Honorable recharge

Turkish Defense Minister ?smet Y?lmaz?s remarks about the results of the Sledgehammer and Ergenekon cases marked a turning point for the Turkish Armed Forces. During a visit to the Anatolian Agency?s Editor?s Desk, Yilmaz said 73 officers, whose convictions for plotting the overthrow of then prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdo?an were overturned, had returned to their posts in the Turkish Armed Forces. Among them, 46 colonels would be up for promotion during the Supreme Military Council meetings in August.

According to military sources, this is a landmark decision in terms of reinstating the soldiers into the ranks of the Armed Forces, ?As they are already back on active duty and they can be promoted,? said a former soldier familiar with the process. ?They will get their ranks, social benefits and severance packages back. And they will be appointed to their next post.?

As Turkey approaches the most critical election in a decade, the country?s top brass are also getting ready to adapt to a changing political and social climate. For almost a year now, Turkey?s Air Force, Naval and Army academies have been advertising to get new cadets, fresh blood and fresh thinking into the barracks. Not a week goes by without a seminar on new military technology or cybersecurity. There is news that the Turkish Joint Chiefs have already formed a social media team, so that we can follow and like them on Facebook, Twitter and Flickr (No, Instagram would be too much at this point).

During a TV project called ?Women in Uniform? last year, I had had the chance to see first-hand how much a new generation of commanders were trying to adapt to this new reality. General Necdet Özel was and still is a big advocate of having more women in the ranks. Young female teachers...