The War Colleges Command in Istanbul is the highest training and education institution of the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK). After a stiff examination and selection process, about a hundred staff officer candidates are selected from among thousands of applicants. They assemble in Istanbul every March to mark the beginning of their academic year.

It is a tradition for the president to make the opening speech to these selected officers, who are likely to constitute the Turkish military's future command. The speeches usually focus on national, global and regional security environments, and foreign relations. But this year and last, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's speeches deviated from this template.

Last year, Erdogan’s speech was dominated by the anguish he felt about the mistreatment of hundreds of officers arrested on charges of involvement in the Sledgehammer and Ergenekon coup conspiracies. Prominent in his speech was his allegation that illegal branches of the Gulenist movement were behind these plots against the military. Erdogan was quoted as saying, “We, too, were deceived. I never approved the detention of soldiers, but there wasn’t anything we could do because of our respect for the word of the law.” In that speech, which was interpreted by the media as Erdogan’s apology to the military, he also expressed his faith in the "solution process" with the Kurds, asked for the TSK’s support for the process and called on the military to show “some patience with the PKK.”

“We cannot ignore the hopes of this nation because of some provocations, insolence and audacity. If there is a light at the end for a final solution, we have to pursue it," he said.