Minister of National Defense Hulusi Akar, together with Chief of General Staff General Yaşar Güler, Naval Forces Commander Admiral Ercüment Tatlıoğlu and Air Force Commander General Atilla Gülan, conducted inspections and inspections on the "Air Aid Bridge" established by the Ministry of National Defense to bring search and rescue teams and supplies to the earthquake area. found.
Following the inspections and inspections at the 10th Tanker Base Command, a video teleconference meeting was held under the chairmanship of Minister Akar with the participation of Chief of General Staff Gen. Güler, Force Commanders, Deputy Minister of National Defense Yunus Emre Karaosmanoğlu, and the headquarters of the forces and the commanders of the units in the earthquake zone. Minister Akar, who was informed about the works in the field and the latest situation in the activities, made evaluations about the works carried out by the Ministry of National Defense after the earthquake.
Reminding that two earthquakes with a magnitude of 04.17 occurred in the Pazarcık district of Kahramanmaraş at 7,7 at 13.24 and in the Elbistan district at 7,6, the Minister Akar said, “The Ministry of National Defense, General Staff and The officers at the Headquarters of the Force Commands asked the troops for information and photographs about their situation at 6,4. Disaster Emergency Centers were put into operation at the said headquarters when the relevant personnel arrived at the headquarters at 6,5:04.30. From that time on, work began with great intensity.” he said.
Noting that he also met with the Chief of the General Staff and the Force Commanders at the same time, Minister Akar said, “After receiving the information, we called our President and presented the reports on the Turkish Armed Forces. We informed them that the biggest damage was in Hatay, that one of our buildings was destroyed and 3 of our soldiers were martyred, and we told them that we would move to Hatay with the Chief of the General Staff and the Land Forces Commander. They found it appropriate and we continued our work on this framework.” said.
ALL OPPORTUNITIES ARE MOVED
Emphasizing that the duties of the Turkish Armed Forces in the fight against terrorism and border security continue, Minister Akar said, "Mehmetçik, whose success in the fight against terrorism is known, has been at the head of his duty with his nation from the first moment, with great heroism and sacrifice in the fight against earthquakes." said.
Stating that all the means of the Ministry of National Defense have been mobilized to combat the “disaster of the century,” Minister Akar said, “Four of our friends who worked in the region so far have been martyred and 4 have lost their lives. Along with our 45 wounded, we have 54 unreachable weapons and colleagues.” he said.
"The Turkish Armed Forces is actually working in the earthquake zone with its 25 personnel," said Akar, adding that apart from these, the entire Ministry of National Defense is on alert and other personnel are contributing to these efforts in some way.
Minister Akar stated that they contributed to search and rescue activities on the one hand, and life support and health activities on the other.
“In addition to the highway, we have established both air and sea aid corridors. We are trying to make the necessary transfers through these corridors quickly and effectively. In addition to these, public order and other support activities of our troops are carried out uninterruptedly. As soon as the earthquake occurred, the Air Force took advantage of its past experience to raise the level of preparedness to the highest level. By establishing the air aid corridor in a short time, we made our planning to carry the material with the search and rescue personnel that would be needed first, and we waited ready. All aircraft were mobilized in the Air Force. We have activated our tanker planes to use their load capacities.”
INCIRLIK OPENED TO CIVIL FLIGHTS
Stating that the materials were transported to Incirlik, which was opened to civilian transportation after necessary coordination with Adana Airport, with the air aid corridor with teams from domestic and foreign countries, Minister Akar said, “Collection and distribution points were established here.” said.
Stating that the harsh weather conditions on the day of the earthquake prevented air transport, Minister Akar said, “So far, 63 sorties have been carried out with 707 planes. In these sorties, we delivered 9 tons of materials to their targets with 780 expert personnel. The planes, which transported materials and personnel, carried the injured and our citizens from the earthquake zones on their return. In addition to these, 625 sorties were carried out with 34 aircraft from 61 countries. On the other hand, 147 TİHAs and UAVs have served in our work so far. They flew 41 hours. The Air Force, including UAV/TİHA, manned reconnaissance planes and Göktürk satellite, continues to make great efforts to support the activities in vigilance.
