The Army Day

Armies have it rough: criticized for being too expensive during peace, too violent during war and occasionally investigated for coup-related activities, an army can sometimes feel a little under-appreciated. Which is why last Sunday Turkey celebrated its 87^th Victory and Armed Forces Day, essentially a birthday party for the military if birthday parties had less cake and everyone had to dress the same.

August 30^th is actually the anniversary of the final decisive battle against Greece in the Turkish war of independence, but somewhere along the line it became less about scoffing at Greece and more about ostentatious displays of military might.

Military parades marched through every Turkish city providing grateful citizens an opportunity to express, no matter how many officers we keep indicting for treason, how the army will always be in our hearts and hopefully, not driving tanks through our living rooms.

The M60A3 corners well enough to get around even the most ill-positioned sofas

Having defeated foreign occupiers, established a republic, staged coups whenever “elections” undermined “the republic” and convinced Turks neighbors would pounce any second, the military has traditionally been highly revered. But recent years have seen the sacred institution come under scrutiny over both an alleged plot paving the way for another coup and questions whether “democracy” and “meddling army” were ever really compatible.

And so the army went all out this year, with bigger parades, all 60 units being represented in the capital for the first time (in previous years only 4 would be) and even multimedia CDs and booklets showcasing military might distributed to the audience. There was even a new slogan, “Güçlü Ordu, Güçlü Türkiye” (Strong Army, Strong Turkey) which became the official slogan of the festivities and adorned billboards throughout the country.

But no matter how much the military spent on this PR-blitz and/or open threat, all the billboards and CDs where just not enough for some like Etyen Mahçupyan in today’s Taraf newspaper (link Turkish):

“On the way out of Bodrum, there was a giant billboard: ‘Strong Army, Strong Turkey.’ Turns out this was a cliché they came up for August 30^th… One hesitates upon first reading, it is hard to choose which one…”

Which just goes to show how unappreciated the life of an army can be. So next time the military comes knocking for a little respect, the least you can do is push the sofas off to the side to make room for the tank.