Greece and Turkey

The Greeks revolted in 1821 to remove the burden of the Ottoman Empire's rule over them. The relations between Greece and Turkey have never really improved from this time. In another of my great experiences in the service, I had the opportunity to see the Air and Sea power of both of these allied nations almost come to blows once again. After the attack of 9/11, both of these countries wished to show support for our military. As such the fleets of both came out in full display of their power to the East (Turkey) and West (Greece) of the Enterprise Battle Group, of which my destroyer was a part of. In all, it was an impressive display. Much to our concern, being smack in the middle of this, neither the Greeks nor the Turks had let the other one know they were doing this, they being on non-speaking terms. While this may seem a bit funny, there is a lot of almost hatred between these two. Thanks to our own power present our commander was able to talk both sides down from a potential incident. This is of particular note because our position was near the island of Cyprus, which has been split in two by these nations in an invasion in 1974. The Greeks maintain that the Turks invaded illegally, the Turks assure everyone who listens that they were asked to come there by the Cypriot people. So, this issue is much deeper and longer running then the documentary may have let on.