In the closing days of 2021, a little-known Greek special-operations unit received NATO’s highest readiness qualification.

Evaluators from the NATO Special Operations Forces Headquarters (NSHQ) traveled to Greece and put the country’s elite special operators through the wringer.

The Special Paratroopers Section, (Ειδικό Τμήμα Αλεξιπτωτιστών – ΕΤΑ), the tier-one special-operations unit of the Hellenic Army, not only passed with top marks but also achieved the highest possible rating.

An NSHQ committee assessed the Greek special-operations unit for almost a week in December. The NATO testers evaluated ETA on three mission sets: foreign internal defense, direct action, and special reconnaissance.

Simulating a real-world operation, ETA special operators forward-deployed and performed a wide range of missions, making use of all their infiltration techniques and skill sets.

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(General Konstantinos Floros, Chief of Hellenic National Defense General Staff, with members of Greece’s Special Paratroopers Section)

The whole unit took part in the evaluation, as did a Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear warfare element that was attached to ETA.

The NSHQ committee evaluated ETA as “Combat Ready” and described its performance as exceptional, meaning that the Greek commandos can now deploy as part of a NATO Special Operations Land Task Group.

Gen. Constantine Floros, chief of the Hellenic National Defense General Staff and a special operator himself, said in a tweet, “my warm congratulations to the ETA for the excellent performance in the unit’s evaluation by the NATO Special Operations HQ. [We are] proud once more for the combat ready ETA”.

Read more: Business Insider