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The Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) underwent a significant transformation, first in decades, following the July 15 2016 coup attempt. Such a transformation, by the hand of a civilian government, was unprecedented for the country. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan says the army is now stronger, more deterrent and has higher capacity “compared to nine years ago.”
Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) used its military infiltrators to carry out a coup to oust Erdoğan and install a puppet regime in 2016. FETÖ’s conspiracy to plant infiltrators in every rank in the army would almost pay off, but an unexpected public resistance by thousands willing to sacrifice their lives to confront the putschists thwarted the attempt.
After the coup attempt was quashed, the government took major steps to prevent future coup attempts and weed out members of FETÖ in the army, including those who did not participate in the coup and hid their links. Tens of thousands of people with links to the group were expelled, while ringleaders of the putschists were sentenced to life. Several military bases were moved outside the cities as putschists were able to attempt to capture urban areas quickly.
A significant change was the establishment of the National Defense University that brought together the military academies of Land, Naval and Air Forces of the army. On Saturday, Erdoğan attended the graduation ceremony of new cadets from the university’s academies in the capital Ankara. The event, held on Victory Day every year, came one year after a group of new graduates staged a display of defiance against their superiors at the graduation ceremony, borrowing a slogan of the secular elite, which supported the past coups.
“We managed to repair the damage inflicted by this gang of treason called FETÖ on our military training system. We achieved the impossible in nine years,” Erdoğan told the ceremony on Saturday. “We have seen people awaiting to cheer the weakness of the army after July 15, but they are disappointed. The Turkish Armed Forces are stronger now,” Erdoğan said. He noted that Türkiye mobilized all resources in terms of personnel, training, equipment and technological capacity for the army. “You see our naval power in TEKNOFEST Blue Homeland. In the coming days, we will have more events, more good news, more deliveries to the army that will make us proud,” Erdoğan said, referring to a technology festival in Istanbul that focuses on innovations in naval defense by Türkiye’s local defense industry.
“With the strong support of our National Defense University, our army proved to both friends and foes that it stands tall,” Erdoğan said. “Those who thought they cut off our arm on July 15 saw that it was only our beard. We crushed the snakes they had nurtured for 40 years and dismantled their plans overnight with Allah’s help and our nation’s heroic resistance,” referring to FETÖ’s secret infiltration into the army for decades.
He pledged continued investment in personnel, training, equipment and technology, citing recent deliveries such as a 47-vehicle Steel Dome system from defense contractor ASELSAN.
“Our motto, ‘Strong Türkiye, Strong Army,’ will be realized step by step,” he said, adding that future defense programs and achievements would “make us proud.”
The president reminded graduates that they had undergone demanding training at the National Defense University, calling the military uniform they now wear “the legacy of martyrs and veterans.” He urged them to carry out their duties with honor and discipline.
“You are the guarantee of our nation’s uninterrupted march of victories on these lands for a thousand years,” Erdoğan said. “Never forget, as throughout history, our people trust you today as well. Do not betray that trust.”
Erdoğan stressed that Türkiye has no history of oppression, colonialism or atrocities. “You are the children of a noble nation that has never inclined toward tyranny or massacre, and that has always upheld humanitarian values even in war,” he said.
Turning to current conflicts, Erdoğan condemned the bloodshed in Gaza, calling it the work of “a network of murder blinded by hatred, blood and revenge.” He added: “We were never like them, and we never will be. As president of Türkiye and commander-in-chief, I expect each of you to act with this sense of justice and compassion.”
Erdoğan emphasized the importance of discipline in military life, quoting the Republic’s founder, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk: “An army with perfect discipline never loses its spiritual strength, even in the most difficult retreats. But an undisciplined army collapses at the first withdrawal.”
