What are the problems faced by personnel employed as non-commissioned officers in the Turkish Armed Forces after their transition to officer status?

Do Those Transitioning from Non-Commissioned Officer to Officer Experience Conflict of Belonging and Culture?

As a common method in psychology, it is aimed to get to the root of the problem that the person is experiencing, and for this purpose, to go back to the childhood of that person, first to solve the problem in childhood, and then to eliminate the problem in the present.

In my opinion, in order to reach the essence of the subject described in the title and to evaluate it in all its aspects, it is first necessary to look at Turkish military history. When we examine the organizational and educational structure of the Turkish Army, which was established during the reign of Metehan (209 B.C.), the following characteristics emerge:

Since the earliest periods of history, Turks have attached particular importance to the army and education, and thanks to these armies, they have established states, empires and even world empires, and have been the defenders of rights and justice.

Military service was not considered a separate profession among the ancient Turks. Due to the social character of the society and the state, every Turk was also a warrior who was ready for battle at any moment by receiving a good war education and training. In ancient Turks, there was no difference between normal daily life and military life. 

In the ancient Turks, individuals found their personalities with their fighting and fighting spirits that developed over time, and they found a place in the society to the extent of the heroism they would show in battles.

After Islam, the military organization structures of the Central Asian Turkish States and the Anatolian Seljuk State and principalities had similar characteristics to the military organization that emerged during the Mete period.

Within the scope of Academic Education; Enderun Schools were opened for the first time in our history during the reign of Murat I in 1363 and military schools were opened from the 19th century onwards to train military personnel.

During the period from 209 BC until the last years of the Ottoman Empire, there was no 'non-commissioned officer' class in the Turkish Army in today's sense. However, even though there was no non-commissioned officer class in today's sense, we can say that some ranks were equivalent to the current non-commissioned officer ranks. 

In addition, the similarities in the names used at that time, which correspond to the current ranks, should not be considered as the equivalent of today's ranks. 

In our recent history, the efforts to organize the Turkish army in accordance with the era and to reorganize the structure of the army began during the reign of Sultan Mahmut II.

In order to meet the need for officers in the first place, the "Mekteb-i Harbiye", today's War School, was established in 1834. In 1845, Military Idadis were established in order to form the student resource of the Mekteb-i Harbiye. With this new structure, the training of the officers and senior managers (Pashas) needed by the Ottoman Army was based on a principle.

The army's need for mid-level managers started with the recruitment of conscripts who were constantly performing the same duties and therefore had developed knowledge and skills. These conscripts were henceforth called "Gedikli Erbaş".

In the late 19th century, since the officers trained at the Cadet School of War did not meet the need, in order to fill this gap, Gedikli Enlisted Soldiers in the army began to be promoted to higher ranks according to their success and abilities in the troops. Within this framework, a soldier who entered the army as a private had the opportunity to be promoted from private to the rank of Müşir and even to the Chief of General Staff. Thus, those who were promoted from private to officer were started to be called ALAYLI, in the sense of 'trained' officers, taking into account the source they came from. In the same years, those who graduated from military schools and started their career directly as officers were called MEKTEPLI. 

The term "ALAYLI" and "MEKTEPLI" and, in a sense, the rivalry between the military personnel within the command cadre of the army organization started in this period.

During the reign of Abdülhamid II, the rivalry between the officers from the regiment and the school had increased even more, and it went as far as the Istanbul Uprising. Enver Pasha, who was the head of the Ittihadist soldiers who carried out a coup d'état with the Bab-ı Ali raid, retired many of the officers in the Ottoman Army who were from the Regiment after he seized power.

With the Constitutional Monarchy II, the Ottoman Army also sought to restructure itself. In this context, with a regulation issued in 1909, "Gedikli Küçük Zabitan İptidai Mektepleri" were opened at the elementary school level in order to establish a basis for the training of junior officers (non-commissioned officers) as in the training of officers. Later, as a continuation of these schools for junior officers, junior officer schools were opened at the secondary school level. Students graduating from these schools were enlisted in the army after completing two years of education related to their class, in other words, after their education at the junior officer schools.

