Document created: 31 December 03
Air University Review, May-June 1972

Turkey’s Professional
Military Education

Lieutenant Colonel Harold A. Susskind 

Divided by the Bosporus, Istanbul is the only city of the world that is located on two continents, Europe and Asia. European Istanbul, which embraces both sides of an inlet of the Bosporus called the Golden Horn, is built on seven hills somewhat like Rome.

Constantinople, as Istanbul was known at the turn of the century, was two distinct cities. To the north of the Golden Horn rose Pera, once the city of the Christians; to the south of it was Stambul, the city of the Moslems. To drive across the harbor by way of the Galata Bridge was to pass from one world, from one period of history, to another.

Whether by design or accident, it is fitting that Turkey’s highest military schools, the Turkish Combined War Colleges, are entrenched high on a hill in the northern section of this strategically situated city—the crossroads of East and West.

The War College was founded in 1848 by Sultan Abdulmecit I, for the purpose of raising the standards of the Ottoman Imperial Army. Today, it can count among its graduates four presidents, eighteen prime ministers, and 120 high government officials, including Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, founder of the Turkish Republic.

During the early 1800s the Turkish military, realizing the need to establish a source of professional general staff officers, directed its efforts toward raising the standards of instruction at the Ottoman Imperial Military Academy. In 1848 the efforts finally bore fruit as students graduating from the Military Academy with distinguished records were admitted to the new War College for further training and study. The goal of the college was to prepare graduating academy students for command positions and to train them as staff officers and engineers.

The college was moved to its present location, at Yildiz, Istanbul, in 1908 and put under direct command and supervision of the Turkish General Staff.

From 1908 until 1922 the college periodically ceased operation as the wars of that period required all military efforts. However, during this time many changes in the curriculum and student selection programs were made. The competitive entrance examination system was adopted.

In 1927 the college was renamed the Combined War Colleges Command. In 1930 the Navy War College was founded, seven years later the Air War College was founded, and both became a part of the command.

In 1955 officers graduating from the service war colleges were enrolled in the Joint Staff College, which in 1964 was renamed Armed Forces College. The Armed Forces College was deactivated in March 1971, and its courses were added to the curriculum of the service war colleges.

The Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Warfare School in Cankiri was deactivated in 1966 and re-established at the Combined War Colleges Command.

The Combined War Colleges Command is a high-level academic and research institution of the Turkish General Staff. Its major duties may be summarized as
—training officers as managers for staff and command positions in the armed forces

—training managers and administrators for high-level national security services of the state 

—undertaking professional research and formulating draft proposals on issues deemed important by the Turkish General Staff

—designing and conducting courses on subjects deemed necessary by the Turkish General Staff.

At present 192 students are enrolled in the four war colleges. The National Security College has 23 (6 generals, 3 colonels, and 14 civil servants); Army War College, 104; Navy War College, 30; and Air War College, 35.

The National Defense College, founded as part of the War Colleges Command in 1952-53 and renamed National Security College in 1964, is the highest military school in the command. Classes are for colonels, sometimes generals and high-ranking civilian officials. Besides some basic subjects, the course includes lectures on national issues (primarily national power and related issues) and international topics, including research on national strategy.

The Armed Forces College was a combined school for Army, Navy, and Air Force officers, and only graduates from service colleges were eligible to attend. Duration of the school was nine months. The course emphasized strategy, tactics, and staff duties at the Turkish General Staff and theater-of-operations level, military culture, and social sciences.

The service colleges (Army, Navy, and Air) have two-year education programs. Attendees are generally captains or new majors, who graduate to become staff officers. Emphasis is placed on tactics and staff duties at the armed forces command level, on military culture (military geography, history of war), and on social sciences (law, economics, and political history).

To supplement the regular courses, an active guest lecturer program provides for a sizable number of international officers and key civilians to address the colleges each year. The lectures are attended by all the students of the school. Nineteen officers of the United States military services have made presentations during the past two years, with ten more planned for the 1971-72 academic year.

Since its beginning in 1848, the Army War College has graduated 3076 students, while the Navy and Air War Colleges have turned out 281 and 398 respectively, for an overall command total of 3755. Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan, Nationalist China, United States, and Libya have sent 105 students to the various colleges during this period.

Study tours in foreign countries are also planned every year. However, due to the shortage of funds, many have had to be canceled. During the 1969-70 school year only the students of the National Security College were able to go on a visit to England. During the academic year 1970-71 the commanders and instructors assigned to the colleges visited the German War Colleges in Hamburg. A similar trip was made to Great Britain in October 1971.

