Breaking News... Supreme Military Council meeting decisions announced: Chief of General Staff has changed!

The Supreme Military Council (YAŞ) met today at the Presidential Palace under the chairmanship of AKP Chairman and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

The meeting was attended by Council members Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz, Minister of Justice Yılmaz Tunç, Minister of Foreign Affairs Hakan Fidan, Minister of Treasury and Finance Mehmet Şimşek, Minister of Interior Ali Yerlikaya, Minister of National Education Yusuf Tekin, Minister of National Defense Yaşar Güler, Chief of General Staff General Metin Gürak, Land Forces Commander General Selçuk Bayraktaroğlu, Naval Forces Commander Admiral Ercüment Tatlıoğlu, and Air Force Commander General Ziya Cemal Kadıoğlu.

The meeting lasted approximately 2.5 hours.

The Directorate of Communications announced the decisions taken at the YAŞ meeting.

CHIEF OF GENERAL STAFF CHANGED

Chief of General Staff General Metin Gürak was retired due to lack of position. Land Forces Commander General Selçuk Bayraktaroğlu was appointed in his place. 1st Army Commander General Metin Tokel was appointed to replace Bayraktaroğlu.

45 generals and admirals were retired, and 32 generals and admirals were promoted.

The YAŞ decisions are as follows:

The 2025 Supreme Military Council Meeting was held on August 5, 2025, at the Presidential Complex under the chairmanship of our President, Mr. Recep Tayyip ERDOĞAN.

1. At the 2025 Supreme Military Council ordinary

meeting, the status of generals/admirals and colonels serving in the Turkish Armed Forces regarding;

a) Those to be promoted to a higher rank,

b) Those whose term of duty will be extended,

c) Those to be retired due to lack of cadre were discussed and decided upon with the approval of our President, Mr. Recep Tayyip ERDOĞAN.

2. Effective as of August 30, 2025;

a) 32 generals and admirals have been promoted to a higher rank, and 61 colonels have been promoted to the rank of general and admiral.

b) The terms of office for 29 generals have been extended by one year, and the terms of office for 478 colonels have been extended by two years.

c) 2 generals have been retired due to age limits effective September 1, 2025, and 43 generals and admirals

have been retired due to lack of position effective August 30, 2025.

ç) As Chief of General Staff General Metin GÜRAK has been retired due to lack of position,

Land Forces Commander General Selçuk BAYRAKTAROĞLU has been appointed as Chief of General Staff,

and 1st Army Commander General Metin TOKEL has been appointed as Land Forces Commander.

d) It has been decided to extend the terms of office of Naval Forces Commander Admiral Ercüment TATLIOĞLU and Air Force Commander General Ziya Cemal KADIOĞLU by one year.

e) The current number of 316 generals and admirals will become 332 as of August 30, 2025.

3. Effective as of August 30, 2025;

a) From the Land Forces Command, Lieutenant General Bahtiyar ERSAY to the rank of General; from the Air Force Command, Lieutenant General

Rafet DALKIRAN to the rank of General; from the Land Forces Command, Major Generals İlkay ALTINDAĞ, Sebahattin

KILINÇ, Rasim YALDIZ, Fedai ÜNSAL, Muammer ALPER, Tuncay ALTUĞ, and Ahmet KURUMAHMUT to the rank of Lieutenant General; from the Naval Forces Command, Rear Admiral Rafet OKTAR to the rank of Vice Admiral; from the Air Force Command, Major General Ergin DİNÇ to the rank of Lieutenant General have been promoted.

b) From the Land Forces Command, Brigadier Generals Aydın KILIÇ, Süleyman AKBAY, Tolga GENÇ, Gökhan ÇELİK, Levent Sabahattin GÜLDAĞI, Cem Kamil SAĞCAN, Nurettin Hakan BÜYÜKÇULHA, Soner ORUÇOĞLU, İlker ERTUĞRUL, Sebahattin KALKAN, Ümit DURMAZ, Eray ÜNGÜDER, Osman AKYILDIZ, Ercan EROĞLU, and Ahmet Hamdi ATAÇ to the rank of Major General; from the Naval Forces Command

Rear Admirals (Lower Half) Mehmet Savaş ESER, Aziz BAKIOĞLU, and Timur YILMAZ to the rank of Rear Admiral;

From the Air Force Command, Brigadier Generals Ertan UZUN, Vedat ÖNCEL, and Serkan Gökhan CAN to the rank of Major General have been promoted.

4) We wish that the new ranks and duties of the generals, admirals, and colonels who have been promoted to a higher rank or whose terms of duty have been extended will be beneficial to our Nation, our State, our Armed Forces, and their families.

5) We extend our gratitude for their service to the generals, admirals, and colonels who will be retiring after completing their terms of duty with great dedication and honor, and we wish them and their families happiness and well-being in the new chapter of their lives.

News Source: 12punto