Turkish Armed Forces recruiting hundreds

By Sarp Ozer and Sinan Uslu

ANKARA (AA) - The Turkish Defense Ministry is about to finalize the recruitment of hundreds of civilians in the land, naval and special forces, officials said on Friday.

Some 1,450 applicants who passed a physical test were called in for an interview to be recruited in the Maroon Berets Special Forces, officials told Anadolu Agency, speaking on condition of anonymity due to restriction on speaking to the media.

The ministry officials indicated that 402 applicants had already completed the interview process.

The Defense Ministry had announced previously that it had received a total of 35,024 applications for 700 Special Forces positions, including 200 for commissioned officers and 500 for noncommissioned officers.

Recruitment for the Special Forces follows a strict process as the applicants are subjected to several intelligence checks, a medical test, a physical fitness test, as well as a written exam and an interview.

Following the interview process, the successful applicants will be subjected to a final security intelligence check.

Moreover, the Defense Ministry also ran a recruitment process for specialized sergeants in the Turkish Naval Forces. In January, 1,236 applicants had completed their interview for the post, the officials said.

- Land and naval forces

Separately, the Naval Forces Command also called in 1,818 candidates for interview out of 16,975 applicants who had taken a written exam for contracted military personnel posts.

Moreover, the ministry is also carrying out a recruitment process for specialized sergeants in the Land Forces Command.

A total of 172 candidates out of 240 had successfully completed the interview process, so far.

The officials noted the interview process was underway for all ranks, adding the ministry planned to complete it for the Land Forces Command by Feb. 17.

They did not mention specific deadlines for the special forces -- or naval forces -- recruitment process.

Moreover, 19 female students are currently undergoing their proficiency training at the military academy. After the training period, the students will be subjected to a similar multi-step process in order to be recruited, officials added.

As of December, over 20,000 Turkish military personnel had been dismissed for links to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), according to Defense Minister Fikri Isik.

Turkey has accused FETO, and its U.S.-based leader, Fetullah Gulen, of orchestrating the July 2016 coup attempt, which left 248 people martyred and 2,193 others wounded.