Afghan ISAF’s Turkish Battle Group Changes Command

KABUL, Afghanistan (NATO) — ISAF’s Turkish Battle Group in Regional Command Capital held a change of command ceremony at Camp Dogan on June 26 where Lieutenant Colonel Ayhan Saygin, Turkish Battle Group’s commander, handed over command to Lieutenant Colonel Murat Atac.

The commander of RC-C, Brigadier General Federico Bonato, led the ceremony. The Turkish Kabul Embassy Counselor Erdogan Odabas, Kabul Governor Haci Din Muhammed, local Malek’s, and Afghan civilians also attended the ceremony.

During the ceremony, Lt. Col. Ayhan Saygin thanked the troops for their efforts in providing security and stability to the area in order to enable reconstruction and development. He also added that he was very happy to see the determination of Afghan people to go forward. At the end of his speech, he imparted his deepest wishes for safety and success for the mission under the command of Lt. Col. Murat Atac.

Brig. Gen. Federico Bonato made the first part of his speech in Turkish and at the end thanked to the former commander of the Turkish Battle Group and expressed how much he appreciated his commitment to achieving a difficult mission and wished success prior to passing the battle group flag to the new commander.