Turkey Military

Turkey Military - Turkish Air Forces are composed by; 19 combat squadrons, 2 reconnaissance squadrons, 5 training squadrons, 6 transportation squadrons, 1 tanker squadron, and 8 surface to air missile (SAM) squadrons. These units are organized into; 2 tactical air forces (1st TAF HQ in Eskisehir and 2nd TAF HQ in Diyarbakir), 2 main air transport bases, tanker base, air training, and air logistics commands.

After the US Air Force, the Turkish Air Force has the largest number of F-16 aircraft (217 pieces) in the world, with a total of 370 fighter jets. There are also Drones, AWACS, Tanker planes in their inventory.

Turkey Military

Turkish Air Forces can participate in exercises conducted overseas flying non-stop thanks to their in-air refueling capability with tanker planes. The man who came to power promising to get things done could not deliver on that promise in Turkey's darkest hour because his one-man rule eroded the foundations of governance. Disaster relief is an important part of most modern armies' work.

They can act quickly and provide medical and logistical support after natural disasters. As part of his efforts to curb the generals' power, Erdogan stripped the military of its capacity to respond unprompted to domestic disasters such as earthquakes, establishing AFAD to take on that role instead.

In a brilliant book, Timothy Frye tells us that strongmen are not as strong as we all think. Being an autocrat is no easy feat. Autocratic leaders, particularly in personalist autocracies such as Turkey's, face trade-offs.

They mobilize support by promising to get things done, but the things they must do to build their one-person rule end up undermining their capacity to deliver on that promise. One of the first things strongmen do when they centralize power is weaken institutions.

But weak institutions make it difficult for them to govern, which eventually undermines their strongman rule. In a brilliant book, Timothy Frye tells us that strongmen are not as strong as we all think. Being an autocrat is no easy feat.

Autocratic leaders, particularly in personalist autocracies such as Turkey's, face trade-offs. They mobilize support by promising to get things done, but the things they must do to build their one-person rule end up undermining their capacity to deliver on that promise.

One of the first things strongmen do when they centralize power is weaken institutions. But weak institutions make it difficult for them to govern, which eventually undermines their strongman rule. The Third Army has its headquarters in Erzincan and is deployed in eastern Anatolia, covering the borders with Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan from the east and northeast.

For the Armed Forces readiness against any possible crisis in the area (such as during Persian Gulf War and Iraqi War), most of the armored, mechanized, and commando brigades are located in the central region in order to act rapidly into any scenario around us

borders. Erdogan may finally pay a price for all of that. Turkey's presidential and parliamentary elections are likely to be held in June. No matter how hard Erdogan-controlled media try to spin things, the sheer scale of the devastation makes it impossible for Erdogan to hide his government's incompetent response.

That will dim his prospects. Pushing the elections back to a later date will not solve his problems, either. The earthquake has compounded Turkey's existing economic, social, and political woes, leaving the country and Erdogan's prospects in a worse place.

Land Forces are organized into; 4 Corps Command (1st Army in Marmara area, 2nd Army in the Southeast, 3rd Army in the Northeast, Aegean Army in the Aegean region), Land Forces Training & Doctrine Command, and Land Forces Logistic Command.

The country is divided into four military sectors on the basis of strategic conditions of terrain, logistics, communications, and the potential external threat. These sectors are assigned to four field armies, the first three of which would come under NATO command in the event of a NATO reinforced alert.

On 20th of July 1974, Turkey had to intervene on Cyprus crisis as one of the peace Guarantor Powers (Turkey, Greece, Britain) on the Island according to International Treaties of 1958 in Zurich and 1959 in London, to end a coup sponsored by Greek

paramilitary group EOKA (Ethnic Organosis Kyprion Agoniston, National Organization of Freedom Fighters) and still continues to maintain a military presence there with the Cyprus Turkish Peace Forces connected to the Aegean Army. The immense suffering and loss Turkey experienced as a result of the February 6 earthquakes led its neighbors to put aside deep-rooted disagreements and historic grudges to offer support and solidarity.

But, just as it has been the case back in 1999, current attempts at earthquake diplomacy are unlikely to produce long-term, sustainable improvements in bilateral relations. With time, harsh political realities will kick in, and we will see a return to old tensions and confrontations.

The chief spoiler is the ongoing skirmishes around Karabakh. Since December, Azerbaijani "environmentalists" have been blocking the only land route between the Armenian-run territory and Armenia. The blockade has caused a shortage of medicine, food and other essential supplies.

It seems Baku is trying to force the Armenian side to sign a peace treaty which would see Karabakh's full return to Azerbaijani sovereignty. On February 16, Azerbaijan even put forward a draft. As long as Azerbaijan continues its attempts to expand its territory, a major step forward on the Armenia-Turkey front will probably have to wait.

