Lieutenant Colonel Halit’s marathon to return to the TSK

A true legal marathon took place in the lawsuit filed for the cancellation of the dismissal decision against Staff Lieutenant Colonel Halit Türkoğlu, the Battalion Commander at the time, who was unanimously dismissed from the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) by the Ministry of National Defense's High Disciplinary Board on the grounds that he did not prevent the lieutenants from crossing their swords and reciting the Officer's Oath—which had been removed from regulations—and saying “We are the soldiers of Mustafa Kemal” following the conclusion of the official part of the 2024 graduation ceremony of the Military Academy.

Lieutenant Colonel Türkoğlu, who was dismissed from the TSK on January 16, 2025, following a process completed in approximately 4 months, did not seek a stay of execution and filed a lawsuit directly with the Administrative Court for the cancellation of the decision.

The Ankara 10th Administrative Court heard Lieutenant Colonel Türkoğlu, his lawyer Cengiz Demirtaş, and the Ministry of National Defense (MSB) lawyers at the hearing held on December 11.

“Like Those Left Behind in the Field”

I also observed the hearing of Lieutenant Colonel Türkoğlu, just as I did for the then-Acting School Commander Colonel Alper Topsakal and the lieutenants, who were also decided to be dismissed due to the same incident.

What happened?

First, his lawyer Cengiz Demirtaş presented the defense. He explained that Lieutenant Colonel Türkoğlu was a successful commander, had served as the Chief of Staff to the Land Forces Commander, had started his duty at the Military Academy only a very short time before the ceremony, and had rejected the lieutenants' request to recite the Officer's Oath during the official part of the graduation ceremony, and continued as follows:

“Halit Türkoğlu is being accused of, ‘Why didn't you take precautions for after the ceremony?’ After he rejected the request, the lieutenants went to the Dean and the Deputy Dean. But he has no knowledge of this. Why doesn't the Dean report, ‘These lieutenants came twice,’ and why is he not asked anything? The ceremony is over, it's the final minutes, the front of the battalion is blocked due to security, there is congestion, families are arriving. He cannot be expected to foresee these and take precautions. If there is a serious disciplinary offense on August 30, why wait until September 6? There is politics involved. Let's assume he didn't foresee it; the dismissal of such a successful officer is a disproportionate sanction.”

Lieutenant Colonel Halit Türkoğlu also limited himself to saying, “I said it in the High Disciplinary Board as well; 13-year-old Halit Türkoğlu had dreams. To be a role model for my subordinates, I adopted an attitude in everything I did that would make them look at me with envy and carry out the orders I gave without questioning and with belief. I worked weekends, day and night. However, I faced this painful situation in the TSK to which we gave our lives. What is painful is this; we were left alone, we became like those left behind in the field.”

The MSB lawyers, on the other hand, stated that all procedures carried out were in accordance with the regulations and requested that the cancellation request be rejected.

No Intelligence... A Brilliant Record

While decisions are normally announced within 1.5-2 months in administrative courts, this was not the case in Lieutenant Colonel Türkoğlu's lawsuit; the court requested a large amount of information and documents from the Ministry of National Defense with the interim decisions it took. For this reason, it concluded the case only on May 20, approximately 6 months later, and notified the parties the day before yesterday.

What did the court ask the MSB?

Primarily and in summary, the following:

“Were any intelligence reports received regarding before or after the ceremony?.. On what is the assumption based that the Battalion Commander could have known that the lieutenants would recite the oath?.. What is the basis for the determination that the reputation of the TSK was damaged?.. Was any planning made regarding after the ceremony, and if so, to whom does the authority and duty belong?.. In terms of regulations, when is the graduation ceremony considered to have started and ended?..”

The MSB, which reported that no intelligence report was received regarding before or after the ceremony, based the assumption that Lieutenant Colonel Türkoğlu could have known that the lieutenants would recite the oath on the statements of the School Commander, the Rector of the National Defense University, the Dean, and the Deputy Dean, and the fact that the lieutenants recited the oath at the celebration the night before. Regarding the damage to the reputation of the TSK, it pointed to the discussions in the public opinion and claimed that “the TSK's loyalty to Atatürk was being questioned.”

The MSB, which accepted that the graduation ceremony started with the presentation of the ceremonial unit and ended with the ceremonial march, that Lieutenant Colonel Türkoğlu had no involvement in the ceremony program because he was newly appointed, and that no planning was made regarding after the ceremony, still argued that Lieutenant Colonel Türkoğlu “should have planned matters not included in the ceremony order, given orders to his subordinates regarding after the ceremony, and followed the lieutenants until they exited the school's gate.”

The Administrative Court, with another interim decision it took, also requested from the MSB the list of personnel assigned to the graduation ceremony.

It was understood that Lieutenant Colonel Türkoğlu's name was not on the list sent by the MSB, and that the Support Services Command was responsible for ensuring security, order, and discipline in the stadium where the oath was recited, and that this command was assigned.

“That He Could Be a Model for Military Academy Students”

With its final interim decision dated March 31, the court also requested Lieutenant Colonel Türkoğlu's service records from previous years from the MSB. It was seen that the following was written in Türkoğlu's service summary forms:

“2021: A very hardworking and self-sacrificing personnel with a high sense of duty, who is constantly in an effort to improve himself, and is wholeheartedly devoted to the TSK... 2023: He is at an exemplary level in terms of both his professional knowledge and work discipline; his commitment to professional values and sense of responsibility are high. His representation ability is at a high level. Considering the qualifications he possesses and his professional career, it is evaluated that it would be appropriate to evaluate him in the duty of Military Academy Battalion Commander, thinking that he could be a model for Military Academy students... 2024: He is an excellent officer who works effectively, uses initiative, is practical; has high planning, coordination, and execution ability, as well as leadership and command qualities, and has a strong social side. In addition to his staff experience, he also possesses troop and operational experience.”

Based on these notes, the Court, which determined that Lieutenant Colonel Türkoğlu did not have a personality that could carry out the act of “engaging in behaviors that hinder service,” which was the reason for his dismissal from the TSK, also drew attention to the fact that Türkoğlu served as an Executive Officer in the Land Forces Command Chief of Staff office in 2023-2024 before being appointed to the Military Academy.

After all these findings of information and documents, the Court, which concluded that there was a state of indiscipline due to his negligent behavior by not taking the necessary precautions regarding the non-recitation of the abolished oath, and that this fell within the scope of “disciplinary offenses requiring a salary cut penalty,” unanimously canceled the dismissal decision.

One member of the court, however, dissented from the reasoning of the cancellation decision, arguing that Lieutenant Colonel Türkoğlu had no negligent behavior at all.

Lieutenant Colonel Halit Türkoğlu had said in his final words at the hearing on December 11, “My wife is also a soldier. I want to return to duty, to work together.”

Hopefully, the MSB will not appeal the decision, and this excellent officer will continue to serve the TSK and the Turkish Nation shoulder to shoulder with his wife to the end.

Müyesser YILDIZ

June 21, 2026