, image = Özel_Kuvvetler_Komutanlığı_Brövesi.png , caption = Shoulder patch of the Special Forces Command , dates = 1992–present , country = , branch =

General Staff A military staff or general staff (also referred to as army staff, navy staff, or air staff within the individual services) is a group of officers, enlisted and civilian staff who serve the commander of a division or other large military un ...

, class = Land forces , type =

Special forces Special forces and special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equip ...

, role = Unconventional warfare , size = Brigade , command_structure = , garrison = Ankara , nickname = Maroon Berets
Bordo Bereliler , patron = , motto = "The difficult we do immediately. The impossible takes a little longer." , colors = (claret red) , colors_label = Beret , march = Alay Marşı (

Regiment March Regiment March (Turkish: ''Alay Marşı'') is the march of Special Forces Command of Turkey. The ''Soldier's Anthem'' (Əsgər Marşı) of the Azerbaijani Land Forces was inspired by the march. Lyrics {, class="wikitable" style="text-align:ce ...

) , mascot = , battles = * Operation Northern Iraq *

Turkish army winter campaign of 1994–1995 In November 1994, the Turkish military launched a winter campaign in South-Eastern Turkey to cut rebels from the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), who were active in the region, off from their winter supplies. The campaign continued until March 2 ...

* Operation Steel (1995) * Operation Hammer (1997) * Operation Dawn (1997) * Operation Sun (2008) * Operation Martyr Yalçın (2015) * PKK–Turkish conflict * Operation Euphrates Shield * Operation Olive Branch * Operation Spring Shield * Second Libyan Civil War (2020) * Operation Claw-Lock , anniversaries = , decorations = , battle_honours = , notable_commanders = Engin Alan
Zekai Aksakallı , current_commander = Major General Ömer Ertuğrul Erbakan , ceremonial_chief = , colonel_of_the_regiment = The Special Forces Command ( tr, Özel Kuvvetler Komutanlığı — OKK) is a division of the Turkish Armed Forces, initially established as a brigade in 14 April 1992, operating directly under the Turkish

. According to the Turkish Armed Forces (TAF) dress code, the OKK, also known as the ''Bordo Bereliler,'' are noteworthy for their distinctive maroon berets. Their task is to carry out special operations that exceed the capabilities of other military units.

History

First established on 27 September 1952 as the Special and Auxiliary Combat Troops, the OKK was renamed Mobilization Investigation Board in November 1953. On 14 December 1970, it was reorganized as the Special Warfare Department. 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. In 2006, the brigade transitioned to a division. OKK leadership was upgraded from major-general to lieutenant-general and the new division was split into the 1st and 2nd brigade with the expectation that the troop count would double from 7000 to 14,000 by 2009. They ranked first among twenty-six special forces troops at the World Special Forces Championship held in Germany in 2004. In 1998, Turkey's special forces intercepted a warning intended for the PKK team in Iraq, infiltrated PKK operations and captured the commander of Kurdistan Democratic Party's (PKK) military forces,

Şemdin Sakık Şemdin Sakık (born Muş Province, Turkey 1959), nicknamed ''Semo'' or ''Parmaksiz Zeki'' (fingerless Zeki) for having lost a finger while firing a rocket, is a former commander of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK)'s military forces. He is be ...

. In 1999, the Turkish Special Forces used technology given to them by the Netherlands to arrest

Abdullah Öcalan Abdullah Öcalan ( ; ; born 4 April 1949), also known as Apo (short for Abdullah in Turkish and Kurdish for "uncle"), is a political prisoner and founding member of the militant Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). Öcalan was based in Syria from ...

, a founding member of the PKK, after he landed at the Nairobi airport in Kenya. In 2014, after 49 consular employees were taken hostage by ISIS in Mosul, Special Forces Command carried out joint operations with MIT, the Turkish National Intelligence Organization, and rescued the hostages. Special Forces Command took part in internal security operations during the 2015-2016 curfews in the Southeastern Anatolia Region, Furthermore, on 21 February 2015 they participated in Operation Shah Euphrates to relocate the tomb of Suleyman Shah in

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

. With the start of the operations in

against ISIS and PYD in 2016 during Operation Euphrates Shield, the Special Forces Command infiltrated the region and carried out exploration activities supported by the

Free Syrian Army The Free Syrian Army (FSA) ( ar, الجيش السوري الحر, al-jaysh as-Sūrī al-ḥur) is a loose faction in the Syrian Civil War founded on 29 July 2011 by officers of the Syrian Armed Forces with the goal of bringing down the governm ...

. Special Forces Command also played a role in operations such as Operation Olive Branch, Operation Claw (2019–2020), Operation Peace Spring and Operations Claw-Eagle and Tiger. The identities of Turkish Special Forces Command personnel are classified. Turkish SOF Officers are battle hardened, constantly operating and are active in the war on the PKK in the southeastern border region of Turkey and northern Iraq.

Attempted coup d'état

A key figure of the

2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt On 15 July 2016, a faction within the Turkish Armed Forces, organized as the Peace at Home Council, attempted a coup d'état against state institutions, including the government and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. They attempted to seize cont ...

was brigadier general

Semih Terzi Semih Terzi (1968 – 15 July 2016) was a general in the Turkish Army, who was shot at the headquarters of the Special Forces Command during the attempted Turkish coup d'état on 15 July 2016. He was taken to the Gülhane Military Medical Academy ...

, 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 OKK Senior Sergeant major Ömer Halisdemir shot and killed Terzi, disrupting the command of the rebels.

Organization

The Special Forces are not aligned to any of the three branches of the TAF. They receive orders directly from the General Staff of the Republic of Turkey. The official size of the Special Forces Command (OKK), which is publicly known as Red Berets, stands at a Division level, this includes non-combatant units and other support staff. The combatant size of the OKK is not greater than 500.

Special Aviation Group

Special Aviation Group provides helicopter support for the Command's missions. The helicopters were modernized in 2015 and can operate at night or during the day.

Training and recruitment

ÖKK recruits officers, NCOs and SNCOs almost exclusively from the Land Forces Command, Turkey's army branch. Volunteers must pass written and physical exams, and linguistic skills in at least one foreign language are beneficial toward admission. The OKK training period lasts around 3.5 years, and encompasses: 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 torture and interrogation techniques, ambush, raid, sabotage, escape, VIP protection, marksmanship, intelligence, languages, survival, operation in deep snow, extreme weather, bomb disposal, demolition, fire arrangement, damage detection, and TCCC. 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 they officially become Maroon Beret officers. They are expected to survive in all environmental conditions, so as part of the final testing stage teams of recruits are left in different environments for two weeks, with no equipment or help. On the last month of training, called the "hell month", Maroon Berets receive training in interrogation and torture, and undertake a Trust Shot (Turkish: ''Güven Atışı'') exercise. In this exercise, two members of a squad have to flank paper target boards while the third advances from and shoots at the targets with live ammunition. Those flanking the targets are not permitted to move or wear body armor.

Equipment

Source:

History

Attempted coup d'état

Organization

Special Aviation Group

Training and recruitment

Equipment

See also

References

Further reading