It never ends: Another FETÖ memory

The Almighty keeps on giving.

What a collection of memories has accumulated.

Our paths have crossed quite a bit with the FETÖ organization, which is said to have a 40-year history.

If I were to write down the memories that remain in my mind, they would be enough to fill a novel.

I have written a few of them.

One of them was not published because it was found to be very risky, which was also for my own safety.

Perhaps it can be published in the future.

It especially came to my mind when I read this news.

“FETÖ confessor 'Secret Imams' reveal: They dilated the heart vessels of non-FETÖ pilots with blood pressure medication to eliminate them.”

The organization eliminated candidates who were entitled to enter the Petty Officer Vocational Schools, the War Academies, and the Military Academies but were not one of them, using medically false reports regarding their health status.

In this context, despite having no illnesses, these individuals were diagnosed with conditions such as "mitral valve prolapse," "high blood pressure," and "aortic dilation," leading to their discharge from the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) or their reassignment to passive duties. Not content with this, the organization also ensured a majority in the Military High Administrative Court (AYİM), which would hear these discharge cases, thereby ensuring that the lawsuits filed were rejected.”

In 2011-2012, while I was sitting in my office at the university, there was a knock at the door.

Young lieutenants in their official uniforms, holding their peaked caps, were lined up behind the door, wanting to speak with me, shy and hesitant.

They wanted to meet me because one of them was a friend of my brother's from the Maarif College.

Once they identified themselves, I invited them into the office.

They were sharp as tacks.

All of them were at the level and in the style of Tom Cruise.

Handsome as can be.

Tall, well-built, and sturdy; everything was in its right place.

Their hair shone like coal.

The swarthy young men of Anatolia.

After a few jokes, they got to the point.

The Ergenekon trials were continuing at full speed.

FETÖ's sword was cutting like Zulfiqar.

The young commanders talked about how they could no longer fly in the pilot cadre of the Air Force.

They described the bullying carried out by FETÖ-affiliated commanders and FETÖ-affiliated medical doctors.

They had been grounded for simple health reasons.

These intelligent, handsome, and successful young men, who had ranked among the top thousand students to become pilots, were told they could not pursue the pilot profession of their dreams.

What were they going to do?

They were going to guide planes landing on the runway with the wands in their hands, and they would never again be able to take an active role in the Air Force or work in passive duties where they could represent the country they had spent years working for abroad.

Their careers, which they started with the dream of being a pilot after difficult exams and a thousand efforts, ended up as flight attendants, if you catch my drift.

They also said that they were going to leave the army because of the severe mobbing they were subjected to by FETÖ.

They said, "You don't need such rigorous training to be a flight attendant."

In the meantime, they said they wanted to continue their education by pursuing a master's degree at the very least.

I stated that I didn't have much time, that I was busy with European Union research projects and other academic work, and that I couldn't deal with the military in the meantime, but that I would wholeheartedly help them with their master's courses.

And I did.

I tried to train the young commanders a bit from afar, a bit up close, and a bit through books.

By the way, I also told them not to leave the army, according to what they say.

I insisted that the state would solve the FETÖ issue.

I don't know how I knew that.

They must have listened to me, because after the July 15 FETÖ coup attempt, on the morning of July 16, all of these children were accepted into the F-16 pilot cadre in Çiğli, and they are currently serving at the instructor level in the most critical units of the Air Force, both performing their duties and training the new pilots who will replace them.