Coast Guard: notice for 420 Probationary Port Guards

A notice was published in the Government Gazette, around 15 September 2026, for the recruitment of 420 Probationary Port Guards into the Hellenic Coast Guard. Applications from interested candidates are submitted from 28 September 2026 to 13 October 2026, over a period of roughly two weeks. The basic formal requirement for participation, as stated, is possession of a high school leaving certificate. According to reports by sofokleousin.gr and alfavita.gr, the 420 posts are divided into three separate categories: 126 general-category posts, 210 posts for special forces veterans, and 84 posts for combat divers. This breakdown adds up to the total of 420 posts stated in the notice, but it is reported by the two publications and does not yet constitute a fully confirmed official figure from the Hellenic Coast Guard or ASEP.

The Hellenic Coast Guard is an armed security force with responsibilities extending across a particularly extensive island and coastal complex. Its general remit includes, among other things, the safety of shipping, control of maritime borders, search and rescue in open-sea incidents, and port policing at ports and coasts across the country. Probationary Port Guards form the basic entry stage for staffing the force with personnel, who are then assigned to land and sea services according to operational needs. Notices of this size, involving hundreds of posts, form part of a broader staffing plan covering both routine guarding needs and specialised missions, as suggested by the provision of separate categories for special forces veterans and combat divers. This general framework of responsibilities is described here for background, as a known feature of the force’s role, and is not part of the specific notice itself.

The notice is of particular interest to society, as it concerns the mass entry of personnel into a security force with responsibilities critical to shipping, tourism and border protection, sectors of particular weight for Greece as a maritime and island nation. The existence of separate posts for special forces veterans and combat divers, as reported by the publications, suggests an intention to strengthen specialised units alongside the general staffing of the force. For thousands of candidates across the country, a notice for 420 posts with a basic formal requirement of a high school leaving certificate represents an opportunity to enter permanent employment in the broader public sector, at a time when recruitment into security forces is closely watched by public opinion. The exact scope of the impact on the organisation and operation of the force will only become clear once interested parties themselves study the full text of the notice.

At this point, several elements remain outside the published material that has so far circulated through reports. No age limits, physical or psychometric tests, scoring method, amount of any participation fee, Government Gazette issue number, or exact application procedure are mentioned. Those intending to submit an application must themselves consult the full text of the notice, once it is officially posted, in order to be accurately informed about the required supporting documents, the conditions per category of post, and the exact procedure for submitting the application. Until then, the information circulating through reports, such as the breakdown of the 420 posts into the three categories, should be treated as indicative rather than final, with the application window from 28 September 2026 to 13 October 2026 remaining, for now, the clearest element of the timetable.