General Hilmi Özkök (born 1940 in

Turgutlu Turgutlu, also known as Kasaba (''Cassaba'' or ''Casaba'') is a city and district in Manisa Province in the Aegean region of Turkey. According to 2009 census, its district population is 140,753; 115,930 live in the city itself. The district cover ...

Manisa Province Manisa Province ( tr, ) is a province in western Turkey. Its neighboring provinces are İzmir to the west, Aydın to the south, Denizli to the southeast, Uşak to the east, Kütahya to the northeast, and Balıkesir to the north. The city of Ma ...

) was the 24th

Chief of the General Staff The Chief of the General Staff (CGS) is a post in many armed forces (militaries), the head of the military staff. List * Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (United States) * Chief of the General Staff (Abkhazia) * Chief of General Staff (Afg ...

of the

Turkish Armed Forces The Turkish Armed Forces (TAF; tr, Türk Silahlı Kuvvetleri, TSK) are the military forces of the Republic of Turkey. Turkish Armed Forces consist of the General Staff, the Land Forces, the Naval Forces and the Air Forces. The current Chi ...

. He took up that post on August 28, 2002, and served until August 30, 2006, when he retired and was succeeded by General

Yaşar Büyükanıt General Mehmet Yaşar Büyükanıt (1 September 1940 – 21 November 2019) was the 25th Chief of the Turkish General Staff of the Turkish Armed Forces, from 28 August 2006 to 28 August 2008. Biography General Yaşar Büyükanıt was born in Is ...

. Özkök has expressed support for Turkey's alignment with the European Union, sought a reduced role for the

National Security Council A national security council (NSC) is usually an executive branch governmental body responsible for coordinating policy on national security issues and advising chief executives on matters related to national security. An NSC is often headed by a na ...

, and opposed his peers' plans to stage a coup.

Education and personal life

Hilmi Özkök was born in

, and has been a career soldier. He was educated at the Isiklar (Işıklar) Military High School in

Bursa ( grc-gre, Προῦσα, Proûsa, Latin: Prusa, ota, بورسه, Arabic:بورصة) is a city in northwestern Turkey and the administrative center of Bursa Province. The fourth-most populous city in Turkey and second-most populous in the ...

and went from there in 1957 to complete a two-year course at the

Turkish Military Academy The Turkish Military Academy ( tr, Kara Harp Okulu) is a four-year co-educational military academy and part of the National Defence University. It is located in the center of Ankara, Turkey. Its mission is to develop cadets mentally and ph ...

. Özkök left there as a

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

in the

Artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...

. He has commanded an Artillery Gun Line, Forward Observation team, Fire Direction Center, SATA Battery, Battalion and Brigade. He has mostly worked with

M114 155 mm howitzer The M114 is a towed howitzer developed and used by the United States Army. It was first produced in 1942 as a medium artillery piece under the designation of 155 mm Howitzer M1. It saw service with the US Army during World War II, the Korean ...

s and

M198 howitzer The M198 is a medium-sized, towed 155 mm artillery piece, developed for service with the United States Army and Marine Corps. It was commissioned to be a replacement for the World War II-era M114 155 mm howitzer. It was designed and prototyped at ...

s. He has commanded a Brigade which included a

MGM-140 ATACMS The MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) is a surface-to-surface missile manufactured by the U.S. defense company Lockheed Martin. It has a range of up to , with solid propellant, and is high and in diameter. The ATACMS can be fired ...

tactical ballistic missile battalion. He studied at the Army War College and the

NATO Defence College NATO Defense College (NDC) is the international military college for North Atlantic Treaty Organization countries. It is located in Rome, Italy. History The idea of a NATO Defense College originated with General Dwight D. Eisenhower, the f ...

in the 1970s. He is married to Özenç Özkök and has two children. In his retirement he is pursuing photography and poetry.

Career

After graduating from the Army War College in 1972, Özkök moved into military staff, initially with the Special Weapons Branch of the

Allied Forces Southern Europe Allied Joint Force Command Naples (JFC Naples) is a NATO military command based in Lago Patria, in the Metropolitan City of Naples, Italy. It was activated on 15 March 2004, after effectively redesigning its predecessor command, Allied Forces Sou ...

