EKAM was formed in by the merger of two tactical units, one from each of the police organizations the Hellenic Gendarmerie and the Cities Police that existed at the time. EKAM originally had operators; however, when Greece became the host country of the Summer Olympics , their number increased to due to the magnitude of the event.
Each officer is a full-time member who must have at least five years on the force before being allowed to try out. Many receive training from the Greek Army's Ranger School before going on to the police counter-terrorism school.
EKAM holds a three-month training program every year. For its training modern, purpose-built facilities are being used. Training can also take place in other locations such as buildings in urban or rural areas inhabited or not , the Athens International Airport , planes of Olympic Airways , the Piraeus port infrastructure, the Hellenic Railroad system, the Athens Metro.
EKAM operators are trained as specialists: [ 8 ]. EKAM operates all around Greece and abroad whenever is deemed necessary. In March , it successfully resolved an incident on a Turkish Airlines flight, which was hijacked during a domestic flight in Turkey , from Istanbul to Ankara , and was forced to land at the Athens International Airport by the hijacker.
In the same year, they were called in a hostage and domestic violence situation that lasted several hours. The perpetrator and former partner of the victim forced his ex-wife at knifepoint to follow him from her house in Galatsi to his own in Agios Panteleimonas. At home, he threatened the police units by holding a gas cylinder and a lighter, threatening to cause an explosion. According to an interview with a police officer, the suspect stated: "I will blow up the whole building, whatever is destined to happen will happen, I don't care about my life, I will go to Allah".
