Turkey appoints first female admiral as part of military overhaul
The overhaul in the Turkish army's top brass seems to be in line with Erdogan's long-term foreign policy and security agenda, a prominent analyst says.
ANKARA — Turkey’s top military council on Thursday named a new chief of the general staff and land and air forces commanders, in a reshuffle that also saw the appointment of Turkey's first-ever female admiral.
Chaired by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the country’s Supreme Military Council appointed Gokcen Firat to the rank of rear admiral (lower half) in the Turkish naval forces.
According to Turkish media reports, Firat, 45, became Turkey's first-ever female ship commander in 2004 after graduating from Naval War College in 1998.
Metin Gurak, who formerly served as the commander of the 2nd Army Corps, will become the country’s new chief of the general staff, a post that has been officially vacant since his predecessor, Yasar Guler, became the country’s new defense minister.
