The Inauguration – Ribbon Cutting Ceremony of the USA Pavilion at DEFEA 2025 was held on Tuesday, May 6 at 14.00 hours at the entrance of Hall 4 of the Exhibition where the USA Pavilion is located.
The ribbon cutting ceremony of the USA Pavilion was conducted by:
Nikolaos Bakatselos, President, American – Hellenic Chamber of Commerce
Maria Olson, Charge d’Affaires, U.S. Embassy, Athens
General Dimitrios Choupis, Chief of the Hellenic National Defence General Staff, Ministry of National Defence
Commanding General Andrew Poppas, U.S. Army Forces Command
Sandra Long, Senior Advisor to the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Defense Exports and Cooperation (DASA DEC)
Tom Coradeschi, Assistant Program Executive Officer International for the U.S. Joint Program Executive Office Armaments & Ammunition (JPEO A&A)
Senior officials from the U.S. and Greece, along with high level representatives from leading American defense and security companies honored the USA participation with their presence.
A walkthrough the USA Pavilion followed the ceremony, where the distinguished guests had the opportunity to meet and discuss with the USA Pavilion exhibitors. The visit was ended at the U.S. Army equipment area where the delegation met U.S. service members.
A Breakfast Briefing for the USA Pavilion Exhibitors was held in the morning of the same day where exhibitors had the opportunity to being briefed on Greece’s political, economic, and commercial landscape. The briefing hosted by the American-Hellenic Chamber of Commerce and the U.S. Embassy in Athens.
Welcome Remarks were delivered by: Nikolaos Bakatselos, President, American – Hellenic Chamber of Commerce, Captain Socrates Karamoutas (ΗΝ), Director GDDIA/DPPC, Ministry of National Defense, Colonel Michael Tobias, Chief of the Office of Defense Cooperation, U.S. Embassy, and Captain Mark Imblum, Senior Defense Official, SDO/ΔΑΠ, U.S. Embassy, Athens.
Briefing information was delivered by: Chris Dostal, Deputy Political Counselor, Aaron Easlick, Economic Officer, Dawn Bruno, Commercial Attaché and Jamila Baraka, Deputy Chief, Office of Defense Cooperation.
