Date: Issue 128 - March 2024 Update: November 21, 2024
Minister of the Interior Ali YERLIKAYA, Deputy Minister of Interior Bülent TURAN, Turkish Gendarmerie General Commander General Arif ÇETIN, General Director of Police Erol AYYILDIZ, Commander of the Turkish Coast Guard Rear Admiral Ahmet KENDIR, Chief of Gendarmerie Aviation Department Major General Ali DOĞAN, families of martyr aviation personnel, and the families of graduates attended the ceremony.
Stating that they are celebrating the 55th anniversary of the Gendarmerie Aviation Department, whose foundations were first laid in Diyarbakır, Minister Ali YERLIKAYA underlined the role of the Gendarmerie in maintaining public order in various regions, as well as their continuous service in areas such as search and rescue and evacuation of patients regardless of day or night. YERLIKAYA emphasized that the Gendarmerie Aviation Department not only fights against terrorists and criminals but also takes part in disasters like earthquakes and forest fires, serving the country under all circumstances. YERLIKAYA said, "Our Gendarmerie pilots conducted 1,625 hours of flights against forest fires in just the last 2 years, and during the Kahramanmaraş earthquakes that deeply affected us all, they completed 2,300 hours of flight with 33 aircraft."