The 'Crime' of the Lieutenants' Commanders!...

Following the graduation ceremony of the Military Academy on August 30, five lieutenants gathered after the official part of the ceremony concluded to cross their swords, recite the Officer's Oath, and declare, “We are the soldiers of Mustafa Kemal.” Now, three commanders at the school have also been referred to the High Disciplinary Board to be dismissed from the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK).

From the successive statements made by the Ministry of National Defense, we learned that the “crime” of the lieutenants was not crossing their swords, reciting the Officer's Oath, or saying “We are the soldiers of Mustafa Kemal,” but rather committing an act of “indiscipline.”

By the way, thanks to the lieutenants, we were fortunate enough to hear the sentence “The TSK cannot have any problem with Atatürk” from the Ministry of National Defense... As if it were even possible for them to have one!..

Where Did the November 25 Date Come From?

We understand the “crime” of the lieutenants. But what about their commanders?

Let us clarify a detail before explaining this.

Minister of National Defense Yaşar Güler, speaking for the first time about 2.5 months after the incident, pointed to November 25 regarding the fate of the lieutenants, leading everyone to wait for Monday. Furthermore, some major (!) columnists claimed that the result regarding the fate of the commanders would also be announced on this date.

What will happen on Monday? Nothing. Because as of Friday, the file on the lieutenants had not even been sent to the Land Forces Command High Disciplinary Board. Let us assume it arrived on Monday; the lieutenants' lawyers will receive these files and request time for a defense. Only after that will the situation of the lieutenants be discussed; and that will be done individually, not collectively.

As for the commanders; their fate will not be decided by the Land Forces Command, but by the Ministry of National Defense High Disciplinary Board, chaired by Deputy Minister of National Defense Bilal Durdalı. In other words, two separate processes will be in operation.

I Expected This, Not an Apology

The second detail we want to underline is this:

Three days after the lieutenants' unofficial ceremony was reflected in the media, we shared the information that an administrative investigation had been launched against them and that the senior lieutenants had been summoned to the school.

Both the Ministry of National Defense and the Presidential Center for Combating Disinformation denied this.

Along with this denial, we presented the source of our claim and said the following:

“An official investigation may not have been conducted at the Military Academy; but does this statement mean that no investigation will be launched against the lieutenants by the Training and Doctrine Command (EDOK) or the Land Forces Command from now on? Let us remember; after the events that occurred on November 10 last year at the Tuzla Infantry School when a lieutenant did not wear an Atatürk pin were revealed, the Ministry of National Defense first called it a ‘clear example of disinformation.’ Then, they announced that an administrative and judicial investigation had been launched, and ultimately, all the lieutenants mentioned in the events were dismissed from the TSK. I hope it will not be the same this time!...”

Of course, there were those who did not miss the opportunity!..

One major (!) columnist advised: “I am fed up with the subtle perception operations of these types... You should be careful, especially with these types who exploit Atatürk.”

Some mocked, saying, “They invented a rank that doesn't exist by calling them 'senior lieutenant'...”

Go ahead; is Talip İzzet Akarsu, who is mentioned in the investigation report regarding the lieutenants as the “Acting Cadet Regiment Commander lieutenant” and whose dismissal from the TSK is requested, not a “senior lieutenant”?

Of course, as of the point reached, we are not expecting an apology from these types. At the very least, we would have liked them to investigate why and how things reached this point, rather than just repeating the denials from both the Ministry of National Defense and the Presidential Center for Combating Disinformation.

It Was Erdoğan, Not Bahçeli, Who Pressed the Button

Those who are skilled at writing what is served to them should not bother themselves from this hour on; we have also investigated how and why the investigation process began.

It is highly likely that it was not reflected in the reports, but the information I obtained is as follows:

Erdoğan, who left the area after the official ceremony, heard the voices of the lieutenants while meeting with the families of Azerbaijani soldiers who were martyred in the Karabakh War before getting into his vehicle. He immediately asked the Rector of the National Defense University, Prof. Erhan Afyoncu, who was right next to him, “What is happening?” Prof. Afyoncu directed the same question to the civilian Deputy Dean of the Military Academy. The Deputy Dean, who ran back to the ceremony area to understand what was happening, had the images recorded with the school's camera in the meantime.

And on the evening of the same day, the top-ranking student of the school, Lieutenant Ebru Eroğlu, and Senior Lieutenant Talip İzzet Akarsu were asked why they did this. Afterwards—however the matter was conveyed to Erdoğan and other officials—this process began.

There Are 3 Applications, Not 7

Some have set their minds on the dismissal of the lieutenants and their commanders; they have practically entered a race to find a justification.

Sir, the lieutenants applied exactly 7 times to recite the Officer's Oath; but even though it was rejected, they “did what they knew” and carried out a “pirate action”!..

Thus, they committed the crime of “clear indiscipline, disobedience to orders,” and even “rebelled” against their commanders.

How many applications are there? Let us say it immediately.

When the lieutenants overwhelmed Senior Lieutenant Talip İzzet Akarsu by saying, “We took the military oath at the very beginning when we stepped into this institution. Are we leaving the TSK and re-entering it that we should take the same oath again at the graduation ceremony? Instead, let us recite the Officer's Oath,” Akarsu conveyed the matter to the Company Commander once. The Company Commander stated that he would inform the Regiment Command; but he did not return. Upon this, Lieutenant Akarsu met with the civilian Dean of the Military Academy. The Dean did not give any positive or negative answer. Ultimately, Lieutenant Akarsu applied to the Dean's Office of Correspondence with a petition. No answer came to that either.

