Special Forces Command (Turkey)

The Special Forces Command (Turkish: Özel Kuvvetler Komutanlığı — OKK) was established in 1992 at the brigade level, directly under the General Staff.[4] According to the Turkish Armed Forces (TAF) dress code, they use maroon berets.[5][6]It is an association of Turkish Armed Forces, consisting of elite soldiers of different classes and ranks, trained to serve in all terrain and climate conditions against the elimination of internal and external threats. Their task is to carry out special operations that exceed the capabilities of other military units.[7] The OKK may be considered as the Turkish counterpart of the US Army Special Forces (Green Berets).[8]

Special Forces Command
Turkish: Özel Kuvvetler Komutanlığı
Shoulder patch of the Special Forces Command
Active	1992–present[1]
Country	Turkey
Branch	General Staff
Type	Special forces
Role	Unconventional warfare Special operations Special reconnaissance
Size	Brigade[2]
Garrison/HQ	Ankara
Nickname(s)	Maroon Berets Bordo Bereliler
Motto(s)	"The difficult we do immediately. The impossible takes a little longer."[3]
Beret	Maroon (claret red)
March	Alay Marşı (Regiment March)
Engagements	Operation Northern Iraq Turkish army winter Campaign of 1994–95 Operation Steel (1995) Operation Hammer (1997) Operation Dawn (1997) Operation Sun (2008) Operation Martyr Yalçın (2015) Kurdish–Turkish conflict Operation Euphrates Shield Operation Olive Branch Operation Spring Shield Libyan Civil War (2020)
Commanders
Current commander	Brigadier General Ömer Ertuğrul Erbakan
Notable commanders	Korkut Eken Engin Alan Zekai Aksakallı

History

First established on 27 September 1952 as the Special and Auxiliary Combat Troops, on 7 November 1953 it was renamed the Mobilization Investigation Board. On 14 December 1970, it was reorganized as the Special Warfare Department.[9] Due to the emergence of external dangers after the Gulf War and threats from the northern part of Iraq, the Special Forces Command was established as a brigade on 14 April 1992, by changing its campus and structure.[10] Later, the division was followed by the corps with the decision of the 2006 Supreme Military Council, reaffirmed in 2015.[11] They ranked first among twenty-six special forces troops at the World Special Forces Championship held in Germany in 2004.[12]

In 1998, Turkey's special forces KDP Şemdin Sakık'ın Upon receiving a negative response to be delivered to the requesting team to Iraq to infiltrate the operation and were brought to the country seized.[13] Greek Embassy in Kenya in 1999, Abdullah Öcalan's plane upon receipt of the Netherlands how many aircraft will use a similar intelligence leased aircraft made the landing at the airport in Nairobi and arrested by special forces teams were brought to Turkey.[14] In 2014, after 49 consular employees were taken hostage by ISIS in Mosul, OKK carried out joint operations with MIT and rescued the hostages.[15] With the start of the operation against Syria in 2017, OKK infiltrated the region and carried out exploration activities supported by the Free Syrian Army.[16]

The identities of Turkish SOF personal is classified. Unlike other special operations teams, Turkish SOF Officers are battle hardened and are constantly operating and are active in the war on the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in the southeastern Iraqi border region of Turkey and into Northern Iraq. They operate against the terrorist organization's executive positions and critical points across the border.[17][18]

Attempted coup d'état

A key figure of the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt was brigadier general Semih Terzi, who was Deputy Commander of the Special Forces at the time and the highest-ranking field commander during the coup attempt. He led a team of roughly 40 special forces operatives in an attempt to secure Special Forces Headquarters and organize attacks against government agencies and the parliament. The attempt ended in failure, when senior OKK master sergeant Ömer Halisdemir shot and killed Terzi, demoralizing and disrupting command and control of the rebels.[19][20]

Organization

The Special Forces are not aligned to any of the three branches of the TAF, receiving its orders directly from the General Staff of the Republic of Turkey.[21] Although considered a brigade-level formation, as of 2017, this includes non-combatant units and administrative duties personnel. The combatant size of the OKK is not greater than 500.[22]

Special Aviation Group

Special Aviation Group provides helicopter support for command's missions. The helicopters have been modernized and can operate in night/day, integrated and in sync.[23][24][25]

Training and recruitment

Only Army officers and NCOs are eligible to join this the OKK. Linguistic skills in at least one foreign language is beneficial toward admission.[22] Each recruit must have served at least 3 years and must have a certain amount of time in operations, either from exercises or actual clashes.

The OKK training period lasts around 3.5 years, and addresses:[26][27] unconventional warfare and various special warfare types, special operations, special reconnaissance and infiltration, covert operations, psychological warfare, underwater operation, static parachute and HALO (night and day jump), counter-terrorism in residential areas, close-quarters combat, resisting vital maintenance and torture-ınterrogation, ambush, raid, sabotage, escape, VIP protection, marksmanship, ıntelligence, languages, survival, operation in deep snow, severe cold and heat, bomb disposal, demolition, fire arrangement, damage detection, and first and emergency aid.[22]

Recruits must undergo:

• Domestic training (72 weeks)
• International training (10 to 52 weeks, depending on rank)
• Specialty training

After graduating from Special Operations Training, commandos are tested before officially becoming an MB officer. They are expected to survive in all environmental conditions, so as part of the final testing stage the teams are left in different environments with no equipment or help for two weeks.