(AFSOUTH), and then at

SHAPE A shape or figure is a graphics, graphical representation of an object or its external boundary, outline, or external Surface (mathematics), surface, as opposed to other properties such as color, Surface texture, texture, or material type. A pl ...

. He was promoted to

brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

in 1984 and worked as Chief of Planning and Operations for the General Staff (TGS). From 1986 to 1988 he commanded the 70th Infantry Brigade and on his promotion to

major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

in 1988 he commanded the 28th Infantry Division. He returned to the TGS in 1990 and was promoted to

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

in 1992 when he was sent to

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

to head the Turkish NATO Military Delegation for three years. On August 30, 1996, Özkök was promoted to

full general A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED On ...

and took charge of the NATO

Allied Land Forces South-Eastern Europe Allied Land Command (LANDCOM) formerly Allied Land Forces South-Eastern Europe (LANDSOUTHEAST) is the standing headquarters for NATO land forces which may be assigned as necessary. The Commander LANDCOM is the primary land warfare advisor to Sup ...

(LANDSOUTHEAST) located in

İzmir İzmir ( , ; ), also spelled Izmir, is a metropolitan city in the western extremity of Anatolia, capital of the province of the same name. It is the third most populous city in Turkey, after Istanbul and Ankara and the second largest urban agglo ...

. He returned again to the TGS in 1998, this time as Deputy Chief. After a brief stint as the commander of the First Army in Istanbul, he was made commander of the Turkish Army in 2002, succeeding

Hüseyin Kıvrıkoğlu Hüseyin Kıvrıkoğlu (born Hüseyin Kıvrık, 1934) is a retired Turkish general who was the commander of the Turkish Armed Forces and on August 30, 1998, became Chief of the Turkish General Staff for a four-year term. Biography Born in Bo ...

. He served as chairman until his retirement on August 30, 2006. The ''Chronicle'' said that during his tenure as the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, he opposed the plans of some of his peers who wanted to stage another coup d'etat and narrowly evaded assassination with a tip-off from the CIA on 3 February 2004. Major general Fehmi Büyükbayram of the Ankara central garrison changed Özkök's schedule in order to protect him. Another attempt was allegedly prevented with a tip-off from the United Kingdom. Özkök recognized the allegations made in the ''Chronicle'', but rejected some of the others, saying that the military would have taken the necessary precautions had they been true. In a 2007 interview Özkök said that he did not eat from the army canteen. People inferred that he feared poisoning, but Özkök replied that he merely wanted healthier food. A common complaint against him by his former colleagues has been that he often seems to avoid alcohol, as an admiral in Turkish navy wrote in his personal diary "what we found in his (ozkok) glass turned out to be Coca-Cola while he was pretending to be drinking

Awards

*(Turkish) State Medal of Honor *

Turkish Armed Forces Medal of Honor Turkish Armed Forces Medal of Honor ( tr, Türk Silahlı Kuvvetleri Şeref Madalyası) is the highest medal that can be bestowed upon an individual by the Turkish Armed Forces (TAF) and was first created on July 27, 1967. Technical specificati ...

Turkish Armed Forces Medal of Distinguished Service Turkish Armed Forces Medal of Distinguished Service ( tr, Türk Silahlı Kuvvetleri Üstün Hizmet Madalyası) was first created on July 27, 1967 and took its current form on July 29, 1983. Technical specifications General Five large and five sma ...

Turkish Armed Forces Medal of Distinguished Courage and Self-Sacrifice Turkish Armed Forces Medal of Distinguished Courage and Self-Sacrifice ( tr, Türk Silahlı Kuvvetleri Üstün Cesaret ve Feragat Madalyası) is one of the highest medals that can be bestowed upon an individual by the Turkish Armed Forces (TAF) an ...

* U.S. Legion Of Merit *

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

Golden Eagle * Pakistani Medal of Nishan-I Imtiaz *Great Cross for Military Merit of

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

* France Medal of Merit *

Republic of Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its east ...

Tong-Il Medal.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ozkok, Hilmi 1940 births People from Turgutlu Turkish Military Academy alumni Army War College (Turkey) alumni Turkish Army generals Deputy Chiefs of the Turkish General Staff Commanders of the Turkish Land Forces Chiefs of the Turkish General Staff Recipients of Nishan-e-Imtiaz Foreign recipients of the Legion of Merit Recipients of the Ordre national du Mérite Order of National Security Merit members Living people