Now let us ask these questions:

Where did this claim of 7 applications come from?

Battalion Commander Halit Türkoğlu, who somehow became aware of the lieutenants' request, first gave the instruction to Ebru Eroğlu and then to the entire battalion via announcement that they would not recite the Officer's Oath, and they did not recite it at the official ceremony. In other words, they obeyed the orders of their superiors. Where in this process is there any secret or hidden business?

Furthermore, while the commanders are being blamed in advance, why is no one asking the civilian Dean's administration and the Rector of the National Defense University, Prof. Erhan Afyoncu, anything, and moreover, why is Afyoncu being shown as a “victim”?

Promotion for the Principals, Punishment for the Deputies

Let us come to the “crime” of the commanders.

Actually, some had targeted the “Team-Company-Battalion-Regiment Commanders” from the very beginning. With the referral of Acting Regiment Commander Alper Topsakal, Battalion Commander Halit Türkoğlu, and Company Commander Murat Öztürk to the High Disciplinary Board, they have largely achieved this desire.

For example; Company Commander Murat Öztürk was declared the scapegoat first. It was claimed that he requested his retirement when his name was written as “M” and he was targeted.

Afterwards, it emerged that Major Murat Öztürk had notified months in advance that he would leave the TSK as of August 30 due to family reasons, and that he had even set up his business in civilian life.

The latest situation regarding Major Öztürk is this:

He submitted his resignation from the TSK on August 30 and went on leave. When the investigation began, he was also summoned to Ankara, and his defense was also taken. In the meantime, although 3 months had passed, his petition was not processed; instead, he was referred to the High Disciplinary Board. They probably wanted to say, “You cannot leave, we will dismiss you.”

Before coming to the situation of the other names referred to the High Disciplinary Board, Acting Regiment Commander Alper Topsakal, and especially Battalion Commander Halit Türkoğlu, let us state the following:

The person who had been a commander at the Military Academy for 5 years was promoted and left in the August Supreme Military Council (YAŞ) meeting that took place before the ceremony. The Regiment Commander changed, a new one arrived; but because he was new, he remained outside the graduation ceremony program. Instead, Acting Regiment Commander Topsakal took part in the ceremony program. Battalion Commander Halit Türkoğlu had only been at the school for 17 days. Company Commander Murat Öztürk had already decided to leave months ago. The Dean's Office, on the other hand, did not get involved in anything because it was not interested in the graduation ceremony.

Is there not a huge management vacuum here? Think about it, three important commanders changed at the same time; the bill is being footed by the newly arrived deputies. Let us explain with the example of the Gendarmerie and Coast Guard Academy graduation ceremony. In this academy, commanders—even if they are promoted or their assignments are issued—leave their posts after conducting that year's graduation ceremony. Consequently, such confusion does not occur during the transition period.

What Would the Reputation of the TSK Be If the Commanders Did This?

The reason we open a separate heading for Battalion Commander Halit Türkoğlu is this:

He has never received a disciplinary penalty in his life, won the War Academies in first place, is 4 years ahead of his peers, and is the only staff officer among those who conducted the Military Academy graduation ceremony.

His most important feature; until last February, he was the aide-de-camp to Land Forces Commander General Selçuk Bayraktaroğlu. He was brought to this duty by General Bayraktaroğlu himself. He left the commander's side in February to attend the Armed Forces Academy course. Afterwards, he started his duty at the Military Academy on August 13.

Now our media's famous pens are questioning why these commanders did not intervene while the lieutenants were holding that ceremony among themselves.

As far as we have learned; those conducting the investigation also asked both whether they had heard rumors of this beforehand and why they did not intervene with the lieutenants afterwards.

The answers given to these questions are summarized as follows:

“During the ceremony rehearsals, the lieutenants were instructed that they would not recite the Officer's Oath. They complied with the instruction. No rumors were heard for afterwards. Because they shared it in their own WhatsApp groups at 01:00 the night before. There are no commanders in this group either. If we had tried to silence them in front of the cameras while the lieutenants were holding this ceremony, or even tried to prevent them with physical intervention, what kind of image do you think would have emerged?”

Two more interesting questions were directed to the commanders.

The first is this: “Was such a celebration rehearsal held during the ceremony rehearsals?”

The commanders replied, “Since there were no families at the rehearsals, such a rehearsal was not held.”

The second is this: “When is the graduation ceremony considered finished?”

Reminding that this is written in the Ceremony Program Directive, the commanders noted that the ceremony ends the moment the announcement “The ceremony is over, Mr. President. I present it to you” is made.

It seems that the celebration among the lieutenants was also wanted to be included in the “official program”; but when this did not happen, the lieutenants were accused of “carrying out an unauthorized and off-program action in a military area.”

Let us end with a question like, “If the commanders had given the desired answers, would they have been interrogated repeatedly and added to the dismissal list in the last week?”!..

At a time when Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan himself says, “There is a risk of nuclear war, this is not a joke,” when the Barzanis are preparing to seize Kirkuk by bringing PKK members from Makhmur, and when the US is settling in Cyprus, look at what the TSK is dealing with, or is being made to deal with?!

Müyesser YILDIZ

November 24, 2024