An amusing story – Marines, sailors ate all of Greek town’s eggs, meat on port visit By Jonathan Lehrfeld Aug 23, 06:42 AM

 Reminds me of my early career in the Royal New Zealand Navy. We sailed on HMNZS Kaniere on a South Pacific island cruise which included a stop in Vavau, Tonga. A beautiful place with great hospitality. But, at that time  there was only one bar in the town and we drank it absolutely dry. Went back on board to eat in the morning because everything else was closed

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The amphibious transport dock Arlington prepares to breach the shore of Skiros as part of a joint amphibious raid demonstration, during exercise Alexander the Great 22, Greece, May 17, 2022. (Lance Cpl. Ethan Robert Jones/Marine Corps) A Greek town was left scrambled after Marines ate all of the city’s eggs and meat and overindulged on tattoos during a recent training exercise visit with the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit. Marines and sailors visiting the northeastern military port city of Alexandroupoli, Greece, put their appetites to work this past May, as reported by the outlet Greek Reporter in July and later by Task & Purpose, overwhelming local business owners. “Yesterday, 1,500 people had breakfast in Alexandroupolis and ate eggs, sausages and bacon,” said restaurant owner Giorgos Alavantas, according to Greek City Times. “Yesterday, 6,000–7,000 eggs were needed. In other words, we don’t have eggs.” Another restaurant owner, Vassilis Siklafidis, told the outlet, “They have gone crazy. They keep telling us that they haven’t eaten nicer meat.” On May 4, the San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock Arlington, attached to the Kearsarge Amphibious Ready Group, arrived in Greece with the 22nd MEU to participate in a dual U.S.-Greek amphibious training called Alexander the Great 2022, according to a Marine Corps press release. Lt. Col. Christopher Myette, executive officer of the 22nd MEU, said in a press statement, “The training we executed with our NATO Allies in Greece reinforced the close relationship between our two militaries and provided an outstanding opportunity to learn from each other and hone our warfighting skills in a first class training venue.” Following the exercise, on May 21 the ship docked in Alexandroupoli, Greece, the statement said. Capt. Jacoby D. Getty, 22nd MEU spokesman, confirmed that “mass amounts of eggs, steak and tattoos were consumed,” by troops visiting the Greek city. “The 22 MEU works to continuously boost our relationships with our partners and allies,” Getty said. “That comes with the training we conduct, but also when we come into port. Learning about our partners and allies cultures is important and if we are able to boost their economy on a port visit, that’s great too.” “Members from the Greece embassy passed to our higher headquarters that the Greek leaders were super pleased with the economic boost and that we enjoyed ourselves.” Nikos Katsoulis, the owner of a local tattoo studio, told the Greek City Times, Marines “travel all over the world, so tattoos are crucial for them to have a memory when they grow older to say that they passed through Greece and I got this tattoo.” It is common for Marines to explore the area of their port stops, enjoying the hospitality and contributing to the economy of the local town. Georgios Davis, former president of the Alexandroupoli hospitality association and grill house owner, as reported by the Greek outlet Kathimerini, said, “I serve 16 different types of meat at my restaurant, and they tried them all. They were very polite, they ate everything.”

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