[2][3] He specialized in naval artillery,[2] and repeatedly served on ships of the Imperial Russian Navy for further education.

When the latter declared his "Provisional Government of National Defence" in Thessaloniki, on 11 November 1916, Kakoulidis with ten men boarded the ironclad Hydra, and with the assistance of its captain, Ioannis Vratsanos, took control of the ship.

[2] With the formal entry of the country into the First World War, he served as Commander of the Light Fleet (1918), and subsequently of the Battleship Squadron (1918–19), being promoted to rear admiral on 8 March 1919.

[2] During the subsequent Asia Minor Campaign, he served as Chief of the Navy General Staff, until being appointed Greek representative in the Allied advisory commission on naval affairs later in 1920.

[2] After the electoral victory of the royalist parties in November 1920, he was suspended from active service on 26 April 1921, and retired on 30 September 1921.