Since 1974, the Hellenic Armed Forces' primary mission has been maintaining a balance of power with Turkey, specifically deterring infringement of Greek national interests and sovereignty and preventing a Turkish attack on the Greek Cypriot portion of Cyprus. As a secondary mission, Greece's status as a member of NATO requires military contributions to that alliance's efforts to deter threats in Eastern Europe, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean originating outside the region.

Greece's military doctrine is defensive on the strategic level, in accordance with the overall doctrine of NATO. The objective is to deter any threat or actual attack against Greece and to protect Greek national interests. The doctrine of forward defense has been adopted by the Hellenic Armed Forces.

On the tactical level, the doctrine may have a defensive or a counteroffensive orientation, according to circumstances. The impressive performance of the United States Armed Forces in the Persian Gulf War prompted Greece to reorganize its land forces, putting greater emphasis on smaller units (moving primary focus from divisions and regiments to brigades and battalions), combining the increased mobility of armored personnel carriers and helicopters with enhanced firepower. The main task of the air and naval components of the armed forces in case of armed conflict with Turkey would be to deter Turkish attempts to occupy Greek islands in the Aegean Sea and, concurrently, to support the defense of Cyprus. More specifically, the Hellenic Navy is expected to maintain control of the seas, intercept and destroy enemy amphibious forces, protect lines of communication, and transport reinforcements to the islands. The Hellenic Air Force is expected to maintain air superiority, support land and naval operations, attack first- and second-echelon forces in Thrace (providing at the same time close air support for Greek land forces), neutralize amphibious forces in the Aegean, and strike at vital targets on the enemy's territory.

In 1994 Greece and Cyprus announced the creation of a Joint Defense Area. According to this doctrine, as long as Turkey maintained an occupation force of more than 30,000 troops in Cyprus, Greek and Cypriot forces would remain in the posture of joint defense. In this context, any attack against the Republic of Cyprus would constitute a casus belli for Greece. In 1994 some 950 regular Greek troops were in Cyprus, and 1,300 Greek noncommissioned officers (NCOs) and officers were detailed to the Cypriot National Guard, the republic's active armed force. That force's senior officer corps is composed mainly of Greeks; the commanding officer is a general of the Greek Army selected by the Ministry of Defense of Greece in consultation with the Greek General Staff when the command becomes vacant.

Data as of December 1994

NOTE: The information regarding Greece on this page is re-published from The Library of Congress Country Studies and the CIA World Factbook. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Greece Defense Posture After 1974 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Greece Defense Posture After 1974 should be addressed to the Library of Congress and the CIA.