Having begun its third Field Study (FS 3) with extremely valuable institutional visits and briefings in Rome and Skopje, on Thursday 13th December Senior Course 121 (SC 121) arrived in Turkey’s capital city Ankara. Course Members were accompanied by Dr Richard D. Hooker, Dean of the NATO Defence College (NDC), and by BrigGen G. Bischof, NDC Director of Academic Planning and Programmes (DAPP).

The group’s first visit was to the Undersecretariat for Defence Industries (SSM), where Head of the International Cooperation Department Mr Lutfi Varoglu provided a most informative briefing on the SSM’s organization and activities. In recent years significant steps have been taken with regard to technological upgrading of the equipment and operational systems used by the Turkish armed forces, and Turkey’s national defence industry has developed considerably: many projects have been successfully executed on the basis of local design and system integration capabilities. Tenders awarded nationally have been steadily increasing since 2002, and are now valued at over 2.7 billion US dollars per annum. According to the SSM’s 2009 Export Strategy Document, international cooperation is defined as a key priority, the aim being that the Turkish defence sector’s growing capabilities and increased role in international partnerships should provide access to emerging markets worldwide.

Mr Varoglu illustrated in detail how the defence procurement cycle works: from initial identification of requirements and priorities through to delivery of the finished item. He gave examples of ongoing projects in the land, sea, air and space domains, with a particular focus on electronic systems (e.g. radar, thermal sights, information and communications technology). A number of video clips were shown to give Course Members visual detail of several state-of-the-art projects. Other needs like light weapons, ammunition, support systems, logistic services and uniforms were also discussed.

In conclusion, Mr Varoglu answered a number of questions on international cooperation projects, and on the Turkish view of the Smart Defence concept.

The following day, the NDC group was hosted at the Turkey Defence General Staff (TGS), where LtGen Alpaslan Erdogan extended a warm welcome to Course Members. Col Samettin Oremis, Chief of the TGS NATO Strategic Branch, then spoke on the subject of "Turkish armed forces’ contribution to international peace missions and regional assessments". The speaker first placed his remarks in a geostrategic context, highlighting Turkey's position as a crossroads for the vital north-south and east-west trading corridors. Against this background, growth in international peacekeeping commitments of the Turkish armed forces since the end of the Cold War was discussed in some detail. Col Oremis also spoke about the importance of regional projects for purposes of stability and security, highlighting current examples such as the Black Sea Naval Cooperation Task Force, Mediterranean Shield (to ensure security in strategic communications) and the South-Eastern Europe Brigade (SEEBRIG) Multinational Peace Force.

With his concluding remark that "Turkey is fully involved in maintaining peace and stability in and beyond its region", Col Oremis set the scene perfectly for a briefing on Turkey’s international role and commitments by Mr Levent GUMRUKCU, Deputy Director of the Policy Planning Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Mr Gumrukcu explained that Turkey’s position between Asia and Europe entails not only risks and threats, but also (particularly since the end of the Cold War) many opportunities. After commenting on domestic reforms implemented to enhance democracy, the speaker explained the pillars of Turkish foreign policy: its regional “good neighbour” policy, which emphasizes cooperation and has been accompanied by a major increase in trade with neighbouring countries in the last two decades; good relations with countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America, the number of Turkish embassies in Africa alone having increased from 12 to 34 since 2005; and strategic cooperation with the UN, Europe and the US, together with Turkey’s commitment to NATO. On the last of these points, Mr Gumrukcu discussed various examples of successful cooperation with the EU and NATO.

This exceptionally instructive visit to the TGS was appropriately concluded by a challenging Q&A session, during which various priorities illustrated by both speakers were discussed in greater detail.