How post-coup purges depleted Turkey's military
New data shows military purges by the Turkish government in the aftermath of the July 15 coup attempt have adversely affected the combat strength of the Turkish Armed Forces.
In the aftermath of the July 15 abortive coup attempt, four major purges on July 27, July 30, Sept. 2 and Sept. 7 dismissed thousands of officers and noncommissioned officers from the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK). Since then, speculation has been rife on how these purges have affected the TSK’s combat effectiveness and on whether there will be problems filling critical posts.
On Sept. 8, for the first time since the purges, the official website of the chief of staff provided a breakdown on the TSK personnel changes.
According to the figures given, today, about 351,000 personnel are serving in the Turkish army, navy and air force: 206 generals, 29,949 officers, 67,476 noncommissioned officers (NCO), 48,879 specialist soldiers, 15,888 contractual soldiers and 188,611 conscripts. Accordingly, 46% of the TSK are professionals, while 54% are conscripts.
When we compare these numbers with the March 2016 figures, we see a 38% reduction in the number of generals, which then numbered 325 in three branches and an 8% reduction from 32,451 officers. There were no major changes in other ranks.
