Addressing the commencement and flag handover ceremony at the Army War College, President Erdoğan said: “We draw strength mainly from the nation’s army while preparing our country for the vision 2053 together with the nation’s Assembly, the nation’s President, the nation’s judiciary, and most importantly the nation itself.”
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan made a speech at the commencement and flag handover ceremony at the Army War College.
Congratulating the 903 lieutenants and 51 guest cadets receiving their diplomas, President Erdoğan said: “I believe that the Turkish Armed Forces as well as armies of the friendly countries will be more powerful with the new graduates. It is evident that at a time when the new power balances in the world trigger new tensions and prompt potential conflicts, military personnel from every corps and rank is of critical importance for our army. Our army, the apple of our eye, had to deal with the harm inflicted by insidious groups that sought to infiltrate into its body in addition to regional threats and terrorist organizations.”
“FETO was the latest example of such groups that emerge in a different guise in every period,” noted the President, adding that the Turkish Armed Forces have carried out a major cleaning within its body in the aftermath of the July 15 coup attempt, which was thwarted by the nation’s resistance.”
“IT WAS TÜRKİYE WHO DEALT THE FIRST AND BIGGEST BLOW TO DAESH JUST 40 DAYS AFTER FETO’S COUP ATTEMPT”
President Erdoğan continued his remarks as follows: “It took just a few weeks for those, who thought that our army was finished following that major cleaning and can hardly recover let alone carry out operations envied by the world, to realize they were wrong. It was us who dealt the first and biggest blow to DAESH, which had been turned into the most prominent actor of the humanitarian crisis in our region, with the Operation Euphrates Shield, which we launched just 40 days after the coup attempt. With the following operations Olive Branch, Peace Spring and Spring Shield, we have shown the entire world the Turkish Armed Forces’ capability to defend our country’s interests and ensure peace in its region. Behind this success lies the fact that we have rapidly filled in the gap that emerged following the elimination of FETO elements by restructuring our army’s personnel training and recruitment system.”
Underlining the need to consolidate the army with larger numbers of highly qualified personnel because of regional and global developments, President Erdoğan said: “We will employ all our energy, concentration and means to this end in the period ahead. I thank all the members of the National Defense University, first and foremost the rector, who have contributed to Türkiye gaining such a capability. We draw strength mainly from the nation’s army while preparing our country for the vision 2053 together with the nation’s Assembly, the nation’s President, the nation’s judiciary, and most importantly the nation itself.”
