Turkish military struggles to find new recruits
The Turkish Armed Forces has to overcome serious structural problems, including inadequate recruitment, before switching from a conscription-based military to a fully professional force.
According to the official website of the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK), Turkey has the second-largest army in NATO. As of March 1, the TSK has 610,095 personnel. Of this number, 315,229 (52%) are civilians conscripted for stints of either six or 12 months. When more than half of its personnel are conscripts, it is difficult to say that the TSK is made up of volunteers and professional personnel.
The TSK maintains that its Cold War force now faces the tough mission of reducing its size while increasing its effectiveness and transitioning from a citizen army to a professional one.
TSK commanders are aware that the path to a professional army requires reducing the number of conscripts, hence their drive for a "contractual soldiers" system. As of March 1, there were 10,413 contractual soldiers in service.
The military has been trying to inform the public about the benefits of contractual soldiering, but so far there has not been much interest. The army has 80,000 vacant positions for contractual soldiers waiting for applicants.
