New recruits awarded green berets

The chief of the National Guard, Lieutenant General Demokritos Zervakis, spoke of “blood spilled on Cypriot soil by heroes who fought for their freedom and for the survival of Hellenism” during a ceremony awarding the green beret to new recruits, which took place on Monday at the “Georgios Katsani” army camp in Stavrovouni.

“The new recruits completed their arduous and demanding training and have now officially entered the National Guard family, on an island that has seen people fight for their freedom,” Zervakis said.

He added that the new recruits are “the descendants of the commando of parachutist Manolis Bikakis, who wrote his name in golden letters in the history books of Cyprus, when he faced a whole fleet of armoured vehicles alone and, thanks to his bravery and his Greek soul, managed to destroy six Turkish tanks during the 1974 invasion using a single anti-tank artillery weapon.”

Addressing the new recruits, Zervakis said they are the pride of the National Guard, an example to follow, and called on their parents and relatives to be proud of them.

At the same time, he urged them “to arm themselves with courage, faith and dedication to their mission to execute their superiors’ orders willingly and to support each other in the name of freedom.”

“The green berets represent the ideals of dedication, courage, education, knowledge, and above all, ethos and discipline.

“All those ideals will have to be substantiated by actions and not words, and the demands during the new recruits’ service will be many and arduous,” Zervakis concluded.