Özgür Erken joined the Turkish Navy in 1989. After graduating from Naval Academy with a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering, he specialized in surface warfare and weapons systems.
As a junior officer, he served as AAW Officer onboard frigates and Weapons Officer onboard fast patrol boats.
Upon completion of a Master’s Degree in Operations Research from Naval Postgraduate School in 2002, he was appointed as a Methods and Standards Engineer at the İstanbul Naval Shipyard, where he supported scheduling of ship construction and workforce planning.
After serving as Executive Officer onboard the fast patrol boat TCG VOLKAN, he attended the Naval War College from 2006 through 2008, where he achieved a Master’s Degree in Defence and Security Affairs.
Following his graduation, he served as the Operations and Training Branch Head at the Northern Sea Area Command, where he was mainly responsible for planning, conducting and evaluating exercises in Black Sea and monitoring the implementation of Montreux Convention over the Turkish Straits. During his term, he attended the Turkish Armed Forces College, focusing on strategic level planning, and advanced defence strategies.
Between 2017 and 2020 he was the Naval Branch Head of the NATO Standardization Office (NSO) where he was responsible for developing standards for all NATO Member Navies.
Following his post in NSO, he was assigned as Secretary General of the Turkish Naval Forces, organizing and coordinating high level activities, visits and meetings.
Upon promotion to his present rank in August 2022, he was appointed as Deputy Chief of Staff for Support at the Allied Maritime Command (MARCOM) in Northwood, UK.
He is married to Arzu ERKEN and they have two children.