ANKARA - Chief of General Staff Gen. Hilmi Ozkok decorated Gen. Hilmi Akin Zorlu, and Deputy Commander Gen. Mehmet Emin Alpman with Turkish Armed Forces with the Medal of Meritorious Service. Gen. Zorlu and Alpman successfully commanded the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan for eight months.
A welcoming ceremony was held to meet the Turkish units who had been assigned in Afghanistan.
Gen. Ozkok, who addressed the ceremony, said Turkey completed its preparations immediately after Turkey decided to undertake the command of ISAF. Gen. Ozkok said Turkish Armed Forces, for the first time in its history, sent around 1400-people unit to a remote region like Afghanistan.
Gen. Ozkok said the Turkish Armed Forces used its own facilities and capabilities and established command control and necessary logistic support installations. He said two officers from Macedonia, as well as elements of Albania and Azerbaijan were assigned in the region with the support of Turkey.
Stating that various centers established in the level of General Staff, Gen. Ozkok said nearly 20 officers from 14 countries worked in those centers.
Gen. Ozkok said ISAF, which was nearly comprised of 4800 people from 22 countries, contributed peace to prevail in Afghanistan, freedom and development of Afghan people, and re-structuring of Afghan armed forces.
Gen. Ozkok said activities of ISAF were always appreciated, stating that he was pleased over this on behalf of the Turkish Armed Forces. Gen. Ozkok thanked to all the countries which contributed to ISAF, and which worked together with Turkey.
Gen. Ozkok said, ''Turkish Armed Forces, by performing an action at an atmosphere like Afghanistan, which is far away from our borders, and where there was not infrastructure and host country to support this action, gained a very big experience. This shows the level which the Turkish Armed Forces reached.''
Gen. Ozkok said Turkish Air Forces operated an international airport in the perfect way by setting up necessary infrastructure and training Afghan personnel. He said it was important that this experience could be used in future assignments.
Gen. Ozkok said another pleasing issue was that the Turkish military personnel, as a result of the contemporary training it got, reached the level of making strategical plans in a multinational atmosphere, and to see that Turkish military personnel worked in harmony with the personnel of developed countries.
Gen. Ozkok said the Turkish Armed Forces worked actively in many regions of the world like Somalia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Kosovo, since the Korean war in 1950. He said Turkish Armed Forces sent military observers within the scope of the U.N. Security Council resolutions, and lately was assigned in Afghanistan as the leader country.
Gen. Ozkok said, ''Turkish Armed Forces will continue to contribute to the regional peace and peace of the world, and support international cooperation in fight against terrorism.''
(AY-AÖ) 21.02.2003