) , OYK ( el, ΟΥΚ) , Oykades ( el, Οϋκάδες) , patron = , motto = , colors = , colors_label = , march = , mascot = , equipment = , equipment_label = , battles =

Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...

Albanian Civil War The Albanian Civil War in 1997 was sparked by pyramid scheme failures in Albania soon after its transition to a market economy. The government was toppled and more than 2,000 people were killed. Various other sources also describe the violenc ...

Operation Atalanta Operation Atalanta, formally European Union Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) Somalia, is a current counter-piracy military operation at sea off the Horn of Africa and in the Western Indian Ocean, that is the first naval operation conducted by the E ...

Libyan civil war Demographics of Libya is the demography of Libya, specifically covering population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, and religious affiliations, as well as other aspects of the Libyan population. The ...

Operation Irini The European Union Naval Force Mediterranean Operation IRINI (EUNAVFOR MED IRINI) was launched on 31 March 2020 with the primary mission to enforce the United Nations arms embargo to Libya due to the Second Libyan Civil War. Operation IRINI is a ...

, battles_label = , anniversaries = , decorations = , battle_honours = , battle_honours_label = , disbanded = , website
Underwater Demolition Command
, commander1 =

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

Panagiotis Nikolareas , commander1_label = First , commander2 = , commander2_label = , commander3 = , commander3_label = , commander4 = , commander4_label = , ceremonial_chief = , notable_commanders = , identification_symbol = Δ.Υ.Κ. , identification_symbol_label = Abbreviation , identification_symbol_2 = , identification_symbol_2_label = , identification_symbol_3 = , identification_symbol_3_label = , identification_symbol_4 = , identification_symbol_4_label = The Underwater Demolition Command ( el, Διοίκηση Υποβρυχίων Καταστροφών), abbreviated as DYK ( el, ΔΥΚ, ) and known until 2001 as the Underwater Demolition Unit ( el, Μονάδα Υποβρυχίων Καταστροφών), abbreviated as MYK ( el, ΜΥΚ, ), is the

Greek 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 vario ...

's elite

special warfare Special forces and special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equip ...

unit.

History

Carrying on the tradition of the Hellenic Navy in naval special operations, the unit was established in 1957 with help from the United States Navy's

Underwater Demolition Team Underwater Demolition Teams (UDT), or frogmen, were amphibious units created by the United States Navy during World War II with specialized non-tactical missions. They were predecessors of the navy's current SEAL teams. Their primary WWII func ...

, when two Greek officers were sent to Little Creek in Virginia to evaluate a UDT operational capability for 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 vari ...

. In 1997, during the violent unrest that erupted in neighboring

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

, the OYK were responsible for taking control of the international airport of

Tirana Tirana ( , ; aln, Tirona) is the capital and largest city of Albania. It is located in the centre of the country, enclosed by mountains and hills with Dajti rising to the east and a slight valley to the northwest overlooking the Adriatic Sea ...

and the evacuation of 240 foreign dignitaries from Albania (Operation Kosmas). In 2008, OYK teams took part in

, deploying onboard

vessels off the coast of

Somalia Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...

. The OYK would carry out counter-piracy operations for the rest of the Hellenic Navy's deployment to the region. In late July/ early August 2014, Greek Navy SEALs undertook an operation in which they were to evacuate Greek/ Cypriot and foreign citizens from Tripoli, Libya. The team entered the tripoli port to carry out reconnaissance and to establish contact with local Libyan forces on the ground. The civilians were then evacuated, 89 being from either Greece or Cyprus and an additional 97 people being citizens other countries (Including the United Kingdom, China, Russia, Albania and Belgium). In total, 186 people were extracted. The civilians were transported by Libyan port authority RHIBs (due to weather) and then handed off to a Greek frigate which later sailed back to Piraeus. In 2020, the Hellenic Navy began taking part in

, a European naval task force tasked with monitoring and intercepting suspicious cargo close to the Libyan shores, as part of the arms embargo on

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya bo ...

. OYK teams are tasked with executing

VBSS Visit, board, search, and seizure (VBSS) is the term used by United States military and law enforcement agencies for maritime boarding actions and tactics. VBSS teams are designed to capture enemy vessels, combat terrorism, piracy, and smuggli ...

operations. So far, a large number of onboard visits have been carried out by the teams. On 30 April 2020, a boat had entered Greek Waters (

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...

) unmanned and without making any contact with the Cypriot authorities. Immediately the

Cyprus Joint Rescue Coordination Center The Cyprus Joint Rescue Coordination Center or JRCC Larnaca (Greek: ) is an independent agency of the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Cyprus and its primary mission is to organize the Cyprus Republic Search and Rescue (SAR) system, to co- ...

called for the Underwater Demolitions Command to respond, and immediately, boats carrying the SEALs were sent to the area. Upon arrival, they had found 2 people who later told them that due to technical difficulties on the boat, it began acting erratically and had in fact at first thrown them off. Because of this, the 2 people were transported to

Larnaka Larnaca ( el, Λάρνακα ; tr, Larnaka) is a city on the south east coast of Cyprus and the capital of the district of the same name. It is the third-largest city in the country, after Nicosia and Limassol, with a metro population of 144 ...

hospital and the boat was transported to land by the Underwater Demolitions Command.

