Today is the 14th Month anniversary of the day I joined the Greek Army (in exact the infantry) for doing my army service, mandatory for Greek male citizens. This anniversary also means that I am finished with it. I am again a civilian. The Army and its officers do not anymore have anything to do with me. I am only supposed to be called again only in the sad occasion of a war.

During these 14 months I served, I was located and transfered in chronological order in: Korinthos (the training center) 2 months, Athens (training again) 1 month, Rhodes - Kalithies (first transfer to an active military base) 7 months, Athens (second transfer to the Greek Army General Administration) 4 months.

This day isn’t for me especially exciting. Luckily I had a huge leave on the last 45 days and although I was typically still serving, I had a very smooth and lengthy period of rehabilitation as a citizen. But never the less to know that you don’t have to go in uniform again, owning and being responsible of arms and operations, doing patrols and guarding buildings, taking part in military exercises, and in any way not being able to avail yourself and time and skills according to your conscious, or not, being, is certainly a huge relief. And to be honest I still feel that I have not detached myself from the modus vivendi that the army injects into you. Even if the army is a willing suspension of ones freedom, it is still a loss of your freedom. And living “not-free” for 14 months (13 in effect) is not for the faint of heart. It engraves permanent markings on your psychology and existence. At least I had the chance to go through it rather older that usual, at my 28. Imagine what all these would mean for a man at his 18.

Anyway here I am again “free”, in a rather ironical meaning. Am I happy? not exactly. Am I in joy? not exactly. Am I relieved? certainly.