Cyprus is presented as a military partner of the US in an article of a well-known newspaper that is considered to be contracted with the US government.

The occasion is the press coverage of exercises on the coast of Cyprus of a total duration of three weeks that ended last Wednesday and in which members of the well-known elite unit of the United States Navy, known as Navy SEALs, participated, along with men of the Underwater Destruction Unit (also referred to as OUK) of the National Guard.

Stars and Stripes reports on the joint exercise off the coast of Cyprus, under the headline "Navy SEALs in Cyprus commit to an uncompromising response to any adversary in the Eastern Mediterranean." The title is based on the placement of an officer, who in this way comments on the joint exercises that took place on our island.

What emerges from the report, however, is that Cyprus is a base for US forces. "Since the beginning of the Israeli war with Hamas in Gaza, Cyprus has become a hub for the US and other allied groups of operations" is one of the characteristic reports of journalist John Vantaver.

"The United States has moved many military assets into the region, from navy warships to air force transport planes in Greece and special operations centers in Cyprus," the report added.

Stars and Stripes is published daily and is based in U.S. Department of Defense facilities. It is aimed at members of the U.S. armed forces, emphasizing those members of the U.S. military serving outside the boundaries of the federal country. This publication is protected by the Constitution to serve principles of freedom of the press (see First Amendment) and is supervised by an ombudsman. In fact, reports on the newspaper's profile suggest that despite being based in a federal facility, it is independent editorially. Nevertheless, ties with the government cannot be denied.

Regarding the 20-day exercises off the coast of Cyprus, Stars and Stripes notes that SEALs and members of special operations teams were based in Limassol. It added that "members of the navy and their Cypriot counterparts took part in exercises aimed at improving the skills required in covert missions and maritime search and prevalence operations."

The Navy commented on the joint exercises of US and Greek Cypriot soldiers with the following reference: "This relationship acts as a strong deterrent, showing a united façade against potential threats to regional and maritime security in the region."

The commander of the Navy's Special Warfare Group said his team's cooperation with Cypriot forces "sends a clear message". He added: "Through joint efforts, we are strengthening our capabilities and making clear that any aggressive action will be met with an immediate, uncompromising response."

Five dead Americans

The report also refers to the crash of a Navy helicopter off the coast of Cyprus last November, which resulted in the death of five American soldiers. With this incident, the author of the publication wants to demonstrate the high degree of difficulty of the exercises.

Of course, this incident had been commented on in various ways because of the way it was handled. The fall of the MH-60 Black Hawk had occurred on Friday, November 10, 30 nautical miles off Cyprus. However, the Americans, as "F" is authoritatively informed, wanted to handle the search and rescue operation themselves by asking for secrecy. This is despite the willingness of our own authorities (the Search and Rescue Coordination Centre operates as an independent Service of the Ministry of Defence and reports directly to the respective minister). The same information tells us that contact was also attempted by Cyprus at a political level for assistance, through contact with the US Embassy in Nicosia, but there was no substantial response.

The incident was reported by The New York Times on Sunday 12/11, two days after the incident.

Officially, the Americans were talking about an accident that took place in a refuelling exercise. However, questions were also raised by journalists (see Turkish media) whether the helicopter that allegedly took off from the Akrotiri base was transporting the military for a secret operation in the Middle East, especially in Israel.