The first week of August is of critical importance for the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK). The High Military Council (HMC) that will decide the high-level new appointments and promotions in the TSK will meet in Ankara on Aug. 3-5 under Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu. This session is considered pivotal for Turkey, which has been in political turmoil since the June 7 general elections and has now plunged into a two-front struggle against the Islamic State (IS) and the Kurdistan Workers Party, making security the overriding consideration in the country.
Although the annual August meetings of the HMC are always followed with some interest, this year's attention is phenomenal, as the positions to be adopted by the new command will also affect the political wrangling in Ankara. This influence may also explain reports that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan instructed Davutoglu, “We will go to the HMC as the [Justice and Development Party] AKP government.”
One educated guess is that Erdogan has delayed the haggling over a new government to give the AKP the chance to dominate the HMC and shape the TSK command as a single ruling party and not as a coalition government. Erdogan has experience in managing the HMC meetings and getting his demands adopted. His influence will be greater now as president of the republic.
Why is the HMC this year so special and critical? It's simple: Current Chief of General Staff Gen. Necdet Ozel, who was appointed in 2011, is retiring. Unless something extraordinary happens, his successor will be the current commander of the land forces, Gen. Hulusi Akar.
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