Did the Turkish Air Force General recommend Dr. Anilir to NASA for an astronaut candidate?

Response from readers in Turkey indicates that, in Turkey, Armed Forces are very serious and fearful presence. So, I would like to provide more details about what Dr. Anilir told about his relation to Turkish Air Force General in his books.

I am showing images of Pages 15 - 17 from his book "Space Elevator". (See this entry for his books.) The relevant paragraphs, starting at the bottom of Page 15, reads (in Japanese):

その後、研究者としてNASAに行っていたある日、たまたま僕の母国トルコの空軍長が、NASA事業団のトップや米軍関係者と会談にやって来た。その当時のトルコでは、国内初めての宇宙飛行士を輩出しようという世論が盛り上がっていたのだが、一般に宇宙飛行士候補には軍関係者が多く、ほとんどの場合、空軍のパイロットや軍関係の研究者が選ばれるのが慣例だった。

僕もNASAで活躍するトルコ人として、その場に呼ばれ紹介してもらったのだが、特に長い会話をすることもなく、NASAでの研究内容や、過去の学歴など二、三の質問をされ、席を立った。

空軍長直々の推薦で、宇宙飛行士の候補の一人に選ばれた、とトルコから連絡があったのは、日本に帰ってきた後のことだ。

(skip to Page 17)

軍人でもない建築構法専攻の僕が、空軍長の推薦を受けられた理由。それは、スキー選手として国の代表になった実績があり、健康面で有利。空が好きだった一心で、大学時代に取得したパイロットの資格。様々な国に住んでいたから学べた、何か国語もの語学力。そして、宇宙開発に関わる研究をしていることだという。

空軍長という立場にありながら、軍人でもない僕を評価して、候補に加えてくれた彼の姿勢と柔軟な発想には、人間として頭が下がる思いだ。

人と人との出会いが、新しい旅を生み出す。

This may be translated to English as follows:

Later, when I was visiting NASA as a research scientist, it happens that the Air Force General (NOTE: the correct translation may be the Commander of the Air Force -- thanks for the comment) of my home country, Turkey, came to meet the top administration of NASA and people from American Military.

Around that time, in Turkey, there was a movement to produce the first astronaut from the nation. Usually, most of astronaut candidates have military background; it is customary to choose astronauts from Air Force pilots or research scientists at military institutions.

I was introduced at the meeting, as a Turkish national who was active at NASA. However, we did not talk much on the occasion. I left the table, after being asked just a few questions, like subject of my study at NASA and my academic back ground.

It was only after I came back to Japan, that I was notified I was selected as one of the astronaut candidates, thanks to a direct recommendation by the Air Force General.

The reasons why I won the recommendation by the Air Force general, even though I was not from military and was just majoring in architecture, were the following, I heard: My advantage in physical abilities, as I was once a member of Turkish national ski team. My pilot license that was obtained when I was a college student, just because I was fascinated with the sky. My skill in several languages, thanks to my experience of living in various countries. And finally, the fact that I was working on space development.

Even though he is from military, the Air Force General thought highly of me, who was outside the military, and added me to the list of candidates. This shows his fairness and flexible attitude, which I respect very much.

Meeting between people opens the door to new voyage.

Very vivid and moving story, isn't it? :) However, after seeing the questions surrounding the "astronaut candidate" claim, it might look different. The affiliation with NASA is discussed in another entry. The claim that he was a member of Turkish national ski team will be discussed elsewhere -- but did readers from Turkey know about that?!

There is a similar story on another book "The space in your pocket". Here, he also shows a photograph (shown at bottom) with the Air Force general. Although it was attributed to the later date, the caption clearly says the person in the picture is the General who recommended Dr. Anilir for an astronaut candidate. The caption says (in Japanese)

2008年5月14日。中央で後ろを向いているのはトルコの空軍長。僕を宇宙飛行士に推薦してくれた人物だ。イズミール大学で。

May 14th, 2008. The person in the center, showing his back, is Turkish Air Force General. This is the person who recommended me for an astronaut. At Izmir(?) University.

We can imagine how the Turkish Air Force General was proud and happy when he saw Dr. Aniril, who was selected as an astronaut candidate because of his recommendation, in spacesuit with stars and stripes on shoulder.

The apparently same photograph in color (shown below) can be found in his Japanese blog: (dated Dec 9, 2007) http://blog.anilir.net/?eid=622294
Strangely, in his blog, he describes the photo as a scene from "Infra-Free Workshop" at Izmir Economic University, in December 2007 (whereas the photo is dated as May 14th, 2008.) In the blog, he also says that the woman standing next to him is his mother.

According to the comment by Arda Mevlutoglu:
The young man in uniform is an NCO-cadet. He is in his second year in NCO School, hence the Roman numeral "II" just above the crescent and the star figure in the rank insignia. You can also see the letters "M.Y.O.", the abbreviation of "Meslek Yuksek Okulu", which translates as "Occupational High School" (?). M.Y.O is the place where NCO's are trained.

This basically means that, the older man in uniform standing against the camera is basically in charge of the younger man in uniform, i.e NCO-cadets. From this angle and color density, my educated guess is, he is a major, hence the silhouette of his rank symbols on top of his shoulders. He is light years away from being a general and aeons away from being the commander of Turkish Air Force or any other person who is authorized to advise Mr Anilir to any position such as an astronaut!