President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Tuesday chaired the Supreme Military Council (YAŞ), which approved the promotion and retirement of senior military officers at its annual meeting. Erdoğan and members of the council (Cabinet ministers and commanders of the Turkish army's branches) visited Anıtkabir, the mausoleum of the Republic of Türkiye's founder Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, before the meeting, paying their respects to the man who led the War of Independence.
Twenty-five generals and admirals, along with 69 colonels, were promoted. Ziya Cemal Kadıoğlu, commander of the Turkish Air Force, retired. He was succeeded by Gen. Rafet Dalkıran, commander of the Combat Air Force Command. The commanders of the other top posts in the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) remained in their positions, with their terms extended. Alper Gezeravcı, an Air Force colonel who became Türkiye's first astronaut in 2024, was promoted to the rank of brigadier general.
The tradition of high-level military councils in Türkiye dates back to the Ottoman era, with the first Supreme Military Council established in 1837 under Sultan Mahmud II. Initially tasked with drafting military regulations, resolving service-related issues and adapting Western military practices, the council underwent several reorganizations and periods of abolition during the late Ottoman era.
