Do not harm the lieutenants, gentlemen!...

Speaking on a television program the other evening, Minister of National Defense Yaşar Güler pointed to November 25 as the date for the fate of the lieutenants who are under investigation for gathering among themselves after the Military Academy graduation ceremony, crossing their swords, and reciting the Officer's Oath, declaring, "We are the soldiers of Mustafa Kemal."

If he has not forgotten what the spirit of being a lieutenant is in the last 40 years, Minister Güler, who is among the names who know it best and who always prides himself on his Atatürkism, explained the situation regarding the lieutenants as follows:

"There is a legal process, and this legal process takes 2 months and 10 days. The lieutenants graduated on August 30, and their ties to the Military Academies were already severed that day. They had a 15-day grace period. On September 15, they started their duties at their respective branch schools. Therefore, the 2-month and 10-day process began as of September 15. When we add 2 months and 10 days to September 15, we as a society need to wait patiently until November 25. But our view as the TAF (Turkish Armed Forces) regarding these situations is that discipline is always the priority. Currently, the disciplinary process is ongoing. We will make the decision at the High Disciplinary Board."

Excuse me, but what "legal process"?!

Until last year, that oath was recited and swords were crossed in the official part of the graduation ceremonies, in the presence of Erdoğan...

After the oath was banned, the lieutenants who graduated last year also gathered after the official ceremony and repeated this ritual...

There was no problem, and it was not considered a lack of discipline. But this year, it was suddenly understood that this was a "crime"!

Aside from all this; didn't Erdoğan, a week before the investigation process even began, declare the verdict that would be or should be given by saying, "Who are you drawing these swords against?... Those few ignorant people there will be cleaned up, God willing... This could be 30 people, it could be 50 people. Whoever they are, it is impossible for them to be in our army. We will clean them up... We have held our meetings with the Land Forces and the Ministry of National Defense regarding this matter."?!

After the President's decision, who has the audacity to make another one?

We hope to be wrong; but don't the words of Minister Yaşar Güler also lead to the conclusion that the "guilty" lieutenants have been identified, that their files will come to the Land Forces Command High Disciplinary Board on November 25, and that they will be dismissed from the TAF for "lack of discipline," meaning this pre-determined verdict will be made official?

WHAT WAS SAID TO THE COMMANDERS?

The "legal process" is ongoing and "we as a society need to wait patiently until November 25"; but don't the following points also show the end of the road from top to bottom?

After the footage was released, the prosecutor's offices issued a series of "no grounds for prosecution" decisions regarding the criminal complaints filed against the insults and profanities directed at the lieutenants, primarily the top graduate of the Military Academy, Ebru Eroğlu...

At the beginning of the investigation, we announced that all battalion and company commanders, including the Chief of Staff of the Military Academy, were placed under the command of the Command and new appointments were made in their place. Do you know what happened even though no responsibility of the commanders was determined after their statements were taken? The School Commander, who gathered them last week, said, "You have no fault. We all know this, but there is nothing we can do. Your assignments will be issued at the end of the month."

THE LIEUTENANTS FOLLOWED ORDERS

Let's get to the crux of the investigation.

According to allegations; the commanders explained in their statements that they had received information that the lieutenants would recite the Officer's Oath by crossing swords at the official ceremony, and upon this, they were ordered, first to the top graduate Ebru Eroğlu and then to the entire battalion, "You will not do this," and they replied, "Yes, sir." The lieutenants who were heard as witnesses also confirmed this.

It is suggested that the decision to be made regarding the lieutenants will be based heavily on these statements.

But even so, what kind of lack of discipline can be spoken of here? They obeyed the commanders' orders and did not do it at the official ceremony, but performed it among themselves later. If the footage had not been released, perhaps none of us would have even known about it!..

Let us also note that it was determined during the investigation process that this was not an "organized movement," but on the contrary, it was understood that the lieutenants acted with a "herd mentality."

''WHAT IS THIS COMPARED TO OTHER DISCIPLINARY ISSUES?''

The CHP's Deputy Chairman responsible for National Defense policies, retired Admiral Yankı Bağcıoğlu, made this important statement recently:

"Following the treacherous coup attempt on July 15, 2016, radical changes were made in the military education system within the Turkish Armed Forces, as in many state institutions. However, some decisions made in haste unfortunately caused serious wounds in the structure of the Turkish military education system. These changes not only lowered the quality of military education but also led to the damage of our army-nation tradition and our centuries-old institutional culture... Some hasty decisions made after July 15 due to concerns about the coup attempt and security anxieties caused military education to be severed from its historical roots. In this process, military high schools were closed, and Military Academies, War Colleges, and Vocational Schools for Non-Commissioned Officers were gathered under the roof of the National Defense University, established under the Ministry of National Defense. These schools, which once provided education specifically in line with the needs of each force command, were structured under the Ministry of National Defense, managed by a civilian rector, and in a way that lost their organic ties with the force commands. As a result of this new structure, military education institutions were deprived of the direct guidance and supervision opportunities of the General Staff and force commands. The breaking of the hierarchical bond has damaged the fundamental principles of military education and disrupted the 'education-practice-feedback' process, which is one of the most important elements of our army-nation tradition."

The findings of those involved in the investigation process regarding the lieutenants are no different.

They say, "What is this? There are such disciplinary issues in the schools... No one bothers to deal with them so as not to get into trouble. When it is pursued, the defense of the platoon-company commanders is taken."

WHAT DID THEY DO FOR LIEUTENANT M.G.Ö.?

Let us end with a striking example showing what the authorities are dealing with, despite this picture.

On October 29, we wrote about why and how Lieutenant M.G.Ö. got himself expelled from the Tuzla Infantry School.

To summarize briefly; following the events that occurred when a lieutenant refused to wear Atatürk's photograph at the November 10 Atatürk Commemoration Ceremony at the Tuzla Infantry School last year, as a result of the investigation, not only the lieutenant who did not wear the Atatürk photograph and the one who supported him were expelled by the decision of the Land Forces Command High Disciplinary Board, but he also committed a "disciplinary crime" by not going to work 5-6 days a week to protest the process of expelling those who reacted to them, thus ensuring his own dismissal from the TAF.

We learned that; after our article, the Land Forces Command requested the schedule of the dates on which Lieutenant M.G.Ö. committed disciplinary offenses from the Tuzla Infantry School. In other words, they investigated whether M.G.Ö.'s disciplinary offenses overlapped with the dates of the investigation process regarding the other lieutenants.

The result? It was seen that they overlapped!..

In short; do not harm the lieutenants, address the real problems, gentlemen!..

Müyesser YILDIZ

November 14, 2024