Erdogan's response to the country's devastating earthquake on Feb. 6 was painfully slow and uncoordinated. But regimes in which power is centralized are supposed to be fast and organized. All Erdogan had to do was pick up the phone and order his commanders to dispatch NATO's second-largest army to the badly hit cities, mobilize the bureaucracy to send much-needed aid, and deploy emergency response teams.

He did not. Just minutes after the 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit 10 Turkish provinces, troops stood ready to step in and take part in search and rescue operations. Yet in the critical early hours, the order from the top never came.

Nor did Turkey's Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD) rush to help the victims. Why? Military service in Turkey is compulsory for all male citizens between 20 - 41 years of age (with some exceptions such as handicapped, or mentally ill, or not healthy people).

Women are only allowed to become officers choosing it as a career enrolling in military schools, not as conscripts. Those men who are 20 years of age but still continue their higher education at Universities or vocational training programs are allowed to postpone their draft until they have completed these programs.

The duration of the basic military service varies: 12 months for privates (elementary or high school graduates), 8 months for reserve officers (University graduates), and 6 months for short-term privates (those who have earned a university degree and have not

been enlisted as reserve officers). The old idea that autocracies are better than raucous democracies at getting things done found new life during the coronavirus pandemic. Many Western commentators argued that while democracies dithered and debated, autocracies were quick to respond and mobilize their resources.

Sometimes that might be true—but only if you are the right kind of autocracy. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's Turkey, it turned out, is not one of them. There is no doubt that Turkey is on significantly better footing to improve its relations with Armenia and Greece now than it was just a month ago.

But could the ongoing "earthquake diplomacy" truly transform Turkey's relations with its two neighbors, both of whom - for reasons of history - loom large in Turkish society's imagination? The Turkish army has been engaged in a conflict with the separatist and terrorist groups since the early 1980's, mainly concentrated in southeastern Turkey.

Especially the 1st Commando Brigade based in Kayseri, the 2nd Commando Brigade based in Bolu, and the Amphibious Marine Brigade (3rd Commando Brigade) based in Foca / Izmir were deployed there for the fights and they were awarded with the "Distinguished Courage Medal of the

Turkish Armed Forces". Turks had always been good soldiers since the times of the Turkic States and during the Seljuk and Ottoman periods. Especially during the Ottomans, the famous Janissaries were feared by all Europeans. But towards the end of the Ottoman Empire a new army had to be found because the defeat of its allies determined the end of the Empire, with the country being invaded and its army disarmed.

The last major battle of the Turkish Army was in early 1920's under the command of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk during the Turkish independence war after World War I. Between 1920-1923 the Army had to fight against Russian and Armenian militaries on the Eastern front, against Italian

, French, and British militaries on the Southern front, and against the Greek military on the western front. Gallipoli War was one of the most dramatic and heroic among all. During World War II Turkey managed to remain neutral and thus the Army did not participate in any conflict until the Korean War (1950-1953).

Turkey participated in this war with an infantry brigade to fight solely for humanitarian purposes and for the ideal of the UN, gaining the appreciation of the world. 731 Turkish soldiers were killed in action (KIA) in Korea.

Turkey is located in the center of the Caucasus, Middle East and the Balkans which are the most unstable regions in the World. Therefore the defense policy is designed to preserve and protect the national independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity and vital interests of the country.

The Turkish Armed Forces missions and responsibilities are clearly stated in the Constitution and determined by laws as to react against new security problems and crises in the new century, to be ready to face the uncertainties, and to ensure the security of Turkey against internal and external

risks. Putting its longstanding differences and disputes with Ankara aside, the Armenian government sent food, medicine, drinking water and other emergency supplies to devastated cities and towns soon after the earthquakes. Armenian research and rescue crews were also on the ground.

Armenian crews taking part in rescue operations in Gaziantep and Kahramanmaras, two provinces that were home to large Armenian communities in the past, was highly symbolic. More importantly, the aid from Armenia crossed into Turkey through the land border which has been sealed since the early 1990s.

On the back of these goodwill gestures, Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan visited Ankara on February 15 to discuss the ongoing efforts to normalize ties between Armenia and Turkey. All Land, Naval and Air forces were connected to the Turkish General Staff, Gendarmerie forces were connected to the Land forces, and Coast Guard is

connected to the Naval forces. But after the Coup attempt in July 2016 the Government has changed these procedures under the State of Emergency (OHAL) rule. Now, all Land, Naval and Air forces are connected directly to the Minister of National Defense and the Gendarmerie forces and Coast Guard are connected to the Interior Affairs Ministry.

Most of the equipment and weapons systems used by the Turkish Armed Forces are of US origin. Today, other main weapons suppliers of Turkey are Germany, Israel, England, France and Russia. Lately, locally developed weapons such as combat rifles for infantry (MPT-76), long range Howitzer cannons (Firtina Obüs), un-manned armed drones (Bayraktar IHA) etc are being supplied to the Army by national weapon factories.