Stating that helicopters are also used in the Turkish Armed Forces for personnel and material transportation, Minister Akar said, “We gathered 57 general purpose helicopters in Incirlik. We serve the earthquake area with these helicopters. We have carried out 710 sorties with helicopters so far.” said.
THERE ARE 24 SHIPS IN THE SEA AID CORROROR
Emphasizing that aid was carried by helicopter not only to provincial centers, but also to 17 districts and 102 villages and towns, Minister Akar said:
“Along with all these, a maritime aid corridor was established between Mersin and İskenderun. Materials and construction equipment from Istanbul, Izmir and Aksaz were transported to the earthquake zone. In this context, 24 ships and 5 helicopters are performing the tasks given in Iskenderun Bay to meet the needs. Our TCG Iskenderun ship has transported 327 injured people from the earthquake zone to Mersin so far. In addition to these, our amphibious ships TCG Sancaktar and TCG Bayraktar anchored in Iskenderun Bay. After the necessary arrangements were made to provide health services at the Role-2 level, patient admission began.”
39 COMMANDO BATTLE ON THE FIELD
Stating that the demands made within the scope of search, rescue and life support activities in coordination with AFAD and governorates have been met, Minister Akar said, “Currently, 39 commando battalions, 28 search and rescue teams, engineering war battalions, naval fortification search and rescue teams and our Air Force's search and rescue teams are on the field. . In addition, for the first time, 580 technical personnel and workers from our factories are on the field.” said.
Emphasizing that the Turkish Armed Forces had dispatched 53 field kitchens and 11 field ovens to the region for the first time, Minister Akar said, “Within the scope of our work, which started with the distribution of hot soup on the first day, we have tried to meet the urgent needs with the distribution of 502 thousand breads and 700 thousand provisions so far. Our work on this issue continues. We have now reached a daily hot meal delivery capacity of 40 thousand people.” he said.
Explaining that the personnel of the Turkish Armed Forces, together with the personnel of other institutions, set up 72 tents in 19 regions, Minister Akar said that they had dispatched 750 fire extinguishers to the region in the first place against the fire danger in tent cities. Minister Akar said, “We have shipped 160 cold climate, 2 general purpose tents, 1600 sleeping bags, 210 mobile toilets and bath units, 350 generators, 342 hilts, as well as vehicles such as scoops and cranes to the region, within the framework of urgent need, from our stocks. Nearly 30 thousand clothes and blankets were sent to the region.” used the phrases.
FUEL SUPPORT
Minister Akar stated that they also took action to provide fuel support to earthquake regions and said, "After the necessary procedures, we have provided fuel support from NATO POL tanks for the first time, and we continue to provide it. So far, we have drawn 655 tons of fuel from the warehouses and distributed them to the citizens.” said.
Stating that they have established 8 logistics support bases in 19 provinces for the distribution of aid sent by citizens to earthquake zones, Minister Akar said, “We opened our military facilities, including our Summer Special Education Centers, to our citizens. At the Karpuzkaldıran center in Antalya, we currently host 730 citizens and provide them with hot meals.” said.
Stating that they directed the Ministry personnel to the blood centers of the Red Crescent from the first day, Minister Akar stated that they established a mobile field hospital in Kahramanmaraş, where the state hospital was damaged, and they performed two operations and looked after 113 patients.
Noting that 63 personnel and 6 search and rescue dogs from 500 countries were involved in the search for the "disaster of the century", Minister Akar stated that field hospitals were also sent from abroad. Minister Akar stated that 212 countries and NATO, 37 of whom are Ministers of Defense, wished him well soon.
“The Turkish Armed Forces, which emerged from the heart of our nation, has been at the service of our noble nation, together with other ministries and institutions, from the first day, in these difficult days. I wish God's mercy to all our citizens, arms and colleagues who lost their lives in the earthquake, and a speedy recovery to our wounded. Working shoulder to shoulder with our noble nation, we will overcome all these difficulties and heal our wounds as one fist and one heart. Throughout our thousands of years of glorious history, our state and nation, which has come out of all kinds of misfortunes in unity and solidarity, will overcome this difficult period as one fist and one heart.”
Be the first to comment