General Dogan Ozgocmen, Commandant of the Combined War Colleges Command until August 30, 1971, commented on the success of the college structure:

The educational and the training system of the colleges is generally satisfactory. However, we are at present in the process of making some improvements in the educational system.

New subjects and courses—on the level of those taught in similar high-level academic institutions—are being introduced to equip the staff officers with the necessary knowledge and tools to deal with the problems of our age.

Since many of the instructors at the War Colleges Command have attended American military colleges after their graduation from the Turkish war colleges, it is entirely possible that some of the subjects taught in U.S. military command colleges could find their way into the curriculum of the Turkish schools.

Perhaps it is of some significance that 167 Turkish officers have attended the USAF Air University at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama. Just as interesting is that seven of the ten international officers who lectured at the Turkish colleges during 1970-71 were USAF officers, speaking on such topics as “Tactical Air Operations in Southeast Asia,” “Combat Support in Southeast Asia,” “Military Problems in NATO,” “Operations Analysis,” “Close Air Combat Support,” and “Air Defense of the Southern Region.”

Perhaps this emphasis on air power (tactics, strategy, logistics) stems from the fact that eastern Turkey shares a 200-mile direct frontier with the Soviet Union, which in NATO occurs in only one other place, the extreme northern part of Norway. The southeastern part of Turkey borders on Syria and Iraq for over 500 miles.

One of the main difficulties in the defense of eastern and southeastern Turkey is the substantial numerical superiority of the Soviet Air Force, which could be brought to bear to support a land battle; this would be especially true if the Soviets were joined by the combined Syrian and Iraqi Air Forces, which together almost equal the entire Turkish Air Force and include over 100 MIG-21s.

Problems like these are looked into daily as part of the program of the Air War College.

Lieutenant General Fred M. Dean, USAF, Commander AIRSOUTH, in his guest lecture on air defense emphasized the importance of an effective and integrated air defense system, especially in NATO’s Southern Region, where Warsaw Pact nations boast a numerical air superiority of four to one.

Addressing over 250 members of the school, Dean pointed out that in peacetime the air defense system must not only preserve the integrity of airspace but must also demonstrate the capability to react effectively to any aggression:

In the event of hostilities, we could expect a penetrating force of over 1000 aircraft in the first day of any attack. . . . All of these aircraft, which are modern first line, would be met by our much smaller defending force that is only half as modernized.

Lieutenant General Joseph H. Moore, USAF, then Commander, Sixth Allied Tactical Air Force (NATO), speaking to the college on close air support, said:

For delivery of the full spectrum of conventional ordnance necessary in our new air operations concept, as well as the nuclear weapons, great flexibility is required. Commanders must be able to employ their forces in various roles and types of missions. Our air power is limited in numbers; therefore, our aircrews must be exceptionally well trained and proficient. Our equipment and ordnance must be utilized effectively; every round and every bomb must count. None can be wasted.

Major General Tahsin Sahinkaya, Commander of the Turkish Air War College until August 30, 1971, is a product of the U.S. flying training programs. He entered pilot training at San Antonio, Texas, in April 1944 and received his wings as a fighter pilot a year later. General Sahinkaya commented on the curriculum:

The academic program of the Air War College is generally satisfactory. However, we are considering certain improvements in our program. We are planning to include Operations Research as a new course in our curriculum. Furthermore, we want to expand the scope of courses such as statistics, military management, and human relations which are already in our program.

Turkish War College graduates are in evidence in NATO assignments. Headed by Brigadier General Cemal Kahraman, Assistant Chief of Staff for Operations, 11 of the 21 Turkish Air Force officers assigned to NATO’s Allied Air Forces Southern Europe are graduates of the Air War College and Armed Forces College.

With the spirit of Atatürk prevalent throughout the school, excellent leadership, and skilled instructors, the future for the Turkish War Colleges Command looks bright.

Hq Allied Air Forces Southern Europe

Contributor

Lieutenant Colonel Harold A. Susskind is Director of Information, AIRSOUTH, Naples, Italy. During World War II, he flew two combat tours as navigator with the Eighth Air Force. Recalled to active duty in 1951, he flew as navigator-bombardier in air rescue and other assignments before transition into the public information career field. One of the first information officers to be assigned to Southeast Asia, he won the Aviation Space Writers’ Orville Wright Award in 1964. Colonel Susskind attended New York University and is a graduate of the Boston University public relations course.

Disclaimer

The conclusions and opinions expressed in this document are those of the author cultivated in the freedom of expression, academic environment of Air University. They do not reflect the official position of the U.S. Government, Department of Defense, the United States Air Force or the Air University.

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