Turkey will build a huge combined military headquarters and bring together the defense ministry, the chief of staff and the command of forces under one roof in a bid to further co-ordinate the country’s defense, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.
“In accordance with the changing and evolving needs of defense, we are obliged to bring all the various institutions under one roof and work with them in coordination. There is a need for a combined center. This center will send a very different signal in terms of defense and investment, “Erdogan said at the groundbreaking ceremony of a spectacular military complex in a suburb of Ankara on August 30th.
The complex will bring together the Ministry of Defense, the Chief of General Staff and the Land, Air and Naval Staff, which are currently located in the economic heart of the city, Kazalai. Recalling that these buildings were built between the 1930s and 1960s, Erdogan said the current security conditions require a better coordinated defense institution.
“Our goal is to open this complex on the centenary of the founding of the Republic of Turkey on October 29, 2023,” he said, informing that the highest technology will be used for these environmentally friendly premises.
About 15,000 employees will be able to work in 900,000 square meters of interior space, which will be built on an area of 12.6 million square meters, the president said.
This type of structure illustrates Turkey’s growing power in the region, Erdogan said.
Erdogan said the Turkish Armed Forces had expelled 21,000 of its personnel due to links to the terrorist organization FETO.
The President added that no other country in the world has been subjected to such a shock as the attempted coup on July 15, 2016. However, Turkey managed to successfully introduce a new system in such a short time.
Erdogan said that since the coup attempt, Turkey has carried out a comprehensive reform of the Turkish armed forces, including its educational institutions.
Photo: Anatolian Agency
