GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES

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Page last updated on February 20, 2013

Military branches:
Turkish Armed Forces (TSK): Turkish Land Forces (Turk Kara Kuvvetleri), Turkish Naval Forces (Turk Deniz Kuvvetleri; includes naval air and naval infantry), Turkish Air Force (Turk Hava Kuvvetleri) (2010)

Military service age and obligation:
19-41 years of age for male compulsory military service; 18 years of age for voluntary service; 15 months conscript obligation for non-university graduates, 6-12 months for university graduates; Turkey is trying to reduce dependency on conscription, as of 2004, 75% of soldiers were conscripts; women serve in the Turkish Armed Forces only as officers; reserve obligation to age 41; under a law passed in November 2011, men aged 30 and older who have worked 3 years in foreign countries may pay $16,200 in lieu of mandatory military service (2010)

Manpower available for military service:
males age 16-49: 21,079,077
[see also: Manpower available for military service - male country ranks ]
females age 16-49: 20,558,696 (2010 est.)

Manpower fit for military service:
males age 16-49: 17,664,510
[see also: Manpower fit for military service - male country ranks ]
females age 16-49: 17,340,816 (2010 est.)

Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually:
male: 700,079
[see also: Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually - male country ranks ]
female: 670,328 (2010 est.)

Military expenditures:
5.3% of GDP (2005 est.)
country comparison to the world: 15
[see also: Military expenditures country ranks ]

Military - note:
the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has incrementally asserted its supremacy over the military since first taking power in 2002 and has reduced the role of the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) in internal security, increasing the responsibility of the Turkish National Police (TNP) in combating its Kurdish insurgency; the TSK leadership continues to play a role in politics and considers itself guardian of Turkey's secular state; primary domestic threats are listed as fundamentalism (with the definition in some dispute with the civilian government), separatism (Kurdish discontent), and the extreme left wing; Ankara strongly opposed establishment of an autonomous Kurdish region; an overhaul of the Turkish Land Forces Command (TLFC) taking place under the "Force 2014" program is to produce 20-30% smaller, more highly trained forces characterized by greater mobility and firepower and capable of joint and combined operations; the TLFC has taken on increasing international peacekeeping responsibilities, and took charge of a NATO International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) command in Afghanistan in April 2007; the Turkish Navy is a regional naval power that wants to develop the capability to project power beyond Turkey's coastal waters; the Navy is heavily involved in NATO, multinational, and UN operations; its roles include control of territorial waters and security for sea lines of communications; the Turkish Air Force adopted an "Aerospace and Missile Defense Concept" in 2002 and has initiated project work on an integrated missile defense system; Air Force priorities include attaining a modern deployable, survivable, and sustainable force structure, and establishing a sustainable command and control system (2008)

NOTE: The information regarding Turkey on this page is re-published from the 2013 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Turkey Military 2013 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Turkey Military 2013 should be addressed to the CIA.