What positions were assigned to the commanders who dismissed the Atatürkist lieutenants?

Another Supreme Military Council (YAŞ) meeting, which determines the personnel structure and future of the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK), has been held.

Before the Council meeting on August 1, pro-government media reported that "the status of critical commands would be addressed" and that "the work was expected to be completed in one day."

What one day? It was finished in half a day, including the Anıtkabir visit and lunch.

The Council's work lasted only 1 hour and 20 minutes.

Just think; decisions were made in that amount of time regarding the status of around 100 generals and admirals, and the extension of the terms of 455 colonels. Not to mention the decision to retire a number of colonels—the exact count of which we do not know, but which is 400 according to CHP Deputy Chairman and retired Rear Admiral Yankı Bağcıoğlu, and "half of that" according to Ministry of National Defense sources!..

While there are very fundamental issues we need to think about and discuss regarding the future of the TSK, the media once again focused solely on promotions and new assignments.

In particular, emphasis was placed on which victims of the Balyoz (Sledgehammer) conspiracy received promotions and who was retired.

Additionally, the famous address by Metin Tokel—who was promoted to General at this YAŞ while serving as the 2nd Army Commander—to then-Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım after July 15, which shocked everyone, became a topic of discussion once again.

This picture did not change after the new assignments in the TSK were published in the Official Gazette the day before yesterday.

While it was emphasized that active duties were given to generals who had been imprisoned in the "FETÖ" Balyoz, Military Espionage, and Poyrazköy conspiracy cases, the name of Levent Ergün, who was promoted to General while serving as Chief of Staff of the Land Forces Command and appointed as the 2nd Army Commander, was brought to the forefront. It was recalled that Ergün had spent 3 years in prison during the Balyoz conspiracy, and it was stated, "Cross-border operations are entrusted to him."

Meanwhile, a few days after the YAŞ, it emerged that a colonel who had been promoted to Brigadier General had written an article in 2015 praising the Fethullah Gülen community. Retired Brigadier General Naim Babüroğlu reacted to this situation with the following words:

"The army must first remain loyal to the military oath. No one who is not loyal to the homeland, the state, the nation, Atatürk, and the Republic, and who lacks merit, can be promoted to a higher rank... Whenever the army gets involved in politics and religious sects, it brings disaster to itself, the state, and the nation. The Balkan Wars and the July 15, 2016, coup attempt are examples of this. Promoting some people for political or religious reasons and retiring others by moving away from the merit system, the military oath, and the values of Atatürk and the Republic will lead this army to disaster. If the army collapses, the state falls. Neither the homeland nor the office remains."

Here Are Those Two Names Everyone Is Curious About

What is the reason we are drawing attention to those words of retired Brigadier General Babüroğlu?

You may remember; a scandal occurred at the Tuzla Infantry School in recent months. Following the debates that arose after a lieutenant refused to pin an Atatürk photograph to his lapel during the November 10 Atatürk Commemoration ceremony, this lieutenant, along with a friend and four other lieutenants who reacted to them, were dismissed from the TSK.

The body that made this decision was the High Disciplinary Board of the Land Forces Command. After that decision, which was taken in February, I stated what I was actually surprised by as follows:

"As far as I have learned, the Land Forces Command High Disciplinary Board (YDK) decided on the dismissal of the lieutenants unanimously. If this is true, the reason for my surprise is this: There are two names on the board who were subjected to the Balyoz conspiracy and spent years in prison. They should know best what kind of danger sect-community structures in the TSK are, right? They must know. So, wouldn't it be expected that at least they would remain dissenting against this dismissal decision? It means the 'order' came from a high place!.."

At that time, everyone was very curious about these two names; however, I did not share them because their names were not written in the first dismissal decisions. Upon the objections of the lawyers, the names of the YDK members were included in the subsequent dismissal decisions.

Since the past and present of the commanders have started to be discussed with the YAŞ, let us write about those who decided on the dismissal of the lieutenants unanimously, including those who were subjected to the Balyoz conspiracy.

One of these commanders was Levent Ergün, the then-Chief of Staff of the Land Forces Command (KKK), who has now been promoted to General and appointed as the 2nd Army Commander; the other was Major General Murat Ataç, the KKK Operations Chief. Ataç did not receive a promotion in the latest YAŞ decision, but he was appointed as the Chief of Staff of the 3rd Army Command.

Who Became the Tuzla Infantry School Commander?

Apart from Ergün and Ataç, five of the total 9 names who decided on the dismissal of the lieutenants were appointed to new positions.

The most notable was the appointment of Logistics Chief Major General Alparslan Kılınç to the Tuzla Infantry School Command, where the events took place.

Among the other names who signed the dismissal decisions, KKK Personnel Chief Major General Cafer Aksoytürk was appointed as the Chief of Staff of the Aegean Army Command, Defense Planning and Project Management Chief Brigadier General Ercan Eroğlu was appointed as the Deputy General Manager of Technical Services at the Ministry of National Defense, Appointment Department Head Bülent Tanrıverdi was appointed as the KKK Personnel Chief, and Legal Services Chief Brigadier General Hakan Kesgin was appointed as the General Manager of Legal Services at the Ministry of National Defense.

There is one commander who was appointed to an important position at the General Staff Headquarters. Let us tell you about him tomorrow.