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As of 2004, Greece (Hellenic Republic) has mandatory military service of 12 months for men. However, it is developing a professional army system, and it is widely expected that the mandatory military service will be cut to 6 months by 2008 or even abolished completely. This is claimed by some analysts as key to its ability to maintain a strong force against regional rivals such as Turkey. A Greek conscript airman jokingly aims his G3A3 rifle backwards. Advocates of an all-volunteer force hold that it will lead to greater professionalism in the ranks. History Although women are accepted into the Greek army, they are not obliged to join as men are. Soldiers receive no health insurance, but they can receive medical support during their army service, including hospitalization costs. They receive a salary of approximately 09 euros per month for privates, 12 euros for the rank of draft corporal and draft sergeant, and 600 euros as a draft cadet. The wages are not sufficient to sustain a draftee serving his tour away from his place of residence and most draftees depend on their parents to support them financially while they are on their tour. Financial repercussions Greek employers tend to dislike hiring men older than 32-35 years of age, because they associate that age range with the increased cost of hiring an employee who is married, without first even considering if the applicant is married or not. The student population in Greece doubled in a period over seven years, from 1997 to 2004. Unfortunately that led to higher unemployment rates among university graduates, as in several fields in the job market, supply exceeds the demand. Also, due to relocation of heavy industry in the countries neighbouring Greece, the general workforce unemployment rate has been severely elevated in Greece for the past 6 years (current unemployment rate, as of Q3 of 2004, is 10% of the active work force). All those factors - financial dependance during tour, ageism, entering the workforce in their late 20s, increased unemployment, ensure that the average Greek male feels the economic reprecussions of constituency for years after he has fulfilled his military obligations. In 2004, the Greek Ministry of Defence passed a law saying that men reaching the age of 35 can buy off their military obligation for 18,225 euros after going through bootcamp, which is 45 days. That the price tag is disproportional to the salary that a soldier receives. It is also largerly disproportionate to the salary a Greek citizen accumulates within a year. Critics of conscription in Greece argue that therefore the only people who would be able to buy off their tour are rich people, and not ordinary citizens.
Attitude towards conscription and conscripts (draftees) Conscription in Greece is considered by the draftees as waste of time, since no real training takes place after bootcamp, but most feel that it's a "necessary evil", since it can't be avoided without suffering serious repercussions. Concientious objectors In 1997, the Greek parliament voted a law that established alternative and unarmed service for conscientious objectors and in 2001, amended the Constitution to recognise the right to conscientious objection. As of 2004, alternative service is twice as long as the military service minus a month, i.e. 23 months, and unarmed service is 1.5 times as long as the military service, i.e. 18 months. Men serving alternative service at an institution that cannot provide them with food and shelter are paid about 210 euros per month.
National Guard In 1998, the Greek Parliament voted law 2641 which mandated enrollment of Greek men and women between 18 and 60 years of age into a National Guard. The Guard would respond to enemy action, natural disasters and all sorts of emergencies, but the law was never enforced.
Draft Evaders Until 2002, Greek citizens that had not fulfiled their military obligations and were living abroad had no right to be issued a passport once their original one expired. That year, the Greek parliament voted a law that granted the right to all Greek citizens to be issued passports, regardless of their draft status. In 2004, parliament granted amnesty to draft evaders, up to 30 days in a single calendar year, allowing them to visit Greece during that time. Draft evaders living in Greece are banned from leaving the country and cannot be issued with a passport. Twenty-eight years under general mobilisation Greece entered a state of general mobilisation on July 20, 1974 due to the crisis in Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/".
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