Historic moment: Greece launches military service program for women

A new chapter has opened in the history of Greece’s armed forces. The first 72 female volunteers arrived at the training center in the city of Lamia, having decided to complete military service on equal terms with men. Until now, compulsory conscription in the country applied only to men, and no similar program existed for women.

The recruits, aged 20 to 26, have become participants in a pilot project that the authorities see as a way to expand the army’s personnel reserve and attract more young people to service. All the women will complete 12 months of service under the same conditions as male conscripts.

The training center in Lamia was specially prepared and adapted to accommodate the volunteers. In the coming weeks, the participants will undergo an initial military training course, after which they will take the military oath. The ceremony is scheduled for the end of June.

Interest in the program has been high: around 180 applications were submitted for the first 100 places. As incentives, the state offers to count the service as work experience, award additional points when applying for public-sector jobs, and provide access to benefits enjoyed by military personnel, including military hospitals.

According to army representatives, the experiment will make it possible to assess the effectiveness of the new recruitment system and decide whether it should be expanded in the future. The authorities describe the project as part of a broader modernization of the armed forces and a response to demographic problems affecting troop recruitment.

Although women have served in the Greek army as professional soldiers for many years, the current program is the first organized mechanism for voluntary military service for women of conscription age.