Ozlem Iyidilli Becomes Turkish Air Force's First Woman General

Turkey has commissioned fighter jet pilot Özlem İyidilli Karapınar to the rank of Brigadier General, creating history as she becomes the first woman to be commissioned as a general officer in the Turkish Air Force.

The landmark decision was one of the many decisions made during an annual meeting of the Supreme Military Council, headed by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The decisions made during the meeting are expected to be implemented on August 30, Turkey’s Victory Day.

Özlem İyidilli was one of the 69 colonels who got promoted to the ranks of general or admiral, while 25 generals and admirals also received promotion to a flag officer rank, as reported by the Turkish Ministry of Defense.

Key Highlights:

• Özlem İyidilli Karapınar becomes Turkish Air Force's first woman general
• Historic promotion breaks the Turkish Air Force's senior leadership barrier
• Turkey promotes first woman Air Force general in landmark military reshuffle

Özlem İyidilli was born in 1977 and started her academic journey at the Faculty of Medicine of Ege University; but chose a different path after receiving an invitation to join Turkish Air Force Academy for students excelling in maths and science.

After her first flight training in Yalova, she joined the academy and proceeded to have a distinguished career as a fighter pilot.

Highlighting her accomplishments, Özlem Yılmaz was appointed the country’s first-ever female brigadier general through the gendarmerie in 2022. Meanwhile, in 2023, Gökçen Fırat broke new ground by being the first-ever woman to reach the status of rear admiral in the Turkish Navy.

Özlem Yılmaz shatters long-standing barrier in the Turkish Air Force, where women have been active pilots but have not been promoted to high ranks within the Air Force. Her success is the result of a legacy that goes back to Sabiha Gökçen, who is considered one of the earliest female combat pilots in the history of aviation after being trained in the 1930s.

As part of the latest military reshuffle, Gen. Rafet Dalkıran, formerly commander of the Combatant Air Force, was appointed as the new Air Force commander following the retirement of Gen. Ziya Cemal Kadıoğlu, who stepped down after no higher-ranking position was available. Additionally, the tenure period of Navy Commander Adm. Ercüment Tatlıoğlu is prolonged for a year; meanwhile, the service period of 24 generals is extended for one more year and that of 530 colonels is extended for two more years. On the other hand, two generals and 61 generals and admirals will retire due to the lack of vacancies at their ranks.

The decisions made recently bring up the total number of Turkish Army generals and admirals to 334 from 328, according to an announcement by the presidency. The approved changes were made in the annual gathering of the Supreme Military Council, which is responsible for managing promotions, appointments, extensions of military service, and military retirements in the Turkish military.