On the last month of training, called 'hell month', Maroon Berets receive interrogation and torture training.[28] Also in the final month is the Trust Shot (Turkish: Güven Atışı) exercise. In this exercise, two members of a squad flank paper target boards while a third advances from 15 m (49 ft), shooting at the targets with live ammunition. Those standing are not permitted to move or wear body armour. Few other special operations teams perform such tests.[29]

Equipment

Maroon Berets
Pistols	HK USP, SIG P226, SIG P229, Sarsilmaz Kilinc 2000 Mega, Sarsilmaz Kilinc 2000 Light, Glock 17, Glock 19
Shotguns	Benelli M4 Super 90
Assault rifles	M4A1, Heckler & Koch HK416, MKEK MPT-76, MPT-55, IMI Tavor TAR-21
SMG	HK MP5, MP7A1, FN P90
Sniper rifles	KNT-308, Sako TRG, CheyTac Intervention, Barrett M82, Accuracy International Arctic Warfare, MKEK JNG-90, M110, McMillan Tac-50, Remington MSR

References

1. Uslu, Emrullah (10 July 2008). "Tackling the PKK: New Directions for Turkey's Special Forces". Terrorism Monitor. Jamestown Foundation. VI (14): 9–11. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016.
2. "Coup defeater commander reshuffled to Army Corps - Turkey News". Hürriyet Daily News.
3. "TSK'nin gözbebeği Özel Kuvvetler". Hürriyet. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
4. https://m.haberler.com/bordo-bereliler-hakkinda-her-sey-9734332-haberi/
5. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=CwY3zePCGE0
6. "TSK'da yeni bir dönem başladı". www.aa.com.tr.
7. "Bordo bereliler sınırda". www.sozcu.com.tr.
8. Pike, John. "Turkey - Special Forces Command, General Staff Headquarters (Ozel Kuvvetler Komutanligi - O.K.K.)". www.globalsecurity.org.
9. "Genelkurmay 'yok' denilen özel kuvvetleri ayrıntılarıyla anlattı". Agos.
10. "Siyah ve beyaz kuvvet açıklaması". www.aa.com.tr.
11. "Doktoralı komutan". Milliyet.
12. "Bordo Bereliler'in zaferi". www.hurriyet.com.tr.
13. https://www.yenisafak.com/gundem/bordo-bereliler-diyarbakirda-408359
14. "Terörist başının Kenya'da paketlenip Türkiye'ye getirilmesinin üzerinden 21 yıl geçti". www.aa.com.tr.
15. "İşte nefes kesen operasyonun perde arkası". Sabah.
16. https://www.yenisafak.com/video-galeri/dunya/ozel-kuvvetler-suriyede-sicak-catismada-ilk-kez-goruntulendi-2110940
17. https://www.yenisafak.com/amphtml/gundem/hassas-bolgelere-ozel-kuvvetler-2032197
18. "Türkiye'nin de katıldığı 'Yenilmez Nöbetçi Tatbikatı' Katar'da başladı". www.trthaber.com.
19. Ankara, Dion Nissenbaum in Istanbul, Adam Entous in Washington and Emre Peker in (18 July 2016). "Turkish President Foiled Coup With Luck, Tech Savvy" – via www.wsj.com.
20. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2 February 2018. Retrieved 1 February 2018.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
21. "Onlar TSK'nın bel kemiği - Sayfa 8 Sabah - Fotohaber - Gündem - 05 Eylül 2015 Cumartesi". sabah.com.tr. Archived from the original on 6 October 2015. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
22. https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/europe/tu-army-okk.htm
23. "HELICOPTER AVIONICS MODERNIZATION - Turkish Aerospace Industries, Inc". tai.com.tr. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
24. "HELİKOPTER MODERNİZASYON PROGRAMLARI - TUSAŞ-Türk Havacılık ve Uzay Sanayii A.Ş." tai.com.tr. Archived from the original on 4 May 2015. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
25. "Türkiye'nin yeni Karaşahini: T-70 Helikopteri". kokpit.aero. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
26. "Yoğun geçen 32 haftalık eğitimin ardından 413 kursiyer bordo bere takmaya hak kazandı. Başlayanlardan ancak yarısının tamamlayabildiği kurs, dünyanın en saygın ve zorlu eğitimleri arasında yer alıyor". Sabah.
27. "Anadolu Ajansı". Anadolu Ajansı.
28. "Bordo Bereli Nasıl Olunur? Şartları Nelerdir? (Güncel)". Devlet Destekli (in Turkish). 26 December 2019. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
29. "TSK: Öyle bir atış şekli yok, 'güven atışı' var - Hürriyet Gündem". hurriyet.com.tr. Retrieved 5 September 2015.

Further reading

Media related to Special forces of Turkey at Wikimedia Commons

• Lale Sariibrahimoglu, 'Live-fire exercises shine spotlight on Turkey's special forces,' Jane's Defence Weekly, 7 January 2004