A video teleconference meeting was held under the chairmanship of Minister of National Defense Hulusi Akar with the participation of TAF Command Level, Deputy Minister Yunus Emre Karaosmanoğlu and the commanders of the units in the earthquake zone.
The Land Forces Commander attended the meeting that Minister Akar was with, General Yaşar Güler, the Chief of General Staff, and the 8th Commando Brigade Command in the Serinyol district of Hatay, where he came right after the earthquake and where Mehmetçi had followed the guard, patrol, search and rescue and life support activities in the region from the first day. General Musa Avsever, Naval Forces Commander Admiral Ercüment Tatlıoğlu, Air Forces Commander General Atilla Gülan attended the Disaster Emergency Crisis Centers established right after the earthquake in their headquarters, while Deputy Minister Karaosmanoğlu attended the Ministry's Disaster Emergency Crisis Center.
Minister Akar attended the meeting, which was attended by the commanders of the units in the earthquake area, with the Chief of General Staff Güler from the 8th Commando Brigade Command in the Serinyol district of Hatay, where he came right after the earthquake and the Mehmetçis followed the guard, patrol, search and rescue and life support activities in the region from the first day. , received information about the latest situation and works in the field, gave instructions.
Stating that Turkey is facing the disaster of the century, Minister Akar conveyed his condolences to the entire nation, mercy to those who lost their lives, and wishes for healing to the injured.
Emphasizing that the Ministry of National Defense and the Turkish Armed Forces took action immediately after the earthquake, Minister Akar said, “As the Turkish Armed Forces, we make every effort to alleviate this pain and help our citizens from the very first moment. Mehmetçik did and continues to do whatever needed to be done in the fight against earthquakes from the very first moment, as in the fight against terrorism and border security.” he said.
In addition to all these efforts, Minister Akar pointed out that the activities carried out for the fight against terrorism, border security, and the protection of rights, interests and interests in the skies and seas continue with the same determination, and said:
“The first earthquake, the epicenter of which was in the Pazarcık district of Kahramanmaraş, took place at 04.17:04.30. In addition to the Ministry of National Defense, the Operations Centers of the General Staff, Land, Naval and Air Forces did what needed to be done quickly and requested a report from the troops at 04.50. At the same hour, the Turkish Armed Forces Humanitarian Aid Brigade Command was given the order to 'get ready'. At 2, the Commander of the 05.00nd Army, Gen. Metin Gürak, was on duty and began to receive status reports from the troops. At XNUMX:XNUMX, a Disaster Emergency Crisis Center was established within the body of our Ministry. Simultaneously, crisis centers started to work in the General Staff and Force Commands.”
OUR PRESIDENT MR. PHONE CALL WITH ERDOĞAN AT 05.10
Minister Akar stated that after receiving information from the Chief of General Staff Gen. Yaşar Güler and Force Commanders at 05.00:05.10, he called our President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on the phone at 3:XNUMX, saying, “After receiving the information, we called our President and presented the first reports on the Turkish Armed Forces. According to the first information we received, we informed them that one of our buildings was destroyed and XNUMX of our soldiers were martyred, and we informed 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 within this framework.” made the statement.
Stating that the 2nd Army Command units located in the earthquake zone started search and rescue operations in Kahramanmaraş, Malatya and Iskenderun at 06.00:07.00 in coordination with the governorship and AFAD, Minister Akar said that within the scope of the studies, two military ambulance planes were deployed in Etimesgut at XNUMX:XNUMX. He stated that he was ready at the military airport.
At the same time, Minister Akar stated that the Naval Forces Command ordered TCG İskenderun and the largest landing crafts TCG Bayraktar and TCG Sancaktar to "get ready to sail." explained.
GIANT TRANSPORT AIRCRAFT MOVES DESPITE HIGH BLACK
At the same hour, Minister Akar, who stated that the Turkish Armed Forces Humanitarian Aid Brigade elements were ready for duty with their equipment at Etimesgut military airport at 07.30, the runway of heavy snowfall for 3 A400M aircraft prepared for personnel, vehicle and material transportation in line with the request from AFAD. He said that he departed from Kayseri to Ankara, Istanbul and Izmir at 08.00:XNUMX after the runway opening works despite the closure of the airport.
Minister Akar stated that as of 10.00:8 am, the XNUMXth Commando Brigade in Hatay, which was also affected by the earthquake, started search and rescue activities.
