Education

A major aim is to serve as a forum for the nation's defense companies to alleviate concerns over fiscal austerity.

Non-governmental organizations serve a valuable role in bridging industry and the military in Turkey. The NATO stalwart has developed its own high-technology defense sector, which now is expanding its export market penetration. This sector also stands to play a major role as NATO develops a technology acquisition architecture in which its member nations play complementary roles rather than competing ones. Because of the need for close coordination between government and industry, non-governmental organizations carry out essential missions in the defense establishment.

Representing a nation that historically has stood at the crossroads between Europe and Asia, the Turkey Chapter of AFCEA International reflects a very active defense industrial community supporting the needs of both the Turkish government and its trading partner nations. Founded in November 1989, the chapter itself has a unique history, according to Col. Ismet Bora Büyüköner, TUA (Ret.), president of the AFCEA Turkey chapter.

“The AFCEA Turkey Chapter was founded at the directive of the Turkish Ministry of National Defense and the Turkish General Staff, under the leadership of the Undersecretariat of the Turkish Defense Industries,” he outlines.

The chapter has been approved as a scientific purpose association by the defense ministry, which means that members of the Turkish Armed Forces are allowed to become AFCEA members with permission from superior officers. Membership in the chapter is open to individuals and companies that “operate in the field of communications, electronics and information technology,” according to the chapter,’s website.

The National Intelligence University prepares for its fifth decade with a shift in focus and a change in venue.

The National Intelligence University, which provides advanced training to U.S. intelligence professionals, is transitioning from an institution primarily focused on the U.S. Defense Department to one serving the entire intelligence community. This reflects the new emphasis toward sharing and collaboration within the nation's intelligence apparatus.

To make the change a reality, National Intelligence University (NIU) leaders are rethinking and expanding the educational programs the institution offers. Plans also are underway to relocate the university to its own new campus in the very near future—in part to bolster its perception as an intelligence community strategic resource.

Dr. David R. Ellison, president of the NIU, says that the change began with the appointment of James Clapper as the director of National Intelligence in 2010. “Director Clapper recognized that if we were going to have a National Intelligence University in the intelligence community, the best place to start was with an accredited institution that had already achieved success in an academic area,” Ellison explains. He adds that Clapper went on to draft a memorandum to then-Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, defining education as a force multiplier and a tool that must be used to the advantage of the entire intelligence community.

“What he envisioned was that the then-National Intelligence College would become the National Intelligence University, and it would provide accredited education, academic research and academic outreach to the intelligence community as a whole,” Ellison points out.