Active 1978 - Present Branch Hellenic Police Size 200 operators | Country Greece Type Special Forces | |
Role Domestic Counter-Terrorism and Law Enforcement | ||
The Special Counter-Terrorist Unit (Greek: Ε.Κ.Α.Μ. - Ειδική Κατασταλτική Αντιτρομοκρατική Μονάδα, Eidiki Katastaltiki Antitromokratiki Monada) is the Greek counter-terrorism unit of the Hellenic Police. It is the most distinguished part of the Hellenic Police. It was formed in 1978 when the first two anti-terrorist units were created within the two Police Divisions that existed then (Hellenic Gendarmerie and the Cities Police) and in 1984 were united into a single body, the Hellenic Police. In the beginning the Unit had only 150 men but when Greece became the host country of the Olympic Games of 2004 their number increased to 200 after reassessing the needs for the magnitude of the event.
Contents
Training
The EKAM force is based in Athens, but have several detachments spread throughout Greece's major cities. Each officer is a full-time member who must have at least five years on the force before being allowed to try out. Many receive training from the Greek Army's Ranger School before going on to the police counter-terrorism school.
The Special Counter-Terrorist Unit of the Hellenic Police follows a three-month training program every year. For its training modern, purpose-built facilities are being used. Training can also take place in other locations such as buildings in urban or rural areas (inhabited or not), the Athens International Airport, planes of Olympic Airways, the Piraeus port infrastructure, the Hellenic Railroad system, the Athens Metro. Other places that have been decided as suitable to cover its training needs can also be used. The Unit is in constant cooperation with other Special Units abroad such as the FBI, SAS and ERU via the ATLAS Network.
Operations
The Special Counter-Terrorist Unit of the Hellenic Police, operates all around Greece and abroad whenever is deemed necessary. It has confronted challenges such as hostage situations and it has contributed in the arrests of many dangerous criminals. The EKAM played a key role in the dismantling of the November 17 and Revolutionary People's Struggle terrorist organizations. In March 2003, it confronted successfully an incident on a Turkish Aeroplane which was hijacked while it flew from Istanbul to Ankara (flight no. 160) and ended up at the Athens International Airport at the order of the hijacker. In a successful operation the Unit stormed the plane and arrested the hijacker by incapacitating him with a taser and releasing all hostages safely.
Duties
including physical disasters in cooperation with the Fire Brigade
Pistols
Submachine Guns
Assault Rifles
Machine Guns
Shotguns
Sniper Rifles
All the above sniper rifles can be also be equipped with a special nightvision device.
Trivia
Outside international conventions the Greek name for the unit is Special Suppressive Antiterrorist Unit. At the time of its creation in the late 1970's, counter-terrorist units were conceived to be the assault teams deployed as a last resort against hostage situations. Hence the "suppression" designation used as a euphemism indicating a terminal engagement against terrorists .