Abidin Ünal
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Abidin Ünal (born 1953 in Pınarbaşı,
Kayseri Kayseri () is a large List of cities in Turkey, city in Central Anatolia, Turkey, and the capital of Kayseri Province, Kayseri province. Historically known as Caesarea (Mazaca), Caesarea, it has been the historical capital of Cappadocia since anc ...
,
Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
) is a retired
Turkish Air Force The Turkish Air Force () is the Air force, air and space force of the Turkish Armed Forces. It traces its origins to 1 June 1911 when it was founded as the Ottoman Aviation Squadrons, Aviation Squadrons by the Ottoman Empire. It was composed ...
general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...
and commander of the Turkish Air Force. During his tenure, he was a Senior Member of the NATO Technology and Research Organization General Assembly.


Career


Officer and staff officer

Ünal attended the elementary school in Kazancık as well as the middle school in Pınarbaşı and the middle school Demir-Çelik-Ortaokulu in
Karabük Karabük is a city in the Black Sea region of Turkey. It is the seat of Karabük Province and Karabük District.Ankara Ankara is the capital city of Turkey and List of national capitals by area, the largest capital by area in the world. Located in the Central Anatolia Region, central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5,290,822 in its urban center ( ...
from 1968 to 1972. In 1972 he began his officer training at the
Turkish Air Force Academy The Turkish Air Force Academy (TAFA; ) is a co-educational military academy located in Istanbul, Turkey. It is part of the National Defence University. It is the main human resource for the Turkish Air Force Command. It was founded in 1951, re ...
(Hava Harp Okulu), which he completed on August 30, 1975, as a lieutenant (Teğmen). Subsequently he was first used in the 2nd training base of the Air Force Training Command (Çiğli) and then in the 3rd Air Force base in
Konya Konya is a major city in central Turkey, on the southwestern edge of the Central Anatolian Plateau, and is the capital of Konya Province. During antiquity and into Seljuk times it was known as Iconium. In 19th-century accounts of the city in En ...
, where he became a flight instructor in the 131st squadron in July 1977. In 1982 he began his training as a staff officer at the Air Force Academy (Hava Harp Akademisi), which he finished in 1984. He then worked as an instructor in the training regiment of the Air Force School and became a pilot and instructor in an F-16 squadron in 1987, before he was commander of the flying group of the 142nd squadron, which also consisted of F-16 multi-purpose combat aircraft, at the
Akıncı Air Base Akinci or Akıncı may refer to: People * Bülent Akinci, Turkish-German director and script writer * Halil Akıncı, Turkish diplomat * Mustafa Akıncı, Northern Cyprus president Other uses * Akinji, irregular light cavalry of the Ottoman Empi ...
between 1989 and 1990 has been. In 1990 Ünal moved to the
Ministry of Defense A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divided ...
(Millî Savunma Bakanlığı) and became a project officer in the F-16 system management department and then found use in 1991 as an officer in the 162nd F-16 multi-purpose squadron in
Bandırma Bandırma ()Greek: Panormos(Πανορμος)is a municipality and district of Balıkesir Province, northwestern Turkey. Its area is 755 km2, and its population is 167,363 (2024). Bandırma is located in the south of the Marmara Sea, in the ...
. After graduating from the
Royal Air Force College Cranwell The Royal Air Force College (RAFC) is the Royal Air Force academy which provides initial training to all RAF personnel who are preparing to become commissioned officers. The College also provides initial training to aircrew cadets and is resp ...
from 1992 to 1993, he became the commander of the 192nd Multipurpose Squadron in
Balıkesir Balıkesir () is a city in the Marmara Region, Marmara region of Turkey. It is the seat of Balıkesir Province, which is also a Metropolitan municipalities in Turkey, metropolitan municipality. As of 2022, the population of Balıkesir Province ...
in 1993. He then became a project officer in the Department for Disarmament and International Relations of the Department of Planning and Politics in the General Staff of Turkey in 1994 and, in 1995, military adviser to the Permanent Mission of Turkey to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (
OSCE The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is a regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization comprising member states in Europe, North America, and Asia. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, the pr ...
) in Vienna. September 1998 became head of the operations department of the 5th Air Force Base in Merzifon (5. Ana Jet Üs Komutanlığı).


