On Monday 26 May 2014, the activation ceremony was held for NATO Communications and Information Service Support Element (CSE) Athens. COL Dario Nicolella, the CSU Naples Commander, handed the Agency flag over to Lieutenant Commander Fotios Katsantas . Commander Nicolella took the occasion to thank all units for an excellent job done and to bid farewell to everyone before his retirement on 10 July. The event was blessed by the Orthodox Chaplain, COL Tsimenidis Athanasios.
"I would like to express my gratitude to Commander Nicolella for being a close and valuable ally. His directions and guidance have been exceptional all along the years during which I have been associated with CSU Naples. He gave a crucial contribution to the establishment of our element and I am grateful to him for that", said Commander Katsantas.
Following the closure of CSE Larissa, the vast majority of systems and services passed on to Athens and the role of the newly-activated element has been tailored on today's prevailing trends, especially the 'customer funding' philosophy.
Thanks to its dynamic and flexible structure and in accordance with the Service Level Agreements signed by all involved parties, CSE Athens will be able to provide CIS of the highest caliber to all eligible and non-eligible customers as well as to common-fund elements in Greece and other recipients throughout its Area of Responsibility.
The role of CSE Athens as the central Allied Information Flow System node is also worth highlighting. This node ensures that formal NATO message traffic is distributed to all NATO-related units in Greece as well as to a large number of national units having NATO role. There are currently 22 such units.
A performance by the Cretan Association of Mesogia "Psiloritis" folk dance group concluded the ceremony with traditional dances.