The Supreme Military Council met today under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım to make crucial decisions in Turkey's post-coup attempt military overhaul. The meeting, which took place at Çankaya Prime Ministry Office in Ankara, lasted around 80 minutes.
The council's decisions were approved by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on the same day.
Following the meeting, 584 colonels have been retired from the military while 434 colonels' service time has been extended by two years in a move to reduce the number of commissioned officers. This had long been recognized as more than was necessary for the military. The retired officers include 470 army colonels, 71 from the navy and 45 air force colonels.
The service period for commissioned officers was also decreased to 28 years.
The meeting was held after council members visited the Anıtkabir mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, founder of Turkish republic,
Several top ministers now have seats at the council as a result of a key reforms made in wake of the foiled July 15 coup.
Chief of General Staff Hulusi Akar, Deputy Prime Ministers Nurettin Canikli, Numan Kurtulmuş, Mehmet Şimşek, Tuğrul Türkeş, Veysi Kaynak; Justice Minister Bekir Bozdağ, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, Interior Minister Efkan Ala, Defense Minister Fikri Işık as well as commanders of the Turkish land, air and naval forces attended the meeting.
Under a statutory decree issued last month during Turkey's three-month state of emergency, which is ongoing, deputy prime ministers as well as foreign, justice and interior ministers will now join the prime minister, chief of General Staff, defense minister, and other commanders in council meetings.
The council's first meeting after Gülenist terror-cult's July 15 coup attempt was held on July 28. The venue had been changed for the first time from the General Staff headquarters to the prime minister's office at Çankaya. Today's meeting was the second time it had been held outside the General Staff headquarters since the coup attempt.
Following the five-hour meeting last month, the council had opted to keep General Hulusi Akar as chief of General Staff. It also decided to keep commanders of land, air and naval forces in their posts.