After the Minister of National Defense Hulusi Akar inspected the preparations for the departure of the Turkish Armed Forces Humanitarian Aid Brigade Natural Disaster Search and Rescue Battalion, which came to Etimesgut, at 10.45:XNUMX am he departed from Ankara to the earthquake zone with the Chief of General Staff Gen. Güler and the Land Forces Commander General Avsever. He also stated that they did.
MINISTER AKAR AND COMMANDERS CAUGHT IN THE SECOND EARTHQUAKE
Minister Akar stated that the time showed 10 when they landed at the 11.30th Tanker Base Command in Incirlik because Hatay Airport was damaged and unusable due to the earthquake, and after some investigation and coordination studies in Incirlik, because the weather conditions did not allow helicopter flights, they decided to travel by land. He stated that they were moving to Hatay.
Stating that the first troop reinforcement was carried out to Nurdağı at 2 by the 13.00nd Army Command, Minister Akar stated that the second major earthquake in Elbistan occurred at 13.24, and that they were caught on the way to Hatay due to this earthquake.
Reminding that due to the adverse weather conditions on the day of the earthquake, the flights were disrupted and there were problems in the communication networks, Minister Akar said, “Despite all the negativities, the air elements of our Air and Land Forces made an intense effort to take the teams of both the Turkish Armed Forces and AFAD to the desired points.” said.
Noting that the air aid corridor was established with great sacrifice to send personnel and materials to the earthquake area, Minister Akar said that they evacuated the injured, earthquake victims and other citizens from the region when the aircraft carrying the supplies returned.
AIRCRAFT OF 6 COUNTRIES, INCLUDING USA, ARE ASSIGNED TO TAF ORDER
Stating that all transport planes and general purpose helicopters of the Turkish Armed Forces take part in the air aid corridor, Minister Akar said, “A total of 65 sorties have been carried out in the air aid corridor, including 70 aircraft, 4 helicopters and UAVs/SİHAs so far.” said.
Stating that a total of 5 aircraft and 18 helicopters have been allocated by the USA, Indonesia, Netherlands, United Kingdom, Qatar and Norway, Minister Akar said, “These vehicles allocated to the Turkish Armed Forces are used in aid and support activities.” he said.
Regarding the maritime transport corridor, Minister Akar said, “We transported a large number of large construction equipment and personnel from Izmir, Aksaz, Antalya to Iskenderun. In addition, our ships evacuated the injured in the region and the earthquake victims who wanted to return to Mersin. All of the ships in the region are on alert and ready for service.” used his statements.
As a part of this, Minister Akar stated that the largest landing ships of the Naval Forces Command, TCG Sancaktar and TCG Bayraktar, provide health services as a Role-2 level hospital, and that a field hospital was established in Kahramanmaraş by the Ministry of National Defense, adding, "So far, around 5 injured and the patient came. Necessary medical intervention was given to them. 994 surgeries were performed here. In fact, our baby named Hatice Deniz was born on our TCG Bayraktar ship as a beacon of hope in these troubled days.” he said.
TAF SEFERBER FROM THE FIRST MOMENT
Reacting to the rhetoric that "The Mehmetçik was taken out of the barracks late after the earthquake," Minister Akar said, "These discussions do not reflect the facts. The Ministry of National Defense mobilized the Turkish Armed Forces with its soldiers, civilians, workers and technical personnel from the very first moment, and rushed to the side of its nation. Day and night, it continues its efforts in coordination with the relevant institutions and organizations in order to heal the wounds caused by this great earthquake disaster. There are official records and the facts in the records, which are the history of our army. These biased claims that do not reflect the facts cannot be explained in good faith.” used his statements.
Commenting on the life support activities in addition to vigil, patrol, search and rescue in the earthquake zone of Mehmetçik, Minister Akar stated that some of the earthquake victims, who were transported by military helicopters and planes, were hosted in social facilities belonging to the TAF. Stating that fuel support was also provided to the earthquake zones from the warehouses of the TAF, Minister Akar stated that more than 18 thousand citizens were evacuated from the earthquake zones and said:
“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.”
At the end of his words, Minister Akar said that the Turkish Armed Forces, also known as the Prophet's Hearth, has stood by his nation and at the beginning of its duty from the first moment. Minister Akar concluded his speech by congratulating Mehmetçi who served heroically and selflessly.