Ali Çardakçı becomes General Commander of the Gendarmerie... Here are the codes of the decree

12punto EXCLUSIVE

AKP Chairman and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's signed appointment decisions were announced in the Official Gazette. In this context, a critical change was made in the Gendarmerie General Command. While the current General Commander of the Gendarmerie, General Arif Çetin, was retired due to age limits, Deputy General Commander of the Gendarmerie, General Ali Çardakçı, was appointed in his place. This appointment stands out as one of the most important personnel changes in the Gendarmerie organization in recent years.

WHO IS ALİ ÇARDAKÇI

General Ali Çardakçı was born in Karakılıç village, Karaisalı district of Adana province. He graduated from the Military Academy in 1984 with the rank of Lieutenant and from the Infantry School in 1985.

General Çardakçı, who served as a Platoon, Company, and District Gendarmerie Commander in various units between 1985 and 1993, graduated from the Army War College in 1996 with the rank of Staff Captain.

As a staff officer, he served respectively as; Operations and Public Order Branch Manager at Giresun Gendarmerie Regional Command, Project Officer and Branch Manager at the Gendarmerie General Command General Planning and Principles Department, Operations and Public Order Branch Manager at the Şırnak 23rd Gendarmerie Border Division Command, Secretary of the Gendarmerie General Command Inspection Department, Chief of Staff at the Kastamonu Gendarmerie Regional Command, Şenoba Tactical Gendarmerie Border Regiment Commander, Beytüşşebap Tactical Gendarmerie Commando Regiment Commander, and Denizli Provincial Gendarmerie Commander. General Çardakçı was promoted to Brigadier General in 2010.

With the rank of Brigadier General; he served as the Zonguldak 3rd Gendarmerie Training Brigade Commander between 2010-2011 and as the Kastamonu Gendarmerie Regional Commander between 2011-2014, and was promoted to Major General in 2014.

With the rank of Major General; he served as the Tunceli Gendarmerie Regional Commander between 2014-2016 and as the Head of Public Order at the Gendarmerie General Command between 2016-2017, and was promoted to Lieutenant General in 2017.

With the rank of Lieutenant General; Çardakçı, who was appointed as the Deputy General Commander of the Gendarmerie with the Ministry of Interior's 2017/286 decision in 2017, was appointed as the General Commander of the Gendarmerie with the Presidential Decree published today. 

ÇARDAKÇI'S TEAM REFRESHED ITS POWER

According to Tolga Şardan's article in T24 titled 'What remains between the lines in Soylu's decrees', Ali Çardakçı's close team refreshed its power with the decree numbered 2022/408, which former Minister of Interior Süleyman Soylu had President Erdoğan approve on August 8, 2022. 

The relevant part of Şardan's article is as follows:

“These are the notable appointments in the summer decree concerning the civil administration.

Minister Soylu also managed to get two other important decrees out of the Presidency that same evening.

These were the narrow-scope decrees that enabled promotion, appointment, and retirement decisions for the Gendarmerie organization and the appointment of provincial police chiefs to some vacant cities in the Police Department.

Some evaluations were made regarding the commanders retired in the Gendarmerie decree.

However, it should be noted that there are subtle nuances in the appointments.

For example, contrary to customs, Ali Çardakçı's close team, who served as the second general in the general command headquarters, refreshed its power. Major General İsmail Balıbek, who was the Personnel Head, became the Deputy General Commander as a Lieutenant General. It is also known within the organization that Balıbek is close to an important figure working in the Presidency.”

KURTOĞLU BECAME A GENERAL

On the other hand, according to the decision published in the Official Gazette, Lieutenant General Hüseyin Kurtoğlu, who was the deputy general commander in the Gendarmerie, was promoted to the rank of General. Kurtoğlu became the only person with the rank of General in the Gendarmerie besides Ali Çardakçı.

WHO IS HÜSEYİN KURTOĞLU

Hüseyin Kurtoğlu was born in Istanbul in 1962. He completed his primary and secondary education in Istanbul-Gültepe, entered the Işıklar Military High School in 1977, the Military Academy in 1981, and graduated as a Gendarmerie Lieutenant on August 30, 1985.

He received his training at the Tuzla Infantry School in 1986 and the Gendarmerie Officer School in 1987, and served respectively as; Platoon Commander at the Silvan 10th Gendarmerie Training Regiment Command between 1987-1988, 5th Gendarmerie Border Company Commander at the Yüksekova 2nd Gendarmerie Border Battalion between 1988-1990, District Gendarmerie Commander in İzmir-Aliağa between 1990-1992, District Gendarmerie Commander in Siirt-Eruh between 1992-1994, and Gendarmerie Polygon Company Commander at the Gendarmerie Logistics Command between 1994-1996.

He graduated from the Army War College, which he entered in 1996, as a Staff Officer in 1998, and completed his Armed Forces Academy training in 2000.

As a Staff Officer; he served as Training and Education Planning Branch Manager at the Gendarmerie Training Command between 1998-2002, Operations and Public Order Training Branch Manager at the Diyarbakır Gendarmerie Regional Command between 2002-2003, Separatist Activities Branch Manager at the Gendarmerie General Command Intelligence Department between 2003-2005, Chief of Staff at the Aydın Gendarmerie Regional Command between 2005-2007, 116th Gendarmerie Training Regiment Commander between 2007-2010, Istanbul Provincial Gendarmerie Commander between 2010-2012, and Staff Officer at the Istanbul Gendarmerie Regional Command between 2012-2016.

He was promoted to the rank of Brigadier General in 2016.

He served as the Istanbul Provincial Gendarmerie Commander between 2016-2017, was appointed as the President of the Gendarmerie and Coast Guard Academy in 2017, was promoted to the rank of Major General in 2018, and served as the President of the Gendarmerie and Coast Guard Academy between 2018-2020.

He served as the Van Gendarmerie Public Order Corps Commander between 2020-2022, and was promoted to Lieutenant General and appointed as the Deputy General Commander of the Gendarmerie (Aydın) with the Presidential decision dated August 12, 2022, and numbered 2022/408.

According to the Official Gazette published today, he was promoted to the rank of General.

News Source: 12punto