Lieutenant dismissed after sword oath becomes a grocer: 'Some have attempted suicide'

Five of the lieutenants who recited the officer's oath and chanted "We are the soldiers of Mustafa Kemal" following the Military Academy graduation ceremony, along with 3 commanders, had been referred to the High Disciplinary Board.

The Ministry of National Defense announced on January 30, 2025, that a total of 8 individuals had been discharged from the Turkish Armed Forces.

Sözcü newspaper Ankara Representative Saygı Öztürk shared information with the public that he included in his upcoming book titled "We Are Lieutenants / The Inside Story of the TSK Dismissals." Öztürk stated that he meets with the dismissed lieutenants regularly and is following the process closely.

Stating that he requested photos of the lieutenants in uniform for his book, Öztürk used the following expressions:

“One of our lieutenants said, ‘I had my uniform washed and ironed, and I put it aside. I look at it every day, and I believe that one day I will definitely return.’ This lieutenant, who lives in Gaziantep, is currently working as a grocer. Our state spent money for years, trained and raised these people. If you ask what these lieutenants, who were left on the street on their happiest day, are doing, one of them is currently working as a grocer.”

In his statement, Saygı Öztürk noted that the state had allocated significant resources to the training of this personnel for many years, stating, “Our state spent money for years, trained and raised these people. Were these people raised to become grocers?”

IT WAS ANNOUNCED THAT SOME ATTEMPTED SUICIDE

Stating that the social and psychological process experienced after the dismissal has had severe consequences for some lieutenants, Öztürk said the following:

“Our lieutenants are experiencing very tragic, heartbreaking events. Some have even attempted suicide. I could not hold back my tears while listening to them.”

Sözcü newspaper Ankara Representative Saygı Öztürk stated that he has included all the experiences of the dismissed lieutenants in detail in his new book and that the process will be presented to the public in all its aspects.