Army to brief PM on new military service model

The ambiguity over a plan to restructure the country’s conscription regulations is getting deeper, as Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan denied his deputy’s statement that these regulations were suspended.“Nothing has been suspended,” Erdoğan said late Friday at a reception where he answered questions from journalists.

Though the military’s silence continues, it is believed that a 12-month unified model is favored by the army, who is concerned that a shorter military service will cause severe problems in responding to terrorist threats posed by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK.

The Turkish General Staff is still working on the matter, according to Erdoğan, and will brief the prime minister upon completion.

“Suspending or putting it aside is not in question. We have yet to be informed of the subject. It would be wrong to decide without knowing anything. We will make a decision after the briefing,” said the prime minister.

As for a possible schedule, Erdoğan informed the press that the military was ready for the briefing and that a meeting would be scheduled in the next two weeks.

The prime minister, upon questions regarding the unified service model and a possible paid military service, refused to make any further statements without receiving more information and holding talks with officials.

It has been claimed that the Justice and Development Party, or AKP, is working on a model that will reduce the 15-month service term to 12 or nine months and the six-month term to four months.

According to reports, the General Staff will inform Erdoğan that such a model will reduce the rate of filling the required number of soldiers by 50 percent, while damaging not only the fight against terror but the routine operation of the Turkish Armed Forces, or TSK.

The unified military service plan would require all male Turkish citizens to serve nine months in the military regardless of their education. The current system stipulates that conscripts with elementary school or high school diplomas serve 15 months in the military, while those with a four-year bachelor’s degree or higher serve between six and 12 months as reserve officers.

At the same time, the new conscription rules will also provide longer periods of training for new recruits, including a special 45-day weapons training program to be given to all soldiers following their basic training, while also removing the need for reserves officers.

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com