Promotion to general

On August 30, 2000 Ünal was promoted to brigadier general (Tuğgeneral) and appointed head of the Scientific Support Center at the General Staff and a member of the ''General Assembly of the Research and Technology Organization of NATO''. On August 3, 2002, he became commander of the 5th Air Force Base (5th Ana Jet Üs Komutanlığı) in
Merzifon Merzifon is a town in Amasya Province in the central Black Sea region of Turkey. It is the seat of Merzifon District.
and on August 4, 2003, head of the project management department in the High Command of the Air Force. On August 17, 2004, Ünal was appointed head of the basic planning department in the Air Force High Command and shortly thereafter, on August 30, 2004, he was promoted to major general (Tümgeneral). He then acted from August 4, 2006, to August 12, 2008, as the commander of the Air Force School (Hava Harp Okulu). In 2008 he was promoted to lieutenant general (co- general ) and appointed head of the department of military attachés and supervision in the general staff. He then acted from 2009 to 2011 as Chief of Staff in the High Command of the Air Force and between 2011 and 2014 as commanding general of the then 1st Tactical Air Force Command (1st Hava Kuvveti Komutanı) in
Eskişehir Eskişehir ( , ; from 'old' and 'city') is a city in northwestern Turkey and the capital of the Eskişehir Province. The urban population of the city is 821 315 (Odunpazari + Tebebasi), with a metropolitan population of 921 630. The city is l ...
. According to the summary of the previous two ''Tactical Air Command'' in Eskişehir and
Diyarbakır Diyarbakır is the largest Kurdish-majority city in Turkey. It is the administrative center of Diyarbakır Province. Situated around a high plateau by the banks of the Tigris river on which stands the historic Diyarbakır Fortress, it is ...
with the 10th Tanker Base Command (10. Tanker Üs Komutanlığı) on the
Incirlik Air Base Incirlik Air Base () is a Republic of Turkey, Turkish air base of slightly more than 3320 ac (1335 ha), located in the İncirlik quarter of the city of Adana, Turkey. The base is within an urban area of 1.7 million people, east of the city ...
and the 14th command for unmanned steering body systems (14. İnsansız Uçak Sistemleri Ana Üs Komutanlığı) in
Batman Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...
and the 15th Missile Command (15th Füze Üs Komutanlığı) in
Alemdağ Agridaki (; ) is a village in Cyprus, located 1 km east of Larnakas tis Lapithou. Agridaki is under the ''de facto'' control of Northern Cyprus. Before the 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus, the village was inhabited by Greek Cypriots. They f ...
to the Air Combat and Air Missile Command (Muharip Hava Kuvveti ve Hava Füze Savunma Komutanlığı) in Eskişehir on August 5, 2014, on August 5, 2014, Lieutenant General Ünal was de factand already its Deputy General Ünal days later after his promotion to general (orgeneral) on August 7, 2014, his commanding general, with no predecessor.


After 2015

Most recently, on August 14, 2015, he succeeded General Akın Öztürk as Supreme Commander of the Air Force (Türk Hava Kuvvetleri), while Lieutenant General Mehmet Şanver became the new Commanding General of the Air Combat and Air Missile Command. He was appointed as the commander of the Turkish Air Force with the 2015 High Military Council decisions. The Russian Su-24 aircraft, which violated the border during his command, was shot down by Turkish F-16s. After the PKK attacks that started in 2015, extensive air strikes were launched against PKK elements in Iraq. In 2016, on the evening of the military coup attempt, Ünal and other senior members of the Turkish Armed Forces, who were at the wedding of the then Combat Air Force and Air Missile Defense Commander Lieutenant General Mehmet Şanver's daughter, were taken hostage by the soldiers who carried out the coup and taken from Istanbul to the Murted Air Base. In the statement of the prosecutor; He stated that he was a plaintiff and a complainant among the participants in the coup attempt. He was retired on August 21, 2017. He handed over his duty to General
Hasan Küçükakyüz Hasan Küçükakyüz (born November 11, 1957) is a retired four-star Turkish Armed Forces general. He was the 32nd Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armi ...
. General Ünal is married and has one child.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Unal, Abidin 1953 births Living people People from Kayseri Turkish Air Force Academy alumni Turkish Air Force generals Commanders of the Turkish Air Force