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From - SHAPE | Greecethe NATO Deployable Corps Greece (NDC-GR) located in Thessaloniki,the Combined Air Operations Centre (CAOC 7) in Larissa,the Multinational Peace Support Operations Training Center (MPSOTC) in Kilkis,the NATO Maritime Interdiction Operational Training Centre (NMIOTC) at the naval base of Souda Crete,NATO Missile Firing Installation (NAMFI),Athens Multinational Sealift Coordination Centre (AMSCC), andthe Naval Base of Souda.

Greece became a NATO member in 1952 and is currently host to several facilities includingthe Combined Air Operations Centre (CAOC 7) in Larissa,the NATO Deployable Corps Greece (NDC-GR) located in Thessaloniki,the Multinational Peace Support Operations Training Center (MPSOTC) in Kilkis,Athens Multinational Sealift Coordination Centre (AMSCC)the NATO Maritime Interdiction Operational Training Centre (NMIOTC) at the naval base of Souda-Crete, NATO Missile Firing Installation (NAMFI), and the Naval Base of Souda.refGreeceGeneral Staf Arm Nav Air Forc Greece became a NATO member in 1952 and is host to several facilities including the NATO Deployable Corps Greece (NDC-GR) located in Thessa...https://shape.nato.int/greeceSeveral important bases such as the giant Hellenikon US AFB, the 6th Fleet Phaliron Bay anchorage and NATO-Araxos (with its nuclear bomb storage vaults) were permanently closed down during the 90s. Capabilities and assets from Hellenikon were relocated in Turkey and in Italy.The 6th Fleet semipermanent anchorage from 1957 to 1980, in Phaliron bay, off Athens:On January 31st, 2020, Greece’s parliament ratified an agreement with the United States for a major expansion of military cooperation as tensions with Turkey escalated, forcing the public opinion and politicians to set aside their anti-american sentiments.Members of parliament voted 175-33 to ratify the Mutual Defense Cooperation Agreement signed in October by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo during a visit to Athens.The deal provided for increased joint U.S.-Greece and NATO activities at existing Greek military bases and facilities in Larissa (CAOC 7) , Stefanovikio (Army aviation training centre), and Alexandroupolis, in central and northern Greece, as well as infrastructure and other improvements at the Souda Bay U.S. naval base on the island of Crete.The latter being considered of vital importance as it features the only pier where US Navy’s super carriers have room enough to dock in the Eastern Mediterranean.The U.S. Air Force is now operating MQ-9 Reaper drones out of Larissa HAF airbase as these had to be relocated from Africa.The case of Alexandroupolis is interesting since 67% of shares of the commercial port are being privatised with American ONEX (owned by Panos Xenokostas) likely to win the tender. The Agreement guarantees the United States "unlimited use of the port of Alexandroupolis".While there’s no intention to transform Alexandroupoli’s harbour area into a military base, its large piers are a convenient stepping stone for NATO deployments to nearby Bulgaria and Romania. Indeed it takes under 10 hours on a motorway for trucks to drive to Constanza (Romania) instead of 48 hours by ship via the Marmara Sea and the busy Bosphorus.45000T US ship unloading a US Army brigade on its way to Roumania:Furthermore, docking at Alexandroupolis frees NATO warships from Montreux Convention constraints : the aggregate tonnage of all non-Black Sea warships in the Black Sea must be no more than 30,000 T and they are permitted to stay in the Black Sea for no longer than twenty-one days.Independently from NATO commitments, Alexandroupoli is slated to become an energy hub with Gastrade (a Greek Bulgarian joint venture) setting up a floating LNG 12.2 billion cubic meters / year regasification unit connected to existing pipeline networks. LNG will be shipped from the 2 Egyptian Mediterranean onshore LNG plants of Idku and Damietta, located 43 hours steaming away.All in all, the US and NATO have a much smaller footprint nowadays in Greece compared to the period before 1980. Most importantly the nuclear weapons stored in the country have been permanently removed.Generally, since Pres. Obama launched his swing to Asia/Pacific, much US capabilities have been downsized in Europe, leaving mainly logistics, maintenance and medical facilities.Note: The issue of a US build up in Greece has been floated by Turkish pro-government mouth pieces such as Yeni Safak and Daily Sabah, the question probably been asked by some Turkish nationalist who supports Pres. Erdogan’s coercive diplomacy and who loathes losing leverage over the US and NATO, as much as he may hate them. Developments in Alexandroupoli in particular are perceived as a snub and a loss of strategic importance for the Straits.Since the US and NATO are expected to function as arbiters (or firefighters?) in a confrontation between Greece and Turkey, any upsetting of the balance is perceived as threatening, particularly since the US & NATO are have been reducing their assets in Turkey.Lastly the Alexandroupoli LNG terminal pumping gas from the SE Mediterranean Egyptian and Israeli fields, is perceived as an attempt to prevent Pres. Erdogan’s plans to blackmail some of the EU’s energy supplies.