Turkish gov’t to honor outgoing top commander with state medal of honor

ANKARA

Turkey's Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu (R) and Turkish Military Chief of Staff General Necdet Ozel attend a ceremony at Anitkabir, the mausoleum of the founding father of modern Turkey Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, in Ankara on August 3, 2015, ahead of a three-day meeting of the country's supreme military council starting August 3. AFP Photo

The Turkish government has decided to bestow outgoing Chief of Turkish General Staff Gen. Necdet Özel with the state medal of honor in recognition of his “high services to the nation.”

A decision by the cabinet was published in the Official Gazette on Aug. 10. Accordingly, Özel will be granted the state medal of honor for “his high generosity, sacrifice, success and merit that he has displayed for the perpetuity of the Republic of Turkey, the indivisible unity of the country and the nation and society’s serenity, unity and integrity.”

The cabinet’s decision was made on Aug. 4, according to the Official Gazette. 

Last week, at a biannual meeting of the Supreme Military Council (YAŞ), Turkey renewed its top military brass and appointed Land Forces Commander Gen. Hulusi Akar as the new chief of General Staff. Özel, who is ending his four-year term, is expected to hand over his seat to Akar on Aug. 14.