Today, the Turkish General Staff issued personnel figures for the Turkish Armed Forces. According to several newspapers including Radikal, this is the first time the General Staff has released such a detailed personnel report. It shows that 1% of the Turkish population is currently in the military or in military-related civil service. Here are the numbers as of November 2011:
General/Admiral 365
Commissioned Officer 39,975
Non-commissioned Officer 95,824
Specialized Gendarmerie 24,700
Specialized Private 40,515
Contracted Private –
Total Specialized Personnel 201,379
Reserve Officer 6,829
Private 458,368
Total Compulsory Personnel 465,197
Total Military Personnel 666,576
Civil Servants/Workers 53,424
Grand Total 720,000
To put this in perspective, Turkey has one general/admiral for every 370 officers (commissioned and non-commissioned), while the U.S. has one for every 5,800 officers. Here are the exact numbers for the U.S. Armed Forces as of September 30, 2011, courtesy of the Department of Defense:
General/Admiral 41
Total Officer 237,401
Total Enlisted 1,174,228
Total Active Duty Military Personnel 1,425,113
This month, Turkey is deep in debate about its compulsory military service, with some insisting the institution must be preserved and others calling for a more professional military. A draft bill is currently in the works, backed by both parties and reluctantly accepted by the military, that will allow conscripts to pay a fine to avoid military service. According to Hurriyet Daily News, the Deputy Prime Minister has suggested that conscientious objectors be given alternative public service instead of jail time (addressing a criticism by the European Court of Human Rights), but the Defense Minister has denied the existence of any such plan. Overall, the military’s domestic influence has been unusually low since late July, when the four top commanders resigned early in protest of the government’s involvement in military promotions.
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