Atatürk, Marksmanship, and Yusuf Dikeç...

He was in exile in Damascus.

Despite being in exile, he quickly gained the respect of his subordinates and superiors.

Who, you ask?

We are talking about Captain Mustafa Kemal, of course.

The time was approaching 1907.

Abdülhamid had authorized marksmanship training in the army.

Do not be surprised. Until that time, Abdülhamid did not allow marksmanship training in the armies. Soldiers were spending their time with empty rifles. When Abdülhamid sent an order to every barracks in the Empire for shooting practice, a marksmanship manual began to be sought to implement this order. At that time, many manuals for shooting training had been written all over the world—in Germany, England, and France—but the Turks did not have their own manual.

Syria, the 5th Army in Damascus, was a large army.

This issue was discussed in the Training Branch of the Damascus 5th Army Staff Department. The head of the army's Training Branch was Colonel Şeref Bey. Also present in this branch were an officer named Selim Bey, Major Esat Bey, and Staff Captain Müfit (Özdeş).

Colonel Şeref Bey decided that a regulation (manual) should be written to fulfill this order from Abdülhamid. But who would prepare this manual? A decision was made at that meeting, and Staff Captain Mustafa Kemal was tasked with preparing the manual.

Mustafa Kemal immediately went to the Damascus Zahiriye library. There were many Turkish works there. He researched the library, searched and scanned for days, and finally found what he was looking for. The Turks had written a marksmanship manual before anyone else and gifted it to the world. This is what Mustafa Kemal was looking for. And when he found it, he rejoiced as if he had reached the treasure he sought.

The information and documents he found were Turkish works that could date back hundreds of years. Even Europeans had benefited greatly from these and used these books as a basis when preparing their own manuals. In light of the information he found, Mustafa Kemal prepared an annotated marksmanship manual. He made simple wooden shooting equipment, which the first Turkish states had discovered and used. While preparing the manual, he did not consult any Western sources and drew all his inspiration from the old Turkish works he found in the libraries of Damascus. This manual was put into practice as a program, and not only the 5th Army but all units of the Ottoman State benefited from it.

That day, Atatürk reminded the Turkish soldier of the marksmanship ability they had forgotten/had been made to forget.

He showed that marksmanship ability was higher among Turks.

More than a hundred years have passed, and once again, a soldier, a Gendarmerie Petty Officer, emerged and captivated the whole world with the medal he won at the Olympics and the shooting technique he displayed. He reminded everyone that marksmanship ability is a skill unique to Turks. He practically declared it to the whole world.

He also made a reference to Atatürk in a speech.

While we, as the Turkish Nation, are forgetting and being made to forget Atatürk and his marksmanship technique.

Atatürk wrote 8 books/booklets.

It is not well known, but he wrote his 9th, and his first, in Damascus, in exile.

That is; the marksmanship manual.