In the period following the proclamation of the Republic, some regulations were introduced in the Turkish Armed Forces. The designation "NCO", as we know it today, was defined as a new class, as a continuation of the old practice of junior officers, with a law enacted in 1951. In 1951, the objectives of the Law No. 5802 on Non-Commissioned Officers were as follows:

- To establish a new class of soldiers with the name "non-commissioned officer" to "use" the weapons in our army and "teach them to use them",

- In order to prevent these non-commissioned officers, who are promoted to the rank of "Senior Sergeant Major", from creating a disgruntled group within the army, "military technicians" and "military clerks" will be appointed from those who are willing and meet the necessary conditions, and with these names, a "new officer" class will be formed,

- With these measures, officers of the rank of lieutenant-captain will be included in the command and service committee of the army's subordinate echelon to form a permanent base of the army,

- In this way, to train fewer officers from the War Schools and to meet the officer needs of the Turkish Armed Forces by utilizing non-commissioned officers as officers,

- Providing our officers with a longer period of military education in order to train officers with a higher capacity for higher command,

- The aim was to create a new class of soldiers called "non-commissioned officers" to perform all the duties of military officers and thus abolish the military civil service (since they would perform the duties of the military officers included in the officer class, non-commissioned officers would also be promoted to the rank of officer),

However, the right to transfer to the rank of officer, which was put in favor of the non-commissioned officer class in order not to create a doomed class, was never put into practice as envisaged in the law with additional amendments made over the years.

Both in the Ottoman period and in the Republican Army (the first name of our Army), the personnel structure was composed of two classes: 

- Private,

- Officer.

Later on, our army started to be called the "Turkish Armed Forces" with the amendments made to the law. The personnel working in the positions within the organization of the Turkish Armed Forces were re-classified and reclassified into 8 different classes. As a result of this new arrangement, the statuses of Officers, Non-Commissioned Officers, Civil Servants, Specialized Gendarmes, Specialist Gendarmes, Specialist Privates, Privates, Contracted Privates and Privates emerged.

After Turkey signed the Geneva Convention in 1949 and joined NATO in 1952, the NATO command and force structure was taken as an example by the Turkish Armed Forces in terms of organization, material and personnel. In fact, there were no major differences with Western armies. Indeed, the German model had been predominantly adopted from the Ottoman period onwards, and this model had continued in the Republican period. 

As a matter of fact, when the NATO Document STANAG-2116, which is one of the documents setting the standards for Western Armies, is analyzed, it will be seen that soldiers are divided into two categories: Officers and Privates. Therefore, after 1952, it was decided that it would be more appropriate to transition to a personnel structure similar to that of NATO countries and to adopt a structure in line with STANAGs. Thus, since the NCO class in our own organizational structure was not included in the NATO organizational structure, NCOs were also included in the "Private" status.

After evaluating the historical flow of the non-commissioned officer class and its status in the organizational structure of other countries, I would like to summarize my positive/negative evaluations about the sources applied for becoming an officer today and the transition process.

Today, as in the past, due to the fact that the number of officers graduating from the War Schools cannot meet the officer requirement of the Turkish Armed Forces, in order to fill the officer cadres and to meet the need, the following methods have been applied for selection to the officer ranks and the recruitment of officers continues:

- Non-commissioned officers who are willing and meet the criteria for becoming an officer,

- Those who have graduated from the relevant branches of universities and meet the criteria for becoming an officer,

- Those who are willing to be contracted / enlisted and meet the criteria for becoming an officer from the ranks of privates / privates / midshipmen who are doing their compulsory military service, 

Those who are successful after the exams, interviews and classroom training begin to serve as officers in the Turkish Armed Forces. 

The attitude of the Force Commands and, in the new situation, the Ministry of National Defense Directorate General of Personnel in the context of the change of status regarding the transition from non-commissioned officer to officer may positively or negatively affect the willingness of non-commissioned officers who meet the requirements to transition to officer status. Regarding change of status; 

- Lack of a transparent system in place (quotas, etc.), 

- Although there are sufficient number of experienced non-commissioned officers in the internal resources, it is preferred to outsource the officer requirement,

- While the time spent in the military profession in the past (for example, the period of compulsory military service) is included in the rank progression when the new status is acquired, the time spent in the profession during the transition of non-commissioned officers to officer status is ignored in the calculations,

- Evaluation of a university graduate candidate applying from external sources to serve as an officer in the TAF for the first time under the same conditions (health report, interview, knowledge exam, etc.) as a non-commissioned officer with a history of serving as a ranking personnel in the TAF,

- The existence of a perception that personnel who transitioned from non-commissioned officers to officers are generally not preferred in appointments to successful managerial positions,

- Perception of the reflection of resource differences in career planning with letter codes in the registration numbers as a form of discrimination among officers, 

As a non-commissioned officer considers that his/her past will have a negative impact on his/her future, no matter how successful he/she is, these issues negatively affect his/her (the majority of non-commissioned officers') decision to change status and may cause them not to transfer to officer status.

