Ministry of National Defense's defense regarding the lieutenants: 'They damaged the reputation of the TSK in the eyes of the nation'

The Ministry of National Defense (MSB) has submitted its defense for the first time in the lawsuits filed for the stay of execution and cancellation of the dismissal of 5 lieutenants who were expelled from the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) on charges of "lack of discipline" for reciting the Officer's Oath—which had been removed from the regulations—and declaring "We are the soldiers of Mustafa Kemal" after clashing swords among themselves following the official part of the Military Academy graduation ceremony.

While it was noted that the MSB's defense used phrases such as, "It is natural for the TSK to remove from its structure those agents who disrupt its service, damage its administrative mechanism, and harm the execution of the public service it has undertaken," it was also claimed that through this action, the lieutenants caused "a division to begin in society, led to the TSK's loyalty to Mustafa Kemal Atatürk being questioned in a way it never deserved, and thus it is understood that the reputation of the TSK has been damaged in the eyes of the nation."

At the beginning of the written defense sent to the court by the MSB Legal Consultancy regarding the lawsuit filed by Combat Lieutenant Deniz Demirtaş and his lawyers, the TSK's unique understanding of discipline was explained as follows:

"In this context, it is natural for the TSK to remove from its structure those agents who disrupt its service, damage its administrative mechanism, and harm the execution of the public service it has undertaken... The legal interest protected by the 'dismissal from the Armed Forces' penalty is the maintenance of discipline in the fulfillment of superior public functions and services, and the protection of the rights of the administration and society against those who hold public power. Here, it was not required that the reputation of the state and the TSK be damaged as a result of the attitude and behavior; even the danger of such damage was deemed sufficient."

THEY FOLLOWED THE ORDERS GIVEN, BUT

As the defense continued with findings regarding the lieutenants' actions, it was confessed through the statements in the administrative investigation report conducted by the National Defense University that they did not actually commit any lack of discipline:

"It was determined that the ceremony was planned within the scope of existing regulations and orders were issued, that additions and changes were made to the orders when necessary, and that rehearsals were carried out intensively in accordance with the issued orders; however, other subordinate elements, outside of the School Command's order, did not issue a more comprehensive order. Therefore, the fact that it was not determined with which command or criteria they would enter the stadium from outside after the ceremony ended, and which personnel from the battalion would be on duty at this stage, and that no work was done in this regard during the rehearsals, contributed to the occurrence of this incident. No activity different from the issued order was carried out in either the issued orders or the rehearsals performed, and no issue deviating from the ceremony order was detected at any stage of the work. Furthermore, except for the day of the ceremony, no definitive and objective evidence was found regarding any activity by the cadets that did not comply with the ceremony program and its nature, other than the work and rehearsals for the ceremony. Regarding the collective recitation of the oath, which was not in the ceremony program or regulations, by some graduated lieutenants after the August 30 ceremony, it was stated that there was an opinion that the sequential unit commanders had negligence, intent, and fault during the pre-ceremony rehearsal phase, during the ceremony, and after the ceremony, and that it would be appropriate to conduct a disciplinary investigation against those concerned."

In summary, it was stated that there was no order or regulation regarding the period after the ceremony.

Immediately afterward, it was explained that as a result of the disciplinary investigation, the lieutenants were referred to the High Disciplinary Board "with the opinion that this act, which they performed out of program and without permission in a military area (ceremony area) while being present at the planning stage of the recitation of the aforementioned oath, could constitute the disciplinary offense of 'engaging in behavior that hinders service'."

Regarding the accusation by the lieutenants' lawyers that some information and documents requested with the investigation report were not provided to them, the MSB cited the reasons of "protection of personal data and that the information and documents available in the file were deemed sufficient."

THEY DIMINISHED THE VALUE OF THE PHRASE "WE ARE THE SOLDIERS OF MUSTAFA KEMAL"

Stating that all procedures in the dismissal process of the lieutenants were carried out in accordance with the procedures and principles in the regulations, the MSB emphasized in its defense on the merits that "the yeast of the TSK's successful execution of all kinds of tasks on 3 continents and in 7 climates for the establishment of global peace and stability consists of discipline and a military atmosphere," and then noted the following:

"The recitation of the oath, which was removed from the ceremony directive, outside of the official ceremony cannot be evaluated as a lack of discipline as a phenomenon. Furthermore, the phrase 'We are the soldiers of Mustafa Kemal,' which expresses loyalty to Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, to whom every cadet should be wholeheartedly attached, is not a lack of discipline. The Great Leader Mustafa Kemal Atatürk is the common value of our nation and our state and cannot be discussed. However, when acts that are innocent, legitimate, and even possible to encourage when evaluated individually are evaluated in terms of the integrity of the action, the way it occurred, its purposes, and the results it created, it is indisputable that it can be accepted as a lack of discipline. In this concrete case, when each is evaluated individually; the acts related to the fundamental values of the TSK and the Military Academy, when evaluated within the integrity of the action in terms of the process starting from days before the ceremony day, the planning detected during the investigation, and the way the incident occurred, will be accepted as a protest behavior and lack of discipline that could create a sense of opposition in society, create a perception that the values in the content of the oath known as the officer's oath are excluded, and consequently cause the TSK to be discussed. Undoubtedly, using the phrase 'We are the soldiers of Mustafa Kemal,' which expresses loyalty to Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, in a protest action that is outside its purpose and contains opposition, would not only be a lack of discipline but also a behavior that diminishes the value of the phrase."

THEY ALSO CREATED AN OPINION AS IF THE SOLDIER'S OATH WAS WORTHLESS

At the end of the defense, it was summarized as follows:

"Considering the dimension and negative effects of the lack of discipline that emerged when Lieutenant Ebru Eroğlu made an announcement in a way that everyone could hear while the ceremony had just ended, the protocol had not left the school, and the press members had not left the ceremony area, and then had the oath that was removed from the directive recited from memory as she planned by using the crowd, it was seen that it reached a dimension and weight that would damage the reputation of the TSK, and the TSK was exposed to unfair accusations in the public eye for months. It is understood that with the lack of discipline that started with the use of the crowd's excitement and its transformation into an action, and due to the effect created by this plan, a division began in society from that date on, the TSK, which emerged from the bosom of the nation, had its loyalty to Mustafa Kemal Atatürk questioned in a way it never deserved, and thus the reputation of the TSK was damaged in the eyes of the nation. It should be noted that the change regarding the oath that would not be recited at the graduation ceremony starting from 2023 is the recitation of the ancient 'Soldier's Oath' made regarding the soldier title of every Turkish Soldier, instead of the oath recited at graduation ceremonies since 1995. In other words, a less valuable text has not been accepted in place of the oath removed from the directive. Due to the action subject to the incident, it also caused an opinion to be formed in society as if the soldier's oath was worthless."

THE LIEUTENANTS DID NOT SUFFER DAMAGE

Stating that the dismissal was in accordance with the law for all these reasons, the MSB argued that the lieutenants did not suffer any irreparable or impossible damage and requested that the case be dismissed.

The lieutenants did not suffer any damage, is that so?

Let's give a single example. Compensation of around 450-500 thousand liras was issued for each of them; the father of one of the lieutenants had to withdraw the money he had accumulated in the private pension system to pay this compensation!..

Müyesser YILDIZ

April 28, 2025