Major General (retired) Panagiotis Gartzonikas, PhD, has commanded at every army level from platoon to division. A graduate of the Military Academy he served as an Armor officer in a variety of leadership assignments. At formation level he commanded the 20th Armor Division and 88th Infantry Brigade of Lemnos Island. Key staff appointments include Director of the Army General Staff Plans and Policy Branch (G5) and Deputy Director of the Army General Staff Operations Branch (G3).
He has worked in international organizations leading multinational and multicultural teams in developing countries in Middle East and Central Asia for both EU and NATO. As European Union Long Term Observer for the first Palestinian elections in 1995, he deployed to the West Bank and Gaza participating in the first EU operation abroad. He also spent three years in NATO as Planning Team Leader at the Allied Rapid Reaction Corps (ARRC) G5 Plans. In that capacity he deployed to Afghanistan in 2006 and served an eight month-tour at HQ ISAF. As ARRC G5 Plans Team Leader he actively participated in planning and conduct of staff rides in Arnhem, Salerno, Anzio, Monte Cassino, Ardennes and Normandy.
Overall, in his career he got four Chief of the Army General Staff Citations, the second highest award in peacetime for professional excellence.
In terms of professional military education, he graduated from both the Command and General Staff College and National Defence College courses and he attended the Company Commanders Course in Panzerschule (Armor School), Germany. From the academic side he holds a PhD degree from Panteion University of Athens. He earned also a Master of Arts degree in Strategic Studies and a Master of Science degree in Defense Analysis from the United States Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California.
He has taught Strategy at the Military Academy and he is since 2014 a lecturer at the National Defence College. Moreover, he is the editor of the STRATEGEIN e-journal (www.strategein.gr).
He is one of the founding members of ABS Advanced Battlefield Studies Greece, a 2018 pioneering battlefield tours and survey company which is the predecessor of Hellenic Battlefield & Heritage Tours A.E.
Major General (retired) Stavros Koutris, a graduate of “Evelpidon” Military Academy, Class ’78, has served as an officer in several Infantry and Special Forces units and has commanded all army levels from platoon to division. As a staff officer has served to several Staffs from Corps level to the Ministry of National Defence. He was appointed to PJHQ, Northwood UK, as Greek liaison officer during the first British commanding tour of ISAF in Kabul Afghanistan and as a military advisor to Hellenic Delegation to the OSCE, Vienna.
His senior assignments were Director G3/Hellenic Army General Staff, Commander of “Evelpidon” Military Academy and Commander of 98th Infantry Division of Lesvos island.
During his career as a staff officer, he was involved in National Defence Planning and conducted three main studies as chief executive officer: Special Forces for the ARMY 2010 (1999), Transformation and Reorganisation of the Hellenic Army (2006) and Restructuring the Education and Training of Army Officer (2010).
He graduated from several infantry and special forces schools in Greece, US and NATO and he was an active paratrooper and underwater demolition team member. He is a graduate of the Supreme War College, Thessaloniki Greece and NATO Defence College, Rome.
He was awarded an MSc degree in Computer Science from the University of Essex, UK and a Diploma in Strategy and International Relations from the CENTRE D’ ΈTUDE DIPLOMATIQUES ET STRATΈGIQUES (CEDS), Greece.
He is an external fellow at the Hellenic National Defence College and one of the founding members of ABS Advanced Battlefield Studies Greece, a 2018 pioneering battlefield tours and survey company which is the predecessor of Hellenic Battlefield & Heritage Tours A.E.
Major General Dimitrios Karamperis, is a graduate of the Military Academy from 1981 and of the Economic and Financial Department of the Aristotle’s University of Thessaloniki from 1993. He served as an Infantry officer in a variety of leadership and Staff assignments. Key staff appointments include Director and Deputy Director of the Army General Staff Training Branch (G7) from 2007 to 2010 and Officer of Primary Responsibility for NATO, EU and UN operational and planning issues within the Army General Staff Operations & Plans Branch (G3/5) from 2001 to 2004.
His international experience includes three overseas assignments. The first one has been as the Director of G3/5/7 of the Hellenic Armed Forces in Cyprus (1996-1998). The second one, as the Land Operations Chief of the Joint Operations Branch of the NATO Joint Command SW in Madrid (1999-2001) where he was additionally deployed for four months as Shift JOC Director of KFOR (Feb-Jun 2001). His last overseas assignment was in Virginia U.S.A. (2004-2007) as the Hellenic Army Liaison Officer to the Training & Doctrine Command of the U.S. Army.
Within his duties of the assignment in G3/5 of the Army Staff, he has been the National Representative in all NATO Command and Force Structure operational matters, including NATO Force Proposals and Combat Readiness Evaluations issues and Hellenic Armed Forces deployments (Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo and Afghanistan). During his assignment in TRADOC-USA, he participated in all AUSA main conferences and activities and he visited the majority of US military installations and combat training centres, acquiring experience of the modern tactics and techniques of the 21st century’s battles and operational missions.
In terms of professional military education, he graduated with honours from both the Supreme Army War and the National Defence Colleges and he attended four NATO courses in the NATO School in Oberammergau, Germany (Staff Orientation, Joint Operations Centre, European Security and Information Operations). From the academic perspective, he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economic and Finance Studies with emphasis in Business Administration and he also attended partly a Master of Science course in Leadership at Kingston University, UK following an agreement between the Hellenic National Defence General Staff and the university. His retirement forced him to not complete his studies.
During his courses at the Army War and the National Defence Colleges, he wrote two important essays for the New Hellenic Army’s Force Structure after the CFE Treaty (1993) and for the Future of NATO after its last expansion (2005). In addition, he has amalgamated his father’s personal notes from his military experiences participating as an officer of the Hellenic Army in the 2nd World War (Albanian Front, Resistance in Macedonia, Middle East and Aegean Islands), in the Civil War and in the re-organisation of the Hellenic Army during the decades of 50s and 60s and published them into two books in 2010 and in 2011 respectively.
He speaks fluently English and Spanish and fairly good French.
Major General Dimitrios Alevizos, a graduate of “Evelpidon” Military Academy, Class ’83, has served as an officer in several Infantry units and has commanded all army levels from platoon to division. As a staff officer has served to several Staffs from Regiment level to the Ministry of National Defence and participated to the Greek Contingent to the UN Mission in Iraq-Kuwait (1991).
His senior assignments were Commander of 7 Mech. Infantry Brigade, Commander of II Mech. Infantry Division, Chief of Staff of 1 Army Corps and Commander of “Evelpidon” Military Academy.
During his career as a staff officer, he was involved in National Defence Operations/Intelligence, worked as a staff officer in the Hellenic Military Delegation in NATO/Brussels and participated in the preparation and pursuance of the EU EL Presidency as Defence Policy Director /Hellenic National Defence General Staff.
He graduated from several infantry schools in Greece, US, NATO and the Chemical Weapons Interdiction Course held by the French Government. He is a graduate of Supreme War College, Thessaloniki Greece, US Army Command and General Staff College and Hellenic National Defence College, Athens.
He was awarded a Diploma of Specialized Studies on Information and Security from the University of Marne la Vallee, France and has a Master of Science degree on Applied Strategy and International Security from the University of Plymouth, UK.