Here is the dissenting opinion of the 4 commanders who opposed the dismissal of the lieutenants

The dissenting opinion of the 4 members of the Land Forces Command High Disciplinary Board, who objected to the dismissal of 5 of the hundreds of lieutenants from the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) on charges of "indiscipline" after they crossed swords and recited the Officer's Oath among themselves following the official graduation ceremony of the Military Academy, declaring "We are the soldiers of Mustafa Kemal," has been revealed.

The President of the High Disciplinary Board, the Chief of Staff of the Land Forces Command, the Head of Legal Services, the Head of Logistics, and a Personnel Colonel opposed the dismissal of the lieutenants from the TSK based on the following grounds:

SAYING "WE ARE THE SOLDIERS OF MUSTAFA KEMAL"

"Article 13 of the TSK Internal Service Law defines military service as 'absolute obedience to laws, regulations, and superiors, and respect for the rights of subordinates and superiors,' emphasizing that discipline is the foundation of military service. Article 1 of the TSK Disciplinary Law states that the purpose of this Law is to determine the procedures and principles regarding the establishment, preservation, and maintenance of an effective disciplinary system within the Turkish Armed Forces. Clause (c) of the first paragraph of Article 20 of the same Law lists 'engaging in behavior that hinders service' among the disciplinary offenses requiring the penalty of separation from the Armed Forces, defining it as 'engaging in attitudes and behaviors that damage the reputation of the State and the Turkish Armed Forces, or committing acts that constitute serious crimes or indiscipline.' When we return to the incident within the scope of the aforementioned legislative provisions; considering the attributed actions, the requests made by the class president and his senior cadet friends to change the ceremony speech planned by the class president to commemorate a deceased cadet classmate, and to recite an oath that was not in the program and had been removed from the legislation, fall within the scope of the provision that 'Every soldier shall make requests regarding official and personal matters verbally or in writing, starting from the nearest superior through the chain of command.' These requests were denied each time, and an order was given that the oath contained in the currently effective National Defense University Ceremony Directive would be recited at the official ceremony. Indeed, the oath in the effective directive was recited at the August 30 official ceremony. There was no known and specific order regarding the service stating that the aforementioned oath would not be recited at the end of the official ceremony. The statement 'We are the soldiers of Mustafa Kemal' made at the end of the official ceremony and the content of the recited oath do not constitute a violation of the law when considering Article 2 of the Constitution and the articles of the Military Academy Law, and therefore, they were rightly not made the subject of a disciplinary investigation. On the other hand, when the fact that the aforementioned oath was recited by some cadets, albeit in an unplanned manner, during the celebration held the previous night is taken into account and evaluated together, the personnel's action cannot be accepted as an attitude or behavior that would damage the reputation of the State and the TSK, or as an act constituting a serious crime or indiscipline. Consequently, it would not constitute the 'behavior hindering service' that requires the penalty of separation from the Armed Forces. An acceptance to the contrary would not be in accordance with the principle of 'proportionality,' which includes the sub-principles of proportionality, necessity, and suitability, nor would it be in accordance with equity. Therefore, as we are of the conscientious opinion that it should be decided that there is no room for imposing the penalty of separation from the Armed Forces on the personnel, we do not agree with the opinion of the majority to the contrary."

Müyesser YILDIZ

February 4, 2025