What most people forget in our country is that military is not fully conscripted nor it is fully professional. Although there are huge structural differences in the practice of conscription in Turkey and Israel, in terms of size composition of professional soldiers and conscripts both countries have similarities.
These similarities show us that our military pursues a mixed system which in my opinion is the best option for our country. On one hand we have several brigade and battalion level formations that are fully professional such as commando brigades (specialized/light infantry), Navy's amphibious naval infantry, spec ops battalions. Then there are formations that consist of half career soldiers and half conscripts like armor and artillery units. The rest is fully conscripted. BUT, I hold my reservations on how the conscription system is implemented. Like
@-SINAN- said, one month of training and you have a G3 doesn't really help. The very notion of conscription means that you would still have the edge and the training should your country calls you back for service and this one will surely not keep that promise. Of course, this is an entirely different question and I don't think it is the main cause for why the rates are high.
In this regard, especially after 2010s when units famous for their use in counter terrorism and cross border operations such as commando brigades of Kayseri and Bolu or Hakkari mountain brigades became fully professionalized, Turkish public somehow started to think that there is no critical occupation left in military service for conscripts. But the truth is in army every job is critical. Add to that, certain vital formations such as border units do still heavily rely on conscription. And these units require a high level of combat readiness that affect personnel's mental abilities as well.
Now this is the part where we come to suicides. On one hand we have a group who made this their career. If you are a soldier in a army that has historically been in a constant state of combat you can't really separate job and private life. Most career soldiers are at least able to cope up with this in a way that keeps suicide off-limits but then they on the other hand suffer trauma and stress disorders like PTSD and in Turkish military reporting level is very low for combat related mental injuries. But in reality everyone who did his service would now that its practically like the birth place of PTSD for officers and NCOs.
As for the conscripts, they are the group in danger for suicides. Firstly, they come to barracks knowing that this is not their career job and they would leave back to home eventually within a year. If you are RDM (I have no idea how to describe this for foreign members
), the reason they put you to RDM is for preventing you not to kill yourself or someone else. For rest, you are in a company, in a state of discipline and hierarchy you never knew before. But in your other life you have a job, a girl/fiancee/wife. Things going on with your family and more. I mean even having a fiancee before going to do your service is enough reason for suicide.
There is a contemporary saying among Turkish youth: Never have a girl in your life for the following two periods: When you go to Erasmus and when you go to do your military service, you'll get cheated. Now forget Erasmus, you are from a rural village in Turkey and made promises to each other with a girl. You go to do your service. And in the middle of the night, you receive a phone call from her saying that her dad got her engaged with someone else. What are you going to do? Don't think as a person who grow up in an urban setting who's likely to have had a couple relationships before. Put yourself in his shoes and add that you have sentry duty after midnight meaning you will stand in a location all alone outside for two hours with a rifle on your hand.
Long story short, conscripts know that they come for a short time period compared to their professional jobs or private life. But once they find themselves in a military like Turkey or Israel. It is really hard for them to balance life. So in my opinion this more than about whether the military is professional or not. We would still have the same problem if the military was 100% career soldiers, in less numbers but still the problem would exist. Suicide rates will remain high for TOP 15-20 militaries in the world in terms of % of forces that are deployed in combat and in constant combat readiness for political crises. For half the soldiers in the military, even when at home they are very likely to think of whats going on out there in the field and how their brothers at arms do. But we must underline that this also a very noble thing that we must be grateful for to have soldiers like these.
So the problem is not the system. It is the soldiers' welfare during their tenure as military personnel. Let alone privates, corporals and sergeants; even for NCOs and officers there is a welfare problem. But the welfare I am talking about is not the pension, leisure opportunities or job benefits. I am talking about job related social welfare. This is what the above mentioned countries should address. But this is my opinion only. And social welfare must be provided by medical professionals and psychologists with the help of the brass. God help our soldiers and those who fall under the edge of suicide.
Turkey still have conscription rule?
But why? Turkey have good sized young population and highly modernized army with modest size that doesnt rely on numbers. Whats the catch?
Even Pakistan doesnt have conscription rule other then war time. Even though we have huge numbers.
Is it to have large numbers of readily available resrves for any possible war time scenario?
On one hand we have to deal with a high level of terrorism threats in and outside Turkey that would need us to have several brigades and battalion level formations that consist of career soldiers. On the other hand, we have a very long volatile border that needs to be protected and being located in the Middle East means that there will always remain a possibility that even a small crisis can turn into a conventional war. Therefore, we need both conscription and career soldiers. Thus, the existing system.
As for reserve system in Turkey. Officers and NCOs who retire or resign and soldiers who complete their service remain in reserve status until the age limit set by the law.
