Chief of General Staff General Metin Gürak has been retired, and Land Forces Commander General Selçuk Bayraktaroğlu appointed as his replacement. The surprise decision was taken at the regular meeting of the Supreme Military Council chaired by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
Metin Tokel, Commander of the 1st Army, was named as the new Land Forces Commander. This appointment paves the way for his promotion to Chief of General Staff in future.
Appointed Chief of General Staff in 2023 for a term of up to four years, Gürak was well below the maximum retirement age and had been expected to remain in office for at least another two years under normal circumstances. He became the first Chief of General Staff to be dismissed from office in Turkey in 56 years, following Cemal Tural.
A statement from the Presidency said that Gürak was retired because there were no other positions available for him, but according to information obtained by Turkey in Depth, the real reason has not been disclosed. The change of guard cannot be linked to the deaths of 12 armed forces personnel in controversial circumstances within the last month, since of the two commanders responsible for the personnel in question, Land Forces Commander Bayraktaroğlu was promoted toChief of General Staff, and Naval Forces Commander Ercüment Tatlıoğlu's term of office was extended for another year for a second time.
Gürak may have opposed the dismissal of a group of lieutenants for taking a superseded oath with drawn swords at the Military Academy graduation ceremony last year. Other high-ranking commanders who objected to the penalty at the High Disciplinary Board have been assigned to passive duties in recent months.
