The Hellenic Navy General Staff ( el, Γενικό Επιτελείο Ναυτικού, abbr. ΓΕΝ) is the

general staff A military staff or general staff (also referred to as army staff, navy staff, or air staff within the individual services) is a group of officers, enlisted and civilian staff who serve the commander of a division or other large military ...

of the

Hellenic Navy The Hellenic Navy (HN; el, Πολεμικό Ναυτικό, Polemikó Naftikó, War Navy, abbreviated ΠΝ) is the naval force of Greece, part of the Hellenic Armed Forces. The modern Greek navy historically hails from the naval forces of var ...

, the naval component of the

Greek Armed Forces The Hellenic Armed Forces ( el, Eλληνικές Ένοπλες Δυνάμεις, Ellinikés Énoples Dynámis) are the military forces of Greece. They consist of the Hellenic Army, the Hellenic Navy, and the Hellenic Air Force. The civilian a ...

. It is headed by the Chief of the Navy General Staff, currently Vice Admiral Stylianos Petrakis.

History

The Hellenic Navy General Staff was established by law on 21 July 1907 and organized by Royal Decree on 12 November of the same year. It ceased to function following the

German invasion of Greece The German invasion of Greece, also known as the Battle of Greece or Operation Marita ( de , Unternehmen Marita, links = no), was the attack of Greece by Italy and Germany during World War II. The Italian invasion in October 1940, which is usu ...

in April 1941, and was reconstituted following Liberation in September 1944. During the intervening period, the Royal Hellenic Navy, although run by the

Greek government in exile The Greek government-in-exile was formed in 1941, in the aftermath of the Battle of Greece and the subsequent occupation of Greece by Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. The government-in-exile was based in Cairo, Egypt, and hence it is also referr ...

, was subordinated operationally to the

British Admiralty The Admiralty was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom responsible for the command of the Royal Navy until 1964, historically under its titular head, the Lord High Admiral – one of the Great Officers of State. For much of i ...

. When the Hellenic National Defence General Staff was established in 1950, the HNGS was subordinated to it. During the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because t ...

, the Chief of the HNGS also fulfilled the duties of

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two N ...

Commander Eastern Mediterranean (COMEDEAST).

Command Structure

* Chief of the Navy General Staff (Αρχηγός ΓΕΝ, Α/ΓΕΝ), the head of the Navy * Deputy Chief of the Navy General Staff (Υπαρχηγός ΓΕΝ), who functions as the

chief of staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supporti ...

and runs its day-to-day affairs * General Inspector of the Navy (Γενικός Επιθεωρητής ΠΝ), subordinated directly to the Chief of the HNGS * Director of Financial Inspection of the Navy (Διευθυντής Οικονομικού Ελέγχου ΠΝ)

External links

Hellenic Navy General Staff
{{Chiefs of the Hellenic Navy General Staff Naval units and formations of Greece Staff (military)