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FB: Guardian Angels at Incirlik? EUCOM commander quiet on negotiations to get PJs, other rescue crews at the air base in Turkey.
The head of U.S. European Command is mum on negotiations to base search and rescue crews at an Air Force base in Turkey following pushback from Ankara.
about U.S. Air Force and other coalition crews putting Guardian Angel and other rescue crews at the base
Turkey has refused to let U.S. forces fly airstrikes and combat search and rescue out of Incirlik Air Base, forcing the U.S. to move pararescuemen and Marine Corps rescue crews further away from mission areas in Iraq and Syria. The U.S. Air Force installation, which is the home to mobility and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft, is much closer to potential mission areas in Syria and Iraq than other bases used by the U.S. to target the Islamic State group, including installations in Kuwait and Jordan.
The Bipartisan Policy Center, a think tank in Washington, published a report in April by former ambassadors to Turkey Morton Abramowitz and Eric Edelmen that said the country is an increasingly undependable ally.,and The criticism focused on the decision to disallow Operation Inherent Resolve activity at the base.
"Turkey has refused to allow U.S. coalition forces to use its airbase at Incirlik, even for combat search and rescue missions," the report states. "This decision by Ankara, a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, not only reduces the effectiveness of the campaign against ISIS, but it places the lives of American and allied forces at risk."
Air Force Gen. Philip Breedlove, commander of U.S. European Command and NATO supreme allied commander, refused to speak publicly April 30 about any "progress" in negotiations with Turkey, except to say for saying that the country has allowed U.S. forces to set up training and equipping operations for moderate Syrian rebels. Turkey and the U.S. on Feb. 19 signed an agreement for the training mission.
"We have been working with Turkey on some very key things," Breedlove said at a April 30 Senate Armed Services Committee hearing. "One I can talk about in this venue: the training and equipping mission is up and running."
Breedlove said he could not publicly talk about progress in establishing two other mission areas at the base, including search and rescue.
The Bipartisan Policy Center said in its report that the U.S. has been forced to move its rescue forces;, even disallowing special operations forces were disallowed from using the base on an ultimately unsuccessful mission to rescue journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff in August 2014. The two were executed by the Islamic State group in September.
"While Special Presidential Envoy for the Global Coalition to Counter ISIS General John Allen has made numerous trips to Turkey to try and persuade Turkey to take a more active role in the coalition, especially by allowing U.S. and coalition forces to fly out of Incirlik, Turkey continues to hold Incirlik as a bargaining chip to secure U.S. cooperation in fighting Assad," the report states.
Breedlove, who began his career as an F-16 pilot, said the importance of having search and rescue close by "cannot be overstated."
"Their job is incredibly important to what we do," Breedlove said.
