Ozel arrives in Brussels

Chief of General Staff Gen. Necdet Ozel yesterday traveled to Brussels to attend the first meeting of NATO's Military Committee (MC) in Chiefs of Defense Staff (CHODs).  During the meeting to which contributions were made by NATO's two Strategic Commanders Adm. Jim Stavridis (SACEUR) and Gen. Paul Palomeros with their speeches, the ongoing operations were discussed with the participation of international partners. Speaking at the opening of the meeting, Chairman of NATO Military Committee Gen. Knud Bartels said that the ongoing economic crisis and resulting austerity measures have influenced the national defense investments in a way to jeopardize the protection of NATO capacity, and thus warned that a focus should be placed on the smart defense."