The shocking attack on the Aktütün military outpost in Şemdinli, in which 17 soldiers were killed, reminded Turkish society of many harsh realities, including the difficult situation of special sergeants, who are of particular importance in the fight against terrorism. Six special sergeants were killed in the Aktütün attack, but most of the nation doesn't have a clue who these special sergeants are.
Most of these young men come from poor families.

The future was not very promising for them. Like everyone else, they dreamt about a peaceful and prosperous life, but they knew that this was nothing more than a dream. These conditions were often their main reasons for becoming special sergeants, but they are patriots, too. Otherwise, it would be almost impossible for them to walk into the mountains, sometimes for days and days without seeing a bed. They are aware that if they die, their families will be honored, but if they decide to give up, there will not be much for them to do afterwards. If they are able to survive, serious health problems await them. But even when they finish their service safely, the future will not promise much, either. They have a cause for which they are ready to die and kill, and they do. They are young men who decide to stay in the army after completing their compulsory military service. They are the backbone of the fight against terror.



The Turkish army started to intensively recruit special sergeants in the early 1990s, when terror attacks by the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) intensified. These recruitments have continued to this day, and their numbers have reached around 48,000. Those young men are serving in the military establishment all over Turkey, but mostly in the Kurdish-populated areas. Their service periods, usually under difficult conditions, can sometimes be more than seven years. With time they are learning every stone in the regions that they are serving in, they are becoming experts in coping with difficult situations. Some political experts suggest increasing their numbers in order to create a professional army. The special sergeants agree with this suggestion, but they strongly demand that their working conditions, including their monthly salary, which is just YTL 1,600 on average, should be improved and that they be ensured that they will be able to keep their jobs beyond their service periods so they can some day retire.

Special sergeants currently work on a contract basis. They have to renew their contracts periodically. But if they develop certain medical conditions, such as vision impairment, their contract may not be renewed. If their contract is not renewed and they have been with the army for under 10 years, they are simply out of a job. If they are able to make it to 10 years, under some conditions -- for example, if they have diabetics -- they can retire. Their pension is just YTL 740, but they cannot work for the army after the age of 45 anyways. Special sergeants, because of military law, cannot have any organization to defend their employment rights, but the retired ones can join the Retired Experts Association (EMUZDER) if they want to. This organization tries to improve solidarity among special sergeants.

In order to look into the problems faced by special sergeants, Sunday’s Zaman interviewed members of EMUZDER and some other former special sergeants. Birol Doğan and Esef Merdoğlu, from EMUZDER, agreed to speak on the record, but stressed that they were not speaking in the name of their association. But the other former special sergeants, who are not members of the association, requested anonymity in order to speak about their problems more freely.

Merdoğlu said that any male Turkish citizen who has graduated from high school and finished his compulsory military service can apply for a post if the army is in need of expert soldiers. After an examination and a very thorough health examination, they can join the army as experts.

When Doğan is asked why some young people choose to stay in the army, he says patriotic sentiments make being a member of the army more attractive for some young men. Also, economic factors are part of the decision: “There is also a high rate of unemployment in the young population, especially if they have graduated from high school but do not have a university degree. Most of our brothers in arms don’t have the means to pursue a further education. Usually they are the only person in their family who is able to work. To be a special sergeant is also a way to have a very honorable job.”

After being accepted by the army the special sergeants receive training for two or three months before being sent off to their units. But, according to Merdoğlu, this training should be longer. “Special sergeants may be used in riots, as well. But if you don’t have any training on domestic security, of course, it will be difficult to do your job. In our view, special sergeants have to also be trained about the law and some other theoretical subjects. Serving your compulsory military service does not mean that you know the art of being soldier,” he says.

Special sergeants can serve all over Turkey in different areas of expertise, including artillery, tanks and transportation. Based on their job description, they work in the regions where their expertise is needed. This means they have to stay in the same unit at least four years. For example, Doğan says he stayed in the same place for seven years. Merdoğlu was in one region for six years. They don’t comment on these long periods but stress that this is their job and these are the conditions. They don’t want to comment on the working conditions, either. But the anonymous former special sergeants have complaints. “If it is in western Turkey, serving for a long time in the same place is fine, but if you are working in the terrorism areas, it is very destructive. Once we had a friend serving in a remote town in the East. He got married, but his wife was only able to stand it for six months and then they divorced. Later he got engaged and brought his fiancée to the same place to show where her they would live. She left him immediately because he was not able to say how long they would stay there. Finally, he got crazy and had a serious nervous breakdown,” one anonymous special sergeant says.

Merdoğlu and Doğan both have children, and they are grateful to their wives for their patience about their long periods of service. “Once I took my son to the barber and then I was called up for a mission. When I returned home, my son’s hair was longer than before he got the haircut,” Doğan says.

Merdoğlu adds that he loved to spend time with his two children and was keen on making sure they were successful in academics. “While I was on missions I was trying to explain mathematics problems to them on a cell phone,” he recalls.

In Turkey officers and noncommissioned officers have separate barracks that are closed to the public. But they feature entertainment and restaurants for token fees. The families of special sergeants cannot enjoy these privileges unless the special sergeants are killed in action.

The army has quarters for its members, but only a small portion of special sergeants are entitled to live in them. But the main concern of the special sergeants when they were working was their salaries.

“We are called experts, but our expertise does not make any difference in our salaries. A senior special sergeant and a new one both receive exactly the same salary,” Merdoğlu stresses, explaining that they have the same problem when retire.

In the Turkish civil servant employment system, seniority and merit are important elements for salaries and retirement benefits, but special sergeants cannot benefit from the system. According to Merdoğlu, an ordinary civil servant who has worked for the same duration as an expert soldier is entitled to receive almost twice the retirement benefits.

One anonymous expert soldier points out that retirement is not easy. “It does not matter what the conditions are, if you are 45, you have to leave the army. But if your working days are not enough to entitle you to a pension, you are on your own. Think about a man who is 45 years old, who will give a job to them? The only thing that he knows is how to fight. The expert soldier program is new, but in the near future there will be many young men around who are not allowed to serve in the army any more, but who cannot find a job, either. But they nevertheless have a family to feed. They are experts in guns. What do you think? How long they can resist if mafia elements offer them jobs?”

Merdoğlu, Doğan and the anonymous sergeants are all hoping that a bill on the rights of expert soldiers drafted by Yılmaz Ateş from the Republican People’s Party (CHP) will be passed by Parliament as soon as possible.

Asked their opinion on the prospect of the creation of a professional based on expert soldiers, they agree that it’s a good idea.

Doğan says that in the latest PKK ambush if all the soldiers at the military outpost had been expert soldiers, the casualties would have been reduced.

Doğan and Merdoğlu stress that it is an honor to serve the army, but that the expert soldiers could serve better if they felt secure. “If the experts soldiers didn’t have to worry about their future, if they could be sure that their families were fine and their needs were fulfilled, if they knew that they would be entitled to retirement and a reasonable salary, they would serve better. This is human nature,” Merdoğlu says, and Doğan agrees.

One anonymous expert soldier adds, “Most of our friends are hoping to be martyred because, under these circumstances, this is the only way to secure the future of your family.”


Todayszaman