On the other hand, some aspects such as the personal rights granted to those with officer status (pension, living in a lodging house, more access to social facilities, etc.) and the value that officer status carries in public opinion positively affect the desire of some of the non-commissioned officers to transition to officer status.

The TAF is a whole with its hierarchical system and disciplinary structure. The difference in resources used in the formation of the hierarchical structure in terms of personnel is ultimately reflected in the personal rights of personnel. These differences remind us of the discussions of the past on the subject of the ALAYI and MEKETEPLİ, and although not specified in the laws, this distinction is clearly felt by the personnel in their professional life. However, there may be some isolated incidents and sometimes the discussions may turn into a status or class conflict between officers and non-commissioned officers. However, at the end of the day, the situation is managed in a way that does not harm the honor and dignity of the military profession, without reflecting the problems experienced to the outside world.

After July 15, 2016, new arrangements were made in the system of promotion to the ranks of general/admiral among officers who meet the appropriate criteria through the decisions of military councils within the Turkish Armed Forces. As a result of this, for the first time in the history of our Republic, a few of our non-commissioned officers have been promoted to the rank of general, as we have seen in NATO countries, and non-commissioned officers have been assigned to some critical positions. I believe that the continuation of this practice has positive effects for those who wish to transition from non-commissioned officer to officer, and increases the willingness of individuals to make efforts for a change in status.

In the meantime, when we examine the 'Non-Commissioned Officer Law' adopted in 1951, it should be known that no quota limit was set for transition to officer status. Therefore, I believe that every non-commissioned officer who deserves it should be given the opportunity to become an officer, and that the Force Commands and the Ministry of National Defense should change their understanding in order to make the transition from non-commissioned officers to officers instead of outsourcing. In addition, it is known that even in those years, a law was passed to ensure that those who had done their job as non-commissioned officers properly were not victimized when they retired, and that they could retire with full salary. I believe that the continuation of a similar approach will not only increase the interest of young people in the non-commissioned officer profession, but also ensure that non-commissioned officers are given their personal rights, especially when they retire, without any distinction between officers and non-commissioned officers. 

Conclusion 

The structure of the Turkish Armed Forces, which was restructured in the Republican era, is largely similar to the Army organization structure of the Ottoman Empire. The Turkish Army was composed of Officer and Enlisted classes, and no restrictions were imposed in the past on the transition of successful enlisted personnel to officer status over time. For example, when we look at the first Commanders of the Turkish Military Academy, we see that the majority of them joined the Army as Privates, later became officers and some of them even rose to the rank of field marshal. In fact, this understanding is in line with NATO documents and the Geneva Convention, and it is a situation that we are no stranger to in terms of our history and Army tradition.

However, the organizational structure we inherited from the Ottoman Empire, which went beyond the promotion path from "Private to General", was abandoned. Thick and impenetrable walls were built between the NCO and Officer classes. Two separate classes were created, each imprisoned within itself. I believe that the diversity of classes and/or statuses created in the Turkish Armed Forces over the years eventually led to the emergence of a kind of caste system. There has been an expectation that whichever status a person wears the military uniform, he/she will serve until his/her retirement without disturbing that status. This is so ingrained that it is accepted both by those who enter the Army as non-commissioned officers and by Turkish society. Those who questioned this situation caused discomfort. However, it should be known that the understanding of the 'caste system' is contrary to the statement in Article 42 of our Constitution, which states that "No one shall be deprived of the right to education and training".

In this context, first of all, considering that the Turkish Armed Forces is a whole and a big family from Private to General, I believe that the implementation of a 'single roof' in the military education and training system would be a practice that could eliminate the non-commissioned officer/officer distinction within the Turkish Army. 

For example, I believe that it should be ensured that both outsourced and non-commissioned officers study together with the final year cadets, share the same environment and mingle as much as possible, graduate from the Cadet Schools as Lieutenants together with them at the end of the year, receive training together in class schools, and finally transition to officer status as a Lieutenant graduating from the Cadet School without any discrimination. I believe that this would also serve to shelve practices that cause unrest among personnel, such as the current registration number practice, different personal rights, and appointments that evoke discrimination. 

As a result, it will pave the way for more non-commissioned officers to become officers, and as a result of ensuring that everyone who deserves to be an officer becomes an officer, the sense of belonging of all non-commissioned officers and officers serving in the Turkish Army will be higher, and unity and solidarity will be further increased. Thus, the path from NCO to General will be opened, not symbolically, but in real terms. In the end, it will be possible for everyone who performs military service to serve in the Turkish Army in the positions, ranks and positions they deserve by using all their knowledge and experience in a sweet competition, and as an important gain, a great distance will be achieved in ensuring the unity and solidarity of our army.