Professional army key to end debates over conscription

According to Mehmet Altan, a columnist for the Star daily, the establishment of a professional army should be placed at the top of the list of things that should urgently be accomplished to strengthen Turkey's democracy. “In this way, thousands of young people who have been waiting for legal changes that would make a paid reduction in military service possible would finally be at ease. In addition, Turkey would fulfill a significant condition for democratization,” he said.

In Turkey, military service is compulsory for all male citizens over the age of 20. However, if a male is enrolled in an institute of higher education, he is allowed to delay his service until he completes his program. The duration of compulsory service varies -- depending on the level of education of the conscripts -- between six months and 15 months.

There have been growing calls from the public to establish a professional army and launch a new strategy in the fight against terrorism. However, the General Staff believes it is not possible to establish an army made of all professional soldiers. Instead, it plans to professionalize a few brigades of the Gendarmerie General Command and the Land Forces Command.

However, analysts say the ideal way to fight terrorism would be to professionalize the whole military.

“In professional armies, soldiers are trained as they should be. Therefore, a professional army is ideal. Had the Turkish Armed Forces [TSK] been acting within the boundaries of the law, then the professionalization of the military would be a great idea. However, it does not seem logical to professionalize the military under the existing conditions. Currently, there is a vast cadre-ization in the TSK. There is a massive pro-coup group. Almost all individuals who would stand against a coup d'état were expelled from the armed forces after military takeovers,” stated Dr. Nevzat Tarhan, a retired colonel and psychiatrist.  

Thousands of officers have been dismissed from the armed forces on the grounds that they were engaged in reactionary activities. Such accusations led to mass dismissals after the coups d'état of 1960, 1971 and 1980 and the postmodern coup of 1997. Officers expelled from the military do not have the chance to appeal to a judicial body or ask for a review of the decision for dismissal.

“If the TSK is transformed into a professional army under its existing cadre, then its pro-coup staff will also professionalize. The armed forces should, first of all, be reformed and restructured. In this way, it will focus on its actual goals. However, there is strong resistance within the military against plans for such reform and restructuring because they are afraid of change,” Tarhan added.

The General Staff estimates that a professional army would cost around $45 billion, a cost that cannot be met by the budget currently allocated to the armed forces.

For some time, there have been rumors circulating that the General Staff may consider allowing males to fulfill their compulsory military service by paying a large fee and completing around one month of service. Currently, male citizens who live abroad are allowed to choose this option. The rumors have led to excitement among thousands of young males who have been waiting for the General Staff to establish a paid military service reduction in the country. Many Turkish men are unhappy with conscription, which requires them to spend months away from their families and jobs.

However, the General Staff says it does not have enough conscripts to allow others to fulfill their military service through a paid program. It also believes such an option would lead to unease in society, which would spur those unable to afford the paid option to question whether they are obliged to spend several months in military barracks just because they do not have enough money to escape conscription.

“The General Staff says it needs more conscripts. But there are thousands of soldiers who spend their days peeling potatoes in the kitchens of military facilities or serving as waiters at orduevis [dining facilities for members of the military.] Are such services the duty of a conscript? If conscripts are used to fulfill their required duties instead of unnecessary ones such as these, then the General Staff would not be short of soldiers. Their number would be adequate to establish a professional army,” Tarhan remarked.

Emre Aköz, a columnist for the Sabah daily, agreed with Tarhan and said mandatory military service should be abolished.

“The armed forces waste the country's resources with activities that are not related to security. However, generals do not see it as a problem because the money [they waste] is not theirs. Mandatory military service should be abolished, and Turkey should professionalize its military. A soldier is responsible for ensuring security, not for working like a servant or waiter,” he noted.