| Underwater Demolition Command | |
|---|---|
| Διοίκηση Υποβρυχίων Καταστροφών (ΔΥΚ) | |
 Underwater Demolition Command (DYK) emblem | |
| Active | 1957–Present |
| Country |  Greece Cyprus |
| Branch |  Hellenic Navy |
| Type | Special Forces |
| Role |
|
| Part of | Inter-Service Operational Rapid Response Command |
| Nicknames | |
| Engagements | Gulf War Imia crisis 1997 Albanian civil unrest Operation Atalanta Libyan civil war Operation Irini |
| Website | Underwater Demolition Command |
| Commanders | |
| First | Captain Panagiotis Nikolareas |
| Insignia | |
| Abbreviation | Δ.Υ.Κ. |
TheUnderwater Demolition Command (Greek:Διοίκηση Υποβρυχίων Καταστροφών), abbreviated asDYK (Greek:ΔΥΚ,Greek pronunciation:[ðik]) and known until 2001 as theUnderwater Demolition Unit (Greek:Μονάδα Υποβρυχίων Καταστροφών), abbreviated asMYK (Greek:ΜΥΚ,Greek pronunciation:[mik]), is theGreek Navy'sspecial warfare unit.[1]
Carrying on the tradition of the Hellenic Navyin naval special operations, the unit was established in 1957 with help from the United States Navy'sUnderwater Demolition Team, when two Greek officers were sent toLittle Creek in Virginia to evaluate a UDT operational capability for theHellenic Navy.[2][3]
The first operation of OYK happened inCyprus in march of 1964 where a unit inserted by the port ofMansoura, undertook a short reconnaissance of the bay for weapons smuggling from Turkish militias and then proceeded to destroy the contents.[4][5]
In 1997, during theviolent unrest that erupted in neighboringAlbania, the OYK were responsible for taking control of the international airport ofTirana and the evacuation of 240 foreign dignitaries from Albania (Operation Kosmas).[6][7]
In 2008, OYK teams took part inOperation Atalanta, deploying onboardHellenic Navy vessels off the coast ofSomalia.[8] The OYK would carry out counter-piracy operations for the rest of the Hellenic Navy's deployment to the region.[9]
In late July/ early August 2014, Greek Navy SEALs undertook an operation in which they were to evacuate Greek/ Cypriot and foreign citizens from Tripoli, Libya. The team entered the tripoli port to carry out reconnaissance and to establish contact with local Libyan forces on the ground. The civilians were then evacuated, 89 being from either Greece or Cyprus and an additional 97 people being citizens other countries (Including the United Kingdom, China, Russia, Albania and Belgium). In total, 186 people were extracted. The civilians were transported by Libyan port authority RHIBs (due to weather) and then handed off to a Greek frigate which later sailed back to Piraeus.[10][11]
In 2020, the Hellenic Navy began taking part inOperation Irini, a European naval task force tasked with monitoring and intercepting suspicious cargo close to the Libyan shores, as part of the arms embargo onLibya.[12] OYK teams are tasked with executingVBSS operations. So far, a large number of onboard visits have been carried out by the teams.[13]
On 30 April 2020, a boat had entered Greek Waters (Cyprus) unmanned and without making any contact with the Cypriot authorities. Immediately theCyprus Joint Rescue Coordination Center called for theUnderwater Demolitions Command to respond, and immediately, boats carrying the SEALs were sent to the area. Upon arrival, they had found 2 people who later told them that due to technical difficulties on the boat, it began acting erratically and had in fact at first thrown them off. Because of this, the 2 people were transported toLarnaka hospital and the boat was transported to land by the Underwater Demolitions Command.[14]
The selection and training course lasts roughly seven months and is divided into three phases similar to that of the US Navy SEALsBUD/S course. The course has an extremely high failure rate similar to that of its US counterparts. The candidates will go on to airborne school and then continue to learn advanced naval special warfare techniques.[15]
The OYK is known to use various types of firearms to complete their missions with some guns being customized to be able to adapt to the marine environment of the OYK.[16]
The OYK generated controversy at the Greek Independence Day parade of 2015, when it chanted a nationalistic refrain: «Και το όνειρο μας είναι / στην Πόλη εμείς να μπούμε / σημαία να υψώσουμε / τον ύμνο εμείς να πούμε», roughly translated as 'Our dream is to enter Polis (Constantinople) to raise our flag and sing our anthem'. Opposition ministers from thePASOK party launched attacks on the defence MinisterPanos Kammenos, accusing him of mishandling matters of vital foreign policy. Concerns were also expressed by the government (SYRIZA) MP Vassiliki Katrouvanou, who called the chants 'a clear offense to our republic', and highlighted the ongoing need to remove certain far-right elements from the Greek armed forces.[17]
| Governing bodies |
| ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Branches | |||||||
| Equipment |
| ||||||
| Academies and schools |
| ||||||
| Related | |||||||
| Other | |||||||
