Welcome to my personal webpage!
My name is Ömer Faruk Cantenar, and I am a former Turkish Army Officer with extensive experience in military operations, strategic planning, and defense analysis.
The purpose of this page is to showcase my professional background, academic research, and published works. It also serves as my personal blog, where I share insights on global and Turkish affairs, reflections on my military career, and analyses of defense and security issues.
If you’re interested in original perspectives shaped by years of field experience and academic research, I invite you to subscribe to my newsletter. You’ll be notified whenever I publish new content, offering a unique take on pressing military, strategic, and geopolitical matters.
Thank you for visiting, and I look forward to engaging with you!
Biograpraphy
Military Background
I had a distinguished career in the Turkish Army, retiring in 2017. Over the course of my military service, I commanded at multiple levels, including company, battalion, and brigade, leading high-profile operations in Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Academic Education
Master of Arts in International War Studies – Joint degree from University College Dublin (Ireland) and University of Potsdam (Germany), First-Class Honours.
Ph.D. in Security Strategies and Management – Turkish Police Academy, Ankara.
Master of Business Administration (MBA) – Bilkent University, Ankara.
Qualifications
● Ranger Course, United States Army Ranger School, Ft. Benning, Georgia, U.S.A, three months.
● Commando Course, Turkish Army Commando School, Egirdir, Turkey, four months.
● Special Operations Course, Turkish Special Forces School, Ankara, Turkey, five months.
Research & Writings
Journal Articles & Commentary
- “Fighting ISIS in Syria: Operation Euphrates Shield and the Lessons Learned from the al-Bab Battle”, Small Wars & Insurgencies, February 2021 (with Cyprian Aleksander Kozera). DOI: 10.1080/09592318.2021.1875308
- “A Practitioner’s Perspective on the Use of Proxy Forces”, Security and Defence Quarterly, 2020, 31(4): 7–9. DOI: 10.35467/sdq/132317