{"id":23270,"date":"2023-08-31T09:59:14","date_gmt":"2023-08-31T09:59:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kedisa.gr\/tackling-recruitment-and-retention-in-european-armed-forces-exploring-military-personnel-resignations-in-greece\/"},"modified":"2026-01-21T22:31:56","modified_gmt":"2026-01-21T22:31:56","slug":"tackling-recruitment-and-retention-in-european-armed-forces-exploring-military-personnel-resignations-in-greece","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kedisa.gr\/en\/tackling-recruitment-and-retention-in-european-armed-forces-exploring-military-personnel-resignations-in-greece\/","title":{"rendered":"Tackling Recruitment and Retention in European Armed Forces: Exploring Military Personnel Resignations in Greece"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>By George Zgardanas, Analyst KEDISA<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>High Resignations in the Greek Armed Forces: A Complex Challenge<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In Greece, the issue of high resignation rates in the armed forces has taken center stage, drawing attention to the underlying reasons and potential solutions. This phenomenon, reaching double-digit percentages, has raised concerns about its impact on the armed forces.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Reasons Behind High Resignations: The Greek Landscape<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The resignations in the Greek armed forces are fueled by a range of critical factors. Chief among these are inadequate salary levels and adverse working conditions, which have become a daily occurrence, involving tasks unrelated to the core mission of the armed forces. Additionally, unpaid overtime, work-related stress, housing challenges, and the quality of life for military families contribute to the prevalent dissatisfaction among personnel.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Broader European Trends: Reflecting Demographic Changes and Technological Advancements<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The issue extends beyond Greece and resonates with broader European societal changes. With a decreasing number of students entering the workforce, the labor market has become increasingly competitive. Modern technologies, digitalization, and emerging hybrid and cyber threats are reshaping the nature of soldiers&#8217; roles, altering the skills recruiters seek in potential military personnel.<\/p>\n<p><strong>EUROMIL&#8217;s Recommendations and Solutions<\/strong>: Drawing from <a href=\"https:\/\/euromil.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/1904_EUROMIL_Position_Paper_Recruitment_and_Retention.pdf\">EUROMIL&#8217;s Position Paper on Recruitment and Retention<\/a><\/p>\n<p>EUROMIL&#8217;s position paper on recruitment and retention offers valuable insights into addressing the challenges of high resignations. It emphasizes short-term and lifelong career paths as minimum standards. Notable recommendations include:<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; Providing support for personnel transitioning to civilian careers after military service through training and preparation courses.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; Establishing connections with employers in various sectors to align training with job market needs.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; Ensuring transparent service terms and clear commitments about contract duration and post-contract support.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; Creating attractive career paths for both short-term and lifelong military service, considering salary, promotions, and experience.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; Fostering a diverse and inclusive working environment, promoting work-life balance, and offering opportunities for lifelong learning and mental well-being.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Implications and Future Concerns: Aiming for a Balanced Approach<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The high resignation rates, if left unaddressed, could eventually undermine the military&#8217;s mission readiness. Overworking the remaining staff due to understaffing and an aging workforce exacerbates the challenge. A multifaceted approach is required to strike a balance between personnel retention and operational effectiveness.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Conclusion: A Way Forward<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The issue of recruitment and retention in the European Armed forces, and particularly the resignations in Greece, demands a comprehensive response. While challenges persist, EUROMIL&#8217;s recommendations provide a roadmap for addressing the root causes of resignations and retaining qualified personnel. By evaluating these proposals, European armed forces can pave the way for a more robust and effective military community.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/kedisa.gr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/KEDISA---------------.jpg\" data-rel=\"penci-gallery-image-content\" ><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-8534\" src=\"https:\/\/kedisa.gr\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/KEDISA---------------.jpg\" alt=\"KEDISA--\u03b1\u03bd\u03ac\u03bb\u03c5\u03c3\u03b7\" width=\"800\" height=\"449\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By George Zgardanas, Analyst KEDISA &nbsp; High Resignations in the Greek Armed Forces: A Complex&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":236,"featured_media":23616,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1105],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23270","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-analyses"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kedisa.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23270","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kedisa.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kedisa.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kedisa.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/236"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kedisa.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23270"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kedisa.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23270\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23271,"href":"https:\/\/kedisa.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23270\/revisions\/23271"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kedisa.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23616"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kedisa.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23270"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kedisa.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23270"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kedisa.gr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23270"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}