Army Air Force, Lieutenant General George Koumentakis will remain in his post following an earlier attempt to submit his resignation after he was accused of not providing enough air support in the firefighting efforts according to Greek media reports.
Specifically, it was reported that Koumentakis was blamed for a lack of air support from the army during a meeting of the General Chiefs of Staff of the Armed Forces where it was also suggested he be removed from his post and transferred to the National Defence Fund.
Koumentakis however rejected both the transfer and any blame concerning the fires, and instead offered his resignation which was not accepted in the end.
In an attempt to extinguish any concerns, Greece's Defence Minister Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos, said: "The Armed Forces were, are and will be at the forefront of the battle in every national challenge, thanks to the tireless efforts of its personnel, which ensures the highest operational and operational adequacy. We therefore call on everyone in these critical hours to be careful and not to refer, even with official announcements, to resignations that do not apply."
However, spokesman of the General Staff, Colonel Alexandros Mountzios, essentially stated that there was no resignation, saying "what is mentioned in a group of publications about the resignation of the Director of the Army Air Force, does not correspond to reality. "This senior officer remains in his post, continuing to perform his duties normally, as he has done so far."
According to Open TV , the Greek army has 25 Chinooks, 10 new and 15 older ones, but only three participated in the firefighting operation. However, many of them were not able to fly, as they were not included in the latest armament modernisation program.
