Çağlar Mengü (1989–2008) was a private who completed his military service within the Turkish Armed Forces. He was martyred in 2008 during an armed attack on the Aktütün border outpost in the Şemdinli district of Hakkâri.^【1】

Çağlar Mengü was born into a family that had migrated from Mesudiye district in Ordu province to Istanbul. He spent much of his childhood and adolescence in the Fikirtepe neighborhood of Istanbul’s Kadıköy district.

His father, Azimet Mengü, is a former football player and coach, and he has an older brother named Sercan. While continuing his education, Mengü worked at his father’s grocery shop and earned additional income by painting shoes, contributing to the family’s economy.^【2】

Influenced by his father’s background in coaching and sports, Mengü turned to football at an early age. Throughout his sporting career, he played in the youth academies of clubs including Kartalspor, Maltepespor, and Dolayobaspor. During his youth, he earned the title of top scorer in the U14 and U16 teams. When he reached conscription age, despite receiving an offer to play in the super-amateur league with Dolayobaspor, he chose to prioritize his military service and put his professional sports career on hold.^【3】

In 2008, after turning 19, Mengü began his military service and completed basic training in Hatay. He was then deployed to the Aktütün outpost in Şemdinli district of Hakkâri for duty with a master unit.

^{Çağlar Mengü} (Yeni Şafak)

Initially assigned as a medical unit attendant, he requested a transfer to the more critical Albayrak upper sector of the outpost by his own initiative. On 3 October 2008, during an attack by a terrorist group of approximately 250 to 300 fighters on the Aktütün outpost, he was killed while serving at an anti-aircraft position. In the three-hour-long clash, Mengü and 17 other Turkish soldiers lost their lives.^【4】

Çağlar Mengü’s funeral was held at the family graveyard within the Karacaahmet Cemetery in Istanbul’s Üsküdar district.^【5】In memory of his sacrifice, an educational institution named "Şehit Er Çağlar Mengü Anadolu İmam Hatip Lisesi" was established in Maltepe district of Istanbul in 2009.^【6】The school continues its educational activities under the authority of the Ministry of National Education.