ATHENS, July 7 (Xinhuanet) -- Spanish Rear-Admiral Teodoro Lopez-Calderon took over on Thursday command of NATO facilities in Crete, Greece, which belongs to the Alliance's permanent naval force in the Mediterranean Sea, from the previous Greek commander Commodore Ioannis Karaiskos.

¡¡¡¡The handover ceremony took place in the presence of the deputy chief of the Navy General Staff, Vice-Admiral Nikolaos Spilianakis, while NATO was presented by Vice-Admiral Roberto Casaretti, Athens News Agency reported.

    The NATO force is made up of navy frigates from Greece, the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands and Turkey.

    Serving on board the ships of the south Europe naval force are 1,612 men and 59 women of the Special Forces. Enditem