Newsroom
The Ministry of Defence will grant permanent status to 400 contract professional soldiers (SYOP), expanding the intake from an originally planned 250 positions.
The announcement came from Defence Minister Vassilis Palmas after he received the written examination results from Education Minister Athena Kyriakidou. These exams mark the first transition cycle of contract soldiers into the permanent ranks of Contracted Non-Commissioned Officers (SYP).
According to Ministry officials, the top 400 scorers will secure lifetime military careers, allowing them to serve until the mandatory retirement age of 57. Successful candidates will enter the permanent service at the rank of Sergeant, with the path to advance to Chief Sergeant.
Funding and strategic demand
Mr. Palmas stated that the expansion fits within the existing budget framework of the Defence Ministry. He cited high application and testing numbers among existing contract personnel alongside growing technical staffing demands linked to current procurement and modernization projects under the SAFE defense mechanism. Furthermore, the decision represents a formal effort by the state to recognize how temporary personnel maintain the fighting capacity of the National Guard.
For soldiers who did not place in the top 400, the Minister stated that further testing windows will open as older personnel retire or leave the service.
Employment reforms
The expansion of permanent slots follows several structural changes made to contract military service over the last two years. Prior to recent legislative updates, contract soldiers faced automatic contract termination at age 42. Parliament later extended this limit to age 57 to match the new permanent career paths.
Additional adjustments implemented since 2024 include moving contract personnel from the A1 salary scale to the higher A2 scale, which includes annual pay increments and a base monthly service allowance.
The state also increased specialized monthly hazard pay. Regular personnel saw allowances rise from €100 to €150. Soldiers working in high-risk units, including commandos, underwater demolition teams, bomb disposal units, combat medics, and heavy machinery operators, saw their specialized monthly allowances rise from €200 to €250.
Examination integrity
The Ministry of Education handled the testing process through its official Examinations Service. Education Minister Athena Kyriakidou confirmed that the testing process mirrored the strict security protocols used for university entrance exams to prevent cheating. The test itself split into two distinct sections covering general logic skills and specialized military knowledge.
Former Defence Minister Charalambos Petrides, speaking on behalf of the Parliamentary Defence Committee, supported the transition. He noted that the contract soldier system, which began in 2016, needed to evolve into a permanent non-commissioned officer path to retain personnel capable of operating modern weapon systems.
National Guard Chief Lieutenant General Emmanouil Theodorou confirmed the transparency of the results and stated that temporary personnel remain the core of the military framework, with further workplace improvements planned for the future.
