Turkey's Supreme Military Council (YAŞ), which is headed by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, will convene next Monday at the headquarters of the army chief in Ankara to determine the military's agenda. YAŞ, which is comprised of the prime minister, defense minister and the 15 highest-ranked members of the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK), convenes biannually in August and December, and this year will hold its regular meeting on Aug. 4-6.
Prime Minister Erdoğan will chair the YAŞ meeting - his last YAŞ meeting as prime minister if he is elected as president on Aug. 10. The military council traditionally meets twice a year to discuss issues related to personnel, training and future plans for the armed forces. According to military sources, the agenda of next week's meeting is dominated by the annual round of appointments and promotions. The YAŞ is expected to discuss the promotion of 192 generals and admirals who are on the promotion list.
YAŞ will also consider generals and admirals who were jailed pending trial in the Sledgehammer (Balyoz), Feb. 28 and military espionage trials and released in recent months. Several media outlets reported last week that YAŞ also would discuss closure of the second Air Force Command in the southeastern province of Diyarbakır. In June a masked demonstrator climbed a flagpole at the 2nd Air Force Command and removed the Turkish flag from the mast. The YAŞ meeting will end on Aug. 6, and the decisions will subsequently be forwarded to President Gül for ratification.
