Minister Güler: There is very intensive work underway to reopen military hospitals

Speaking about the 12 soldiers who were martyred in a cave and the 2 soldiers who were martyred in İskenderun, Güler stated, "All incidents have been examined individually in their operational, administrative, and technical dimensions; no detail has been ignored. Our Ministry at the center, and our commands and all relevant institutions in the field have identified areas of potential vulnerability and have rapidly implemented new measures to increase unit security. Indeed, the investigation process regarding the incident at the İskenderun Denizli Training Regiment Command, where our two Mehmetçiks were martyred, was conducted with great sensitivity. Four personnel, including the regiment and battalion commanders found to have intent, fault, or negligence, have been discharged from the Turkish Armed Forces, and eight personnel have been given various disciplinary penalties according to their degree of fault. The judicial process is also being carried out by our İskenderun Chief Public Prosecutor's Office," he said.

"The status of martyrdom is a concept that is very special and meticulously protected both in the common conscience of our society and in our legal regulations," said Güler, adding, "While implementation is carried out within the framework of relevant regulations and judicial precedents, every commander who loses their personnel during duty meticulously records and follows all necessary procedures to ensure the rank of martyrdom, which will be a spiritual legacy for those left behind, is granted."

"JUDICIAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE INVESTIGATIONS ARE OPENED"

Güler stated, "In every incident resulting in death or injury, whether it is martyrdom, an accident, or suicide, a judicial and administrative investigation is opened, the incident is investigated down to the finest detail, and necessary actions are taken against those found responsible. I would like to present to you a method we have been applying in our Armed Forces for many years, especially regarding these suicide cases. From the moment such a suicide case is detected, we immediately notify the family. Even if the family says, 'I do not want to come,' we cover all their expenses and bring the family to the unit. We allocate a hall to them there. They themselves choose all of the martyr's closest friends—these are privates and non-commissioned officers—and everyone who wants to enter goes in there. Without any officers or non-commissioned officers present, they sit there with them and share their grief. At the end, they open the door. They say, 'Yes, I have accepted this' or 'No, I do not accept it, brother, let the court continue.' Even if they do not say it themselves, the court continues anyway," he said.

Responding to criticisms that politics is involved in the TSK (Turkish Armed Forces), Minister Güler said, "Believe me, my esteemed deputies, not a single thing related to politics has come before me to this day," adding, "Now show me one example, and I will accept it. You cannot show one," he said.

"THERE IS VERY INTENSIVE WORK UNDERWAY TO REOPEN MILITARY HOSPITALS"

Providing information to deputies regarding whether military hospitals will be reopened, Minister Güler said, "There is already very intensive work underway for the reopening of military hospitals. Very intensive. We do this every year at the university in GATA, especially to meet our need for physicians regarding military hospitals. Currently, over 744 doctor candidates are studying at that university. This year, 147 of our physicians graduated, and we sent all of them to our units."

Speaking about the C-130 military cargo plane that crashed on the Azerbaijan-Georgia border, Güler said, "In aviation, there is no such thing as an old plane or a new plane. I mean, if you install a 2025 model part today or put a new engine on it, the plane is dated 2025. It is like that. Because they undergo very detailed, very difficult, and very heavy maintenance. So, we do not have a plane that we call an 'old plane.' We have 250 F-16s. If you look at it that way, they are all old. No, we are currently using them all to the fullest. Would we accept it if there were such a risk? Our lives have passed with them. These planes of ours undergo three-stage maintenance. When there is a malfunction, we have another place that looks at it, and they go there. Factory-level maintenance: They undergo full maintenance every 69 months; everything is dismantled, examined, checked, parts that need changing are changed, and the rest is discarded. We started using C-130s in 1957. Up until this date, there has been no accident with our C-130s. There was one incident in '99 where a fire, a minor fire, broke out in the engine of one plane. They are the safest planes in the world; they have the feature of landing and taking off on everything, including dirt roads. If you want, you can land and take off on dirt. Other than this, this is our first accident. It is our first accident from '57 to today," he said.

News Source: İHA