Also, national projects for armored tanks (Altay), warships (Milgem), and war planes are carried out by Turkish state and private institutions. For Turkish citizens who have lived or worked abroad for at least 3 years, a basic military training of 3 weeks is offered instead of the full-term military service if they pay a certain fee in foreign currency.

Also in times when the General Staff assesses that the military reserve exceeds the required amount, paid military service of 1 month basic training is established for local citizens. After the 1999 earthquake, an exception was made and paid military service was accepted that year to help the economy using the collected money in reconstruction and rehabilitation of the cities suffered during that horrible earthquake of August 17th.

In peace time, Turkish Armed Forces are ready to perform Disaster Relief Operations as was in recent earthquakes in Marmara Region. After August 17, 1999 Earthquake, Turkish Armed Forces improved its capabilities on specialized Search And Rescue (SAR) missions in order to better cope with large scale natural disasters.

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Erdogan, in his 20 years at the helm, has hollowed out the country's institutions and placed incompetent loyalists in key positions to centralize power in his own hands. This made Erdogan the strongest man in the country but left the state barely functioning.

One of the most striking examples of institutional erosion is Erdogan's suppression of the Turkish military, which went far beyond the legitimate aim of limiting the generals' role in politics. Take Greece. Before the earthquakes, which claimed tens of thousands of lives and flattened entire cities across Turkey's southeast, the country's relations with Greece were on the verge of collapse.

With both nations gearing up for elections, there were widespread fears that ever-increasing tensions in the Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean could escalate into a full-on military confrontation. But everything changed after the earthquake hit and the scale of devastation Turkey is facing became apparent.

This dramatic improvement in relations in the face of a humanitarian crisis was not particularly surprising for long-term observers of Turkey-Greece relations, as the two countries had successfully engaged in so-called "earthquake diplomacy" for the first time in 1999. Following

a deadly earthquake in Turkey's northwestern Marmara region in August that year, then-Turkish Foreign Minister Ismail Cem and his Greek counterpart George Papandreou embarked on a journey to improve the neighboring nations' relations. The consequent rapprochement paved the way for the EU's December 1999 decision to grant Turkey official candidate status.

In October, for example, Turkey signed a memorandum of understanding with the Tripoli-based Libyan authorities to prospect for offshore oil and gas in parts of the Eastern Mediterranean claimed by Greece and Egypt. Although a Libyan court has now suspended the deal, it remains an irritant to Greece.

Turkey, meanwhile, likely did not forget Greece's move to beef up its military presence on the Aegean Islands and Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis's promises to strengthen the fence along the Greek-Turkish border to prevent asylum seekers from pouring in.

Last but not least, there is no sign of a breakthrough in divided Cyprus, where Greece and Turkey have been at loggerheads for decades. The organization, like every other state agency in Turkey, quickly became a tool for Erdogan to boost his support at home and abroad.

He stuffed AFAD with incompetent loyalists and made it part of a network of faith-based aid organizations to push the narrative that Erdogan was the "protector of Muslims" around the world. Advertisements showing AFAD providing aid to Muslims in need appear all over pro-government television channels and newspapers, and they are displayed at events in municipalities controlled by Erdogan's Justice and Development Party.

Today, amid a global economic downturn and a war at the heart of Europe, Greece has much reason to try and improve its relations with Turkey. Yet, despite a natural disaster once again bringing the neighboring nations closer together, the issues at the root of Greece and Turkey's problems remain unaddressed.

The earthquake did not just shed light on how Erdogan has damaged the state's capacity in the two decades he has been in power; it also revealed where his priorities lie. Like all autocrats, Erdogan faced a trade-off between enriching his family and inner circle and serving the people.

It is a difficult balance to strike. If an autocrat chooses to please his cronies at the expense of the people, he might face popular protest. If he decides to serve the public by redirecting government spending at his cronies' expense, he might be challenged by the small circle around him.

Erdogan's Turkey is a powerful reminder that strongmen do not bring stability and do not get things done. They are at their worst when their country needs them the most. The tragedy that struck two weeks ago reminds us that Turkey does not need a strongman;

it needs strong, capable institutions. In the last decade, Erdogan consistently chose the former over the latter. His controversial and unorthodox monetary policy to cut interest rates despite spiraling inflation made his already-rich cronies even richer, while runaway food prices and skyrocketing rents squeezed those at the bottom.

Poverty soared as millions of Turks were unable to meet their basic needs. While granting infrastructure and building contracts to cronies who cut corners on safety earned Erdogan's inner circle billions of dollars, the shoddy residences they built turned into graves for tens of thousands of people.

Argument: Turkey's Weak Strongman Turkish Armed Forces are greater than those of France and Britain combined, with 570,000 men under arms and 429,000 in reserve, plus a robust air force with American fighters. Actually, it's the 2nd largest standing force in NATO after the United States, and 8th largest number of active troops in the world.

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