‘Now it is Australia’s turn’: Hellenic Army Academy launches student exchange

By George Tserdanis

It’s not every day that senior leadership from the Hellenic Army Academy (Evelpidon), Greece’s premier military college and one of the world’s elite institutions, stands before the Australian Hellenic Memorial (AHM) of Melbourne.

But on Saturday, November 22, delegates from a strategic exchange mission did exactly that, pausing in the same place Greek Deputy Foreign Minister Ioannis Loverdos stood three weeks earlier. Their presence marked a new phase of defence cooperation between Greece and Australia and reinforced Greece’s message that the diaspora is central to its modern strategic outlook.

AHM President Steve Kyritsis OAM was on site early to welcome the delegation. 

“We’ve had more officials visit from Greece this year than in any previous year,” he said, describing the memorial as “a mandatory stop for anyone representing Greece in Australia.”

This latest mission was led by Major General Anastasios Polychronos, Superintendent of the Hellenic Army Academy, who positioned the visit squarely within Evelpidon’s fast-expanding global engagement strategy.

“In recent years, we have tried to collaborate with as many academic and military institutions as possible. We now cooperate with 38 institutions worldwide,” he said, citing recent agreements with South Korea and Egypt. “Now it is Australia’s turn.”

At the centre of the mission was finalising a reciprocal exchange agreement with the Royal Military College (RMC) in Canberra.

“We came with that goal – to see how military education is conducted here and ensure our systems align,” Polychronos said. 

Delegates in Canberra, he noted, openly wondered why such a partnership had taken so long between two nations linked by shared wartime sacrifice and a steadily converging strategic outlook.

Founded in 1828 by Ioannis Kapodistrias, Evelpidon stands alongside West Point, Sandhurst, and Saint-Cyr, its two-century ethos shaping generations of Greek officers and attracting cadets from around the world.

“Evelpidon is one of the best military academies in the world,” Polychronos said. “We want our collaboration with Australia to reflect that.”

Before arriving in Melbourne, the delegation toured Puckapunyal, one of Australia’s most significant military training bases.

Captain Vasilios Athanasopoulos, Aide-de-Camp, described it as “the highlight of my visit,” prompting a knowing laugh by Major Evangelos Zarkos, head of Evelpidon’s International Cooperation office, though neither elaborated on the joke. 

Professor Georgios Kaimakamis, Dean of Evelpidon, confirmed that the agreement is already in its final stage.

“Within a month, we will have everything signed online. From July 2026, two students will come here for six-month placements,” he said. The exchanges will be funded through the EU’s Erasmus scheme, which allows up to 20% of placements outside Europe.

Polychronos also issued a direct invitation to Greek Australian youth: “We would like members of the diaspora to study at Evelpidon. The school is open; anyone can sit the exams, complete four years of study, and then serve in the Greek Army.”

Kaimakamis praised the warmth of the Australian reception. “The way you welcomed us made us feel as if you had been waiting for us for a very long time.”

The delegation also included Colonel Kyriakos Kyriakakos, Greece’s Defence Attaché in Canberra, and Chrysa Psychogyiou, spouse of Major General Polychronos.

They were greeted at the AHM by founding committee member Peter Kalimnakis OAM, along with AHM Vice President and co-founding committee member Antonis Tsourdalakis, AHM Secretary Peter Andrinopoulos, Manningham Mayor Jim Grivas, Nikolaos Kydas, Con Dimaras and Natasha Spanos, who also accompanied the delegation to schools in Melbourne. Greek Consul General Dimitra Georgantzoglou was also present.

The wartime bond between Greece and Australia was central to the visit. 

“Seventeen thousand Australians served in Greece during WWII, with 841 killed, and 7,000 New Zealanders with 1,050 fallen,” Kyritsis said. “Their names are engraved in the Shrine’s crypt.”

Kalimnakis explained that the AHM’s design draws on the geometry of the Temple of Apollo, with its most sacred element being the crypt housing stones from every region of Greece, including the stone symbolising democracy. The delegation were then taken to the Shrine of Remembrance before heading to a Bourke Street restaurant.