3 officers enter International Hall of Fame

By Melissa Bower, Fort Leavenworth LampApril 12, 2012

3 officers enter International Hall of Fame
1 / 4 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Command and General Staff College Commandant Lt. Gen. David Perkins addresses International Hall of Fame inductees Gen. Erdal Ceylanoglu, commander of Turkish Land Forces; Brig. Gen. Iurie Dominic, chief of the main staff and commandant of the Republ... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
3 officers enter International Hall of Fame
2 / 4 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Gen. Erdal Ceylanoglu, commander of Turkish Land Forces, and Brig. Gen. Iurie Dominic, chief of the main staff and commandant of the Republic of Moldova's National Army, applaud as Brig. Gen. Roland Maunday, chief of Defence Staff, Trinidad and Tobag... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
3 officers enter International Hall of Fame
3 / 4 Show Caption + Hide Caption – After unveiling his International Hall of Fame portrait, Gen. Erdal Ceylanoglu, commander of Turkish Land Forces, makes his remarks from the podium during the IHOF induction ceremony April 5 at the Lewis and Clark Center, Fort Leavenworth, Kan. Brig.... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
3 officers enter International Hall of Fame
4 / 4 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Gen. Erdal Ceylanoglu, commander of Turkish Land Forces, unveils his International Hall of Fame portrait with Command and General Staff College Commandant Lt. Gen. David Perkins as fellow IHOF inductees Brig. Gen. Iurie Dominic, chief of the main sta... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

FORT LEAVENWORTH, Kan. (April 12, 2012) -- Three international military officers were inducted into the International Hall of Fame April 5 at Fort Leavenworth.

The Command and General Staff College honors past graduates who have gone on to hold the highest position in their nation's armed forces or an equivalent position in a multinational military organization. Some have even become heads of state in their home countries.

Honorees were Gen. Erdal Ceylanoglu, commander, Turkish Land Forces; Brig. Gen. Iurie Dominic, chief of the main staff, commandant of the National Army, Republic of Moldova; and Brig. Gen. Roland Maunday, chief of Defence Staff, Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force. Their photos will hang on the fourth floor of the Lewis and Clark Center with those of others who have been inducted into the International Hall of Fame.

Lt. Gen. David G. Perkins, commandant of CGSC, said the IHOF ceremony best represents the results that come out of education at Fort Leavenworth.

"First of all, it is amazing the impact this institution has had on them, but more importantly that they have had on the world," Perkins said.

Ceylanoglu graduated from CGSC in 1984. He has served his nation's military since 1966. In addition to his schooling at Fort Leavenworth, he graduated Turkey's Army War College in 1976 and Turkish Armed Forces College in 1986. Ceylanoglu, as an infantry officer, served as platoon leader, instructor at the Turkish Army War College, and commander of the Cyprus Turkish Regiment. He also was the commander of the 39th Mechanized Infantry Brigade. As a general officer, he was commander of the Turkish Army School and Training Division, Turkish Training and Doctrine Command, and chief of staff of Training and Doctrine Command, commander of the National Security Academy, commander of Gendarmerie Security and chief of Land Forces Inspection and Evaluation Directorate. He was promoted to general and became commander of Turkish Land Forces in August 2010.

Ceylanoglu and his wife, Sule, have two children.

Dominic graduated Fort Leavenworth's CGSC in 2004. His military education also includes an overseas military academy, English courses from the Partnership for Peace training center in Hungary and at the U.S. Defense Language Institute, and the U.S. National War College of the National Defense University.

Dominic has held his current position in Moldova in 2010. He and his wife, Natalia, have two children.

Dominic is the second inductee from Moldova, which became independent from the former Soviet Union in 1991. Last year's inductee, Vitalie Marinuta, minister of defense for the Republic of Moldova, attended CGSC in 2000.

Dominic said that the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College has been a great enhancer of global security, especially in his country's military. He said that there would likely be more IHOF inductions of past Moldovan students who have succeeded in Moldova's military and defense leadership roles.

Dominic said his country enjoys working with the United States and enforcing its move toward a more stable and democratic world.

"Not only in Pacific and Asia … but please pay attention to Europe as well; we need you," he told CGSC students.

Maunday enlisted into the Trinidad and Tobago regiment in 1978. He's attended the Infantry Officers Course in the U.S. Infantry School at Fort Benning, Ga., the Canadian Forces' Land Force Staff Course and various courses through U.S. Air Force Special Operations School and USAID Disaster Assistance Training for Instructors Course.

Maunday served as an operations officer in a multinational peacekeeping force alongside U.S. forces in Haiti from 1994 to 1995. Maunday served his nation's embassy in Washington, D.C., as the defence and military attaché before taking responsibility as chief of Defence Staff of Trinidad and Tobago's Defence Force.

He and his wife, Wendy, have one daughter.

Maunday was a CGSC student in 2005. He called the institution a premier one that encourages analytical and creative thought to focus on unknown emerging threats. For him, attending CGSC was a year of professional and personal growth, and he encouraged students to implement the knowledge they've learned.

"As you rejoin organizations across the globe, you'll recognize the importance of the analytical and creative thinking talents developed here," he said.

Inductees into the International Hall of Fame are presented gifts from the Greater Kansas City Chapter of the Military Order of the World Wars and the CGSC Foundation. Former students also have the chance to visit Fort Leavenworth and get in touch with their former sponsors. Each student is sponsored by families in the United States, who help the visiting officers become acclimated to American culture while attending CGSC.

Perkins gave special thanks to the U.S. sponsors of foreign officers at CGSC.

"Thanks for what you do for our international students, our Army and our nation, because you are a huge influence -- an ambassador of goodwill for our nation," he told sponsors attending the ceremony.