The Supreme Military Command of the Interior and Islands ( el, Ανώτερη Στρατιωτική Διοίκηση Εσωτερικού και Νήσων, ΑΣΔΕΝ; ''Anóteri Stratiotikí Deíkisi Esoterikoú ke Níson'', ''ASDEN''), more commonly known as ASDEN, is a

Corps Corps (; plural ''corps'' ; from French , from the Latin "body") is a term used for several different kinds of organization. A military innovation by Napoleon I, the formation was first named as such in 1805. The size of a corps varies great ...

-sized formation of the

Hellenic Army The Hellenic Army ( el, Ελληνικός Στρατός, Ellinikós Stratós, sometimes abbreviated as ΕΣ), formed in 1828, is the land force of Greece. The term ''Hellenic'' is the endogenous synonym for ''Greek''. The Hellenic Army is the ...

responsible for the defence of the Aegean Islands.

History

Formed in

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

in 1945 as the Higher Military Command of Attica ( el, Ανωτέρα Στρατιωτική Διοίκηση Αττικής, ΑΣΔΑ; ''Anotéra Stratiotikí Deíkisi Attikís'', ''ASDA''), by 1961 it had evolved from a territorial defence force to a Corps-sized formation, overseeing the Aegean region's four National Guard Commands. It was soon renamed to the Supreme Military Command of the Interior and Islands ( el, Ανωτάτη Στρατιωτική Διοίκηση Εσωτερικού και Νήσων, ΑΣΔΕΝ; ''Anotati Stratiotikí Deíkisi Esoterikoú ke Níson'', ''ASDEN'') to reflect the expansion of its role. In 1995, the command's headquarters were relocated to the suburb of Karea in

Attica Attica ( el, Αττική, Ancient Greek ''Attikḗ'' or , or ), or the Attic Peninsula, is a historical region that encompasses the city of Athens, the capital of Greece and its countryside. It is a peninsula projecting into the Aegean Se ...

, and by 2005 it had become a major operational formation of the

, consisting of two division and five

brigade A brigade is a major tactical military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute a division. Br ...

-strength, mechanized, National Guard Battalion Higher Commands ( el, Ανώτερη Διοίκηση Ταγμάτων Εθνοφυλακής, ΑΔΤΕ; ''Anóteri Deíkisi Tagmáton Ethnofylakís, ADTE''). After a wide-ranging defense review in 2013, the Corps' capabilities were strengthened with the 5th Infantry Brigade reorganized as an

air assault Air assault is the movement of ground-based military forces by vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft—such as the helicopter—to seize and hold key terrain which has not been fully secured, and to directly engage enemy forces behind e ...

brigade to become ASDEN's

rapid reaction force A rapid reaction force is a military or police unit designed to respond in very short time frames to emergencies. When used in reference to police forces such as SWAT teams, the time frame is minutes, while in military applications, such as with t ...

Emblem and Motto

The emblem of the ASDEN depicts the

Lion Gate Lion Gate ( el, Πύλη των Λεόντων) is the popular modern name for the main entrance of the Bronze Age citadel of Mycenae in southern Greece. It was erected during the thirteenth century BC, around 1250 BC, in the northwestern side o ...

Mycenae Mycenae ( ; grc, Μυκῆναι or , ''Mykē̂nai'' or ''Mykḗnē'') is an archaeological site near Mykines in Argolis, north-eastern Peloponnese, Greece. It is located about south-west of Athens; north of Argos; and south of Corinth. Th ...

. It symbolizes power through unity. The Corps' motto, Defending One's Country ( el, ΑΜΥΝΕΣΘΑΙ ΠΕΡΙ ΠΑΤΡΗΣ; ''Amýnesthae Perí Pátris''), is from Homer's

Iliad The ''Iliad'' (; grc, Ἰλιάς, Iliás, ; "a poem about Ilium") is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Odysse ...

, attributed to the Trojan Prince Hector in the final days of the

Trojan War In Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans (Greeks) after Paris of Troy took Helen from her husband Menelaus, king of Sparta. The war is one of the most important events in Greek mythology and has ...

, when Polydamas advised him to stop the attack on the Achaeans because the omens were not auspicious. Hector replied "There's one good omen, defending one's country!" ( el, «Εις οιωνός άριστος αμύνεσθαι περί πάτρης»).

Structure

Supreme Military Command of the Interior and Islands ** Corps HQ Battalion, based at

** Corps Engineer Command (ΔΜΧ/ΑΣΔΕΝ), based at

** 2nd Signal, EW, Surveillance Regiment (2ο ΣΕΗΠΠΕΠ), based at

** 291st Recruits Training Center (291o KEN), based at Syros, Cyclades ** 5th Airmobile Brigade (5 A/M ΤΑΞ "V Μεραρχία Κρητών"), based at Chania,

Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, and ...

** 79th National Guard Higher Command (79 ΑΔΤΕ), based at

Samos Samos (, also ; el, Σάμος ) is a Greek island in the eastern Aegean Sea, south of Chios, north of Patmos and the Dodecanese, and off the coast of western Turkey, from which it is separated by the -wide Mycale Strait. It is also a separate ...

** 80th National Guard Higher Command (80 ΑΔΤΕ), based at Kos,

Dodecanese The Dodecanese (, ; el, Δωδεκάνησα, ''Dodekánisa'' , ) are a group of 15 larger plus 150 smaller Greek islands in the southeastern Aegean Sea and Eastern Mediterranean, off the coast of Turkey's Anatolia, of which 26 are inhabited. ...

88th Military Command (88 ΣΔΙ), based at Myrina, Lemnos ** 95th National Guard Higher Command (95 ΑΔΤΕ), based at

Rhodes Rhodes (; el, Ρόδος , translit=Ródos ) is the largest and the historical capital of the Dodecanese islands of Greece. Administratively, the island forms a separate municipality within the Rhodes regional unit, which is part of the So ...

** 96th National Guard Higher Command (96 ΑΔΤΕ), based at

Chios Chios (; el, Χίος, Chíos , traditionally known as Scio in English) is the fifth largest Greek island, situated in the northern Aegean Sea. The island is separated from Turkey by the Chios Strait. Chios is notable for its exports of mastic ...

** 98th National Guard Higher Command (98 ΑΔΤΕ), based at Lesbos Hellenic Army Supreme Military Command of the Interior & Islands

References and links

{{Greece army corps Corps of Greece 1945 establishments in Greece