Air raid sirens to sound on Monday as part of country-wide drill

Civil defense sirens are expected to go off all over Greece on Monday (Oct. 2) as part of an annual military and public warning exercise dubbed Parmenion.

The nationwide drill returns this year after a two-year absence and takes place while a large number of personnel and military equipment are in Thessaly and Central Greece to deal with the aftermath of a new storm. There were thoughts of canceling or postponing the exercise, however, it was deemed beneficial to carry it out with some modifications, in order to maintain the operational readiness of those involved.

The exercise formally began on Wednesday and is expected to conclude on October 4. There is a gradual “escalation” of the possible scenarios the drill deals with, starting with a crisis, tension, hostilities and ending with the big military counter-attack at the border region of Evros. All branches of the Armed Forces, other uniformed personnel and the bodies of the Civil Sector involved in operations on paper and in the field are participating in the exercise.

The sirens will start at 11 a.m., blasting at 60-second intervals, and end at 11.05 a.m.