What happened to the lieutenant who wrote the officer's oath?

Efforts to frame the lieutenants' graduation ceremony—where they crossed their swords, recited the traditional officer's oath, and shouted "We are the soldiers of Mustafa Kemal"—as an act of tutelage or a coup attempt continue.

Five days after Erdoğan announced that 30-50 lieutenants would be "cleansed, God willing," sources from the Ministry of National Defense once again stated that the matter was being "investigated and examined with great diligence and sensitivity," and that "according to the findings of the investigation, necessary actions will be taken against personnel who have intent, fault, negligence, or responsibility."

While the Ministry of National Defense says these things, the pro-government media has not stopped passing judgment and offering unsolicited advice.

For example, they suggested: "One needs to look carefully at the officers at the Team-Company-Battalion-Regiment Command level who are in a position to give orders and encourage the lieutenants, as well as those on the outside."

Furthermore, they claimed that when pressure was put on the Company Commander, Major M., he requested his retirement, and reported that "the focus is on the connections of the battalion senior lieutenant and the group around him with those on the outside, and their contacts with retired officers are being examined." They even determined that the lieutenants "were rehearsing the oath, which has not been recited since 2016, outside during their leave time"!..

First, let us share the information we have obtained regarding some of these allegations.

Since the lieutenants are still on leave, none of them have been consulted. This process can only take place after the 15th of the month, and the investigation will likely begin at the Polatlı Artillery School, where the top-ranking graduate, Ebru Eroğlu, who led the recitation of that oath, will also begin her duty.

In the meantime, some arrangements have been made at the Military Academy to keep things tight for the future. Initially, it was planned to replace 10 team commanders who had recently started their duties. However, this was later abandoned, and additional team commanders were appointed from the outside, increasing the number of teams from the usual 15-20 to 35.

As for the situation of Company Commander Major M., who has been declared a scapegoat for days; he had decided to leave the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) 1 year ago entirely for family reasons. He implemented his decision to leave after settling his affairs. In fact, the search for a commander to replace him had already begun last February.

Is the one who wrote the oath a "FETÖ member"?

You may remember; the history of the oath recited after the lieutenants' ceremony was debated quite a bit. The pro-government media, which did not dwell on how long this had been recited, persistently claimed that it was removed after the July 15 coup attempt and was therefore "pirated."

We wrote, citing a retired General, that this oath was first penned by the top-ranking graduate in 1995, that it was recited with the approval of Regiment Commander Staff Colonel Eyüp Kaptan and School Commander Yaşar Büyükanıt, and that in the following years, a circular was issued by the General Staff for it to be recited at all graduation ceremonies, and it was recited until 2023.

Indeed, yesterday, Ministry of National Defense sources also announced that the oath was first added to the directive on January 29, 1999, to be recited at graduation ceremonies, and that the practice continued until the change made to the directive on March 29, 2023.

Here is the point: After our article, some writers, suspicious that we gave the name of the lieutenant who wrote the oath—whom we stated retired at the rank of colonel last year—both questioned why he retired and, based on some examples, hinted, "Could he be a FETÖ member?"

Then let us explain it clearly.

The general who explained the history of the oath did not withhold the lieutenant's name to hide anything, but because he truly did not know it. Even if he had known and told us, we would not have written it.

Upon those insinuations, we investigated and learned that this lieutenant retired entirely of his own will and volition, not because he was a "FETÖ member," but because he suffered grievances both during the "FETÖ" era and in the following years.

Not one, but two lieutenants wrote it

Let us provide two more pieces of historical information.

First; in 1995, that oath was co-authored by two lieutenants, not one. For those in the government camp who might be curious, let us state that the second lieutenant is not a "FETÖ member" either; he also retired of his own will and volition.

Second; the original version of the oath penned by these two lieutenants was as follows:

"We swear that; we will stand against those who reach out to the independence of the secular, democratic Republic of Turkey, the indivisible integrity of the country, the honor and dignity of the supreme Turkish nation, and even an inch of the sacred homeland, and our swords will always be sharp and ready. We are the children of the Turkish future. We were born with honor, we will live with honor, and we will die with honor. May our blood and our lives be sacrificed for this heavenly homeland."

In later years, a small change was made, and Atatürk's words "How happy is the one who says I am a Turk" were placed in place of the sentence "May our blood and our lives be sacrificed for this heavenly homeland."

To get to the point; everyone who opens their mouth emphasizes that they have no discomfort regarding Atatürk... Their feelings about the phrase "How happy is the one who says I am a Turk" are known; but since all the expressions in the oath are in the Constitution, I suppose they were not uncomfortable with them either...

The only justification they could find is that it is a "pirated oath"... How can an oath that has been recited for almost 30 years be pirated?!

Stop executing the lieutenants and first explain for what reason that oath was removed, and we will learn the real reason for this discomfort, shall we?!

How happy is the one who says I am a Turk.