What Were the Lieutenants Going to Do the Day Before?

Following the graduation ceremony of the Military Academy, we are once again witnessing some people enjoying the irresistible pleasure of military-bashing over the celebration event organized by the lieutenants among themselves.

A former AKP deputy spoke out, and a pro-government columnist published what he said without feeling the need to filter it through any sieve.

According to the former deputy's claim, the school commander and some other high-ranking military officers did not attend the graduation ceremony, using the excuse that they were on leave. Therefore, the commanders needed to be thoroughly investigated. While demanding an investigation, he also practically delivered his verdict. He said;

“The relevant commander is not present at such an important ceremony. Is such a thing acceptable in the Republic of Turkey or in any country? If it is known that the President will attend, that person would be brought by private jet even if they were on the other side of the world. This situation shows that there may be some pro-NATO Western fingers and FETÖ behind this... The fact that the school commander was not there and the program flow was arranged in this way cannot be just the work of the lieutenants. There is a greater mind and plan behind this. If a real investigation is to be conducted, the real powers behind this incident, along with the lieutenants, must also be investigated. This situation should not be closed as a minor issue.”

Although we know that such a thing would be impossible except in life-or-death situations, we asked and inquired.

Everyone Was There

First of all, let us underline the following:

First; the Military Academy Commander changed with the Supreme Military Council (YAŞ) decisions made on August 1 this year. The incumbent Commander Gültekin Yaralı was promoted to Lieutenant General and appointed as the Commander of the 7th Corps in Diyarbakır. The new Military Academy Commander became Brigadier General Levent Sabahattin Güldağı. In other words, Erdoğan appointed both the incoming and outgoing commanders.

Second; since both commanders started their new duties as of August 30, Lieutenant General Yaralı was no longer the School Commander on the day the ceremony was held. The new Commander, Güldağı, did not take part in the ceremony area as he did not participate in the ceremony rehearsals that lasted about 20 days. Instead, the Acting Regiment Commander was present in the ceremony area.

To get to the point; we learned that both the outgoing and incoming commanders watched the graduation ceremony from the stands, behind Erdoğan.

We are used to some people taking advantage of the opportunity to make such wild accusations, but the silence of the Ministry of National Defense (MSB) in the face of such a grave claim is incomprehensible.

A similar approach was experienced when the Company Commander, Major M., was declared a “scapegoat.” It was claimed that Major M. resigned upon realizing that the investigation into the lieutenants would reach him. However, it was known that Major M. had decided to leave the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) long ago for entirely family-related reasons, but the authorities did not say a word.

Ultimately, CHP's Deputy Chairman responsible for the Ministry of National Defense, retired Admiral Yankı Bağcıoğlu, brought the issue to the agenda and asked, “Why is it allowed to create a perception by associating the resignation with the graduation oath, even though it is known that our company commander major made this decision long ago for personal reasons and even said goodbye to the cadets a few days before the ceremony?” Although 9 days have passed since this question by Bağcıoğlu, no explanation has been deemed necessary yet.

Major M Was Also Called to Testify

Let us come to the latest situation in the investigation regarding the lieutenants.

The investigation is being carried out on two fronts: one regarding the Military Academy administration and the other regarding the lieutenants.

The investigation into the school administration is being conducted by the National Defense University and the MSB Legal Services Directorate, while the investigation into the lieutenants is being conducted by the Training and Doctrine Command (EDOK), which is affiliated with the Land Forces Command.

The investigation regarding the lieutenants has not yet been officially initiated because they only joined the class schools to which they were assigned for adaptation training just 1 week ago. However, it is stated that the EDOK Commander visited these schools and met with the lieutenants, saying, “I will not ask you any questions. When the team that will conduct the investigation arrives, they will have plenty of questions.”

The information we obtained regarding the investigation into the school administration is as follows:

First of all, the identities of the lieutenants who drew their swords and recited the officer's oath were determined and recorded. It was also noted in the report that “no expression or action constituting a criminal element was encountered by the lieutenants, and only a lack of discipline was in question.”

In this investigation, which is proceeding quite rapidly, the knowledge of all administrators at the school was consulted. Finally, Major M., who left the TSK, was also called to testify.

What Were the Commanders Asked?

In the investigation at the Military Academy, in addition to questions such as when, how, and by whom the graduation ceremony program was prepared, and whether any lack of discipline occurred during the 20-day rehearsals, the commanders were asked the following:

“Did you know that the lieutenants would do such a thing? If you knew, why didn't you take precautions?”

The claim is that, upon this question, the commanders said, “We heard rumors that they would hold a celebration among themselves on the 29th, one day before the ceremony, but we did not intervene and let it happen.”

Think about it; if it is true, the commanders who did not even allow a possible celebration that the lieutenants would hold among themselves a day before are being declared “pro-NATO, pro-FETÖ” in advance.

Under these conditions, who among them, from lieutenant to general, would have any morale or motivation left?!