, is also active outside the office when he isn’t manning the desk during a 24-hour shift.
“I am a trainer in Brazilian Ju-Jitsu – I am a brown belt. I also work in a gym downtown,” said Bantsis. “We teach Judo, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, and wrestling. I’ve been doing this for the last 11 years, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu specifically. It’s my hobby.”
Bantsis’ focus on his hobby has led him to become a certified trainer and has allowed him to compete in several competitions throughout Greece and Europe. In October 2019, he competed in an all-Greece Jiu Jitsu submission competition in Chania – and won.
“It was a professional fight so I competed with a black belt,” said Bantsis. “It was a 17-minute fight but actually I won the fight.”
Bantsis said he is preparing for the European Master Championship in Barcelona, Spain, in May 2020, which he hopes will be his next competition.
“I have to lift weights and cross train a lot,” said Bantsis. “(I need to) have good conditioning and special training to be ready to go to the championship.”
Regardless of the issue, the Greek Representatives Office is a vital member of Team Souda and is here to help ensure mission success.
| Date Taken: | 01.02.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 07.08.2020 06:43 |
| Story ID: | 373518 |
| Location: | GR |
| Web Views: | 61 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, The Greek Representatives Office at NSA Souda Bay, by Joel Diller, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
LEAVE A COMMENT