OYK training

The selection and training course lasts roughly seven months and is divided into three phases similar to that of the US Navy SEALs BUD/S course. The course has an extremely high failure rate similar to that of its US counterparts. The candidates will go on to airborne school and then continue to learn advanced naval special warfare techniques.

OYK equipment

The OYK is known to use various types of firearms to complete their missions with some guns being customized to be able to adapt to the marine environment of the OYK. *

Glock 17 Glock is a brand of polymer-Receiver (firearms), framed, Recoil operation#Short recoil operation, short recoil-operated, locked-breech semi-automatic pistols designed and produced by Austrian manufacturer Glock Ges.m.b.H., Glock Ges.m.b.H. The ...

9×19mm (does have sub-aqua spring cups to help with the marine environment to allow the gun to shoot right when it pulled out in the water and has an extended threaded barrel that can attach a suppressor if needed) *

Glock 18 Glock is a brand of polymer- framed, short recoil-operated, locked-breech semi-automatic pistols designed and produced by Austrian manufacturer Glock Ges.m.b.H. The firearm entered Austrian military and police service by 1982 after it was the ...

9×19mm (has been utilized in the past, thought the standard issue is the Glock 17) * Heckler & Koch MP5-SD 9×19mm (MP5 variant used is the MP5A3) *

M4 Carbine The M4 carbine (officially Carbine, Caliber 5.56 mm, M4) is a 5.56×45mm NATO, gas-operated, magazine-fed carbine developed in the United States during the 1980s. It is a shortened version of the M16A2 assault rifle. The M4 is extensively ...

5.56×45mm (is usually equipped with a Holographic sight and a fore-grip) *

M4A1 The M4 carbine (officially Carbine, Caliber 5.56 mm, M4) is a 5.56×45mm NATO, gas-operated, magazine-fed carbine developed in the United States during the 1980s. It is a shortened version of the M16A2 assault rifle. The M4 is extensively ...

5.56×45mm (is equipped with Acog holographic and sometimes with a magnifier ×1, as well as fore-grips) *

FN Minimi The FN Minimi (short for french: Mini Mitrailleuse; "mini machine gun") is a Belgian 5.56mm light machine gun/squad automatic weapon developed by Ernest Vervier for FN Herstal. First introduced in the late 1970s, it is now in service in more th ...

7.62×51mm *

Springfield Armory The Springfield Armory, more formally known as the United States Armory and Arsenal at Springfield located in the city of Springfield, Massachusetts, was the primary center for the manufacture of United States military firearms from 1777 until ...

M21 Sniper Weapon System The M21 Sniper Weapon System (SWS) in the US Army is a national match grade M14 rifle, selected for accuracy, and renamed the M21 rifle. The M21 uses a commercially procured 3–9× variable power telescopic sight, modified for use with the snip ...

7.62×51mm * Benelli M3T 12 Gauge *

Barrett M82A1 The Barrett M82 (standardized by the U.S. military as the M107) is a Recoil operation, recoil-operated, semi-automatic rifle, semi-automatic anti-materiel rifle developed by the American company Barrett Firearms Manufacturing. Also called the ...

.50 BMG *

Accuracy International AWM The Accuracy International AWM (Arctic Warfare Magnum or AI-Arctic Warfare Magnum) is a bolt-action sniper rifle manufactured by Accuracy International designed for magnum rifle cartridges. The Accuracy International AWM is also unofficially k ...

M203 The M203 is a single-shot 40 mm under-barrel grenade launcher designed to attach to a rifle. It uses the same rounds as the older stand-alone M79 break-action grenade launcher, which utilizes the high-low propulsion system to keep recoil forces ...

Grenade Launcher

2015 Independence Day Parade Controversy

The OYK generated controversy at the Greek Independence Day parade of 2015, when it chanted a nationalistic refrain: «Και το όνειρο μας είναι / στην Πόλη εμείς να μπούμε / σημαία να υψώσουμε / τον ύμνο εμείς να πούμε», roughly translated as 'Our dream is to enter Polis (

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

) to raise our flag and sing our anthem'. Opposition ministers from the

PASOK The Panhellenic Socialist Movement ( el, Πανελλήνιο Σοσιαλιστικό Κίνημα, Panellínio Sosialistikó Kínima, ), known mostly by its acronym PASOK, (; , ) is a social-democratic political party in Greece. Until 2012, it ...

party launched attacks on the defence Minister

Panos Kammenos Panagiotis "Panos" Kammenos ( el, Παναγιώτης "Πάνος" Καμμένος, ; born 12 May 1965) is a Greek politician and the founder of the right-wing party "Independent Greeks", which formed the governing coalition of the Hellenic Par ...

, accusing him of mishandling matters of vital foreign policy. Concerns were also expressed by the government (

SYRIZA The Coalition of the Radical Left – Progressive Alliance ( el, Συνασπισμός Ριζοσπαστικής Αριστεράς – Προοδευτική Συμμαχία, Synaspismós Rizospastikís Aristerás – Proodeftikí Simachía), ...

) MP Vassiliki Katrouvanou, who called the chants 'a clear offense to our republic', and highlighted the ongoing need to remove certain far-right elements from the Greek armed forces.

References

External links