The Tactical Mobilisation Group (TMG, tr, Seferberlik Taktik Kurulu) was the
special operations unit of the
Turkish Army. It was founded in 1952 as part of
NATO's efforts to establish a
Counter-Guerrilla force in Turkey as the Turkish branch of
Operation Gladio
Operation Gladio is the codename for clandestine "stay-behind" operations of armed resistance that were organized by the Western Union (alliance), Western Union (WU), and subsequently by NATO and the CIA, in collaboration with several European Int ...
. It was disbanded in 1965, with special operations taken over by the new
Special Warfare Department ( tr, Özel Harp Dairesi).
In the 2000s it was revealed that the 1955
Istanbul pogrom was engineered by the TMG.
[ Birand, Mehmet Ali. �]
The shame of Sept. 6–7 is always with us
,” '' Turkish Daily News'', 7 September 2005.[Ergil, Doğu. �]
Past as present
,” '' Turkish Daily News'' 12 September 2005. Turkish Land Forces General
Sabri Yirmibeşoğlu, the right-hand man of General
Kemal Yamak
Kemal Yamak (1924, in Merzifon – 26 July 2009) was Commander of the Turkish Army (1987–1989). He was previously head of the Special Warfare Department (1971–1974).'' Bugün'', 5 January 2010Kozmik odaya giren tek siyasetçi
At the request ...
who organised the Counter-Guerrilla through the Tactical Mobilization Group, proudly reminisced about his involvement in the riots, calling the TMG "a magnificent organization".
History
With the consent of the National Defense Supreme Council ( tr, Milli Savunma Yüksek Kurulu),
brigadier general Daniş Karabelen
Daniş Karabelen (1898–1983) was a Turkish Army general who was the founder of Turkey's Tactical Mobilisation Group in 1952, and served as its chief until his retirement in 1960.
Career
Karabelen was among those taken out of Military School in ...
founded the Tactical Mobilization Group ( tr, Seferberlik Taktik Kurulu, or STK) on 27 September 1952.
Karabelen was one of sixteen soldiers (including Turgut Sunalp, Ahmet Yıldız,
Alparslan Türkeş
Alparslan Türkeş (; 25 November 1917 – 4 April 1997) was a Turkish politician, who was the founder and president of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) and the Grey Wolves ''(Ülkü Ocakları)''. He represented the far-right of the Turkish ...
, Suphi Karaman, and Fikret Ateşdağlı) who had been sent to the United States in 1948 for training in
special warfare
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 ...
. These people were to form the core of what would later be called the
Special Warfare Department ( tr, Özel Harp Dairesi, or ÖHD).
It has been said that the training also entailed an element of CIA recruitment.
Some full generals that later ran the department were Adnan Doğu, Aydın İlter,
Sabri Yirmibeşoğlu, İbrahim Türkgenci, Doğan Bayazıt, and Fevzi Türkeri.
Karabelen picked Ismail Tansu as his right-hand man, and they expanded the STK in a
cellular fashion. They filled the ranks, mostly with reserve officers, inducted them with an oath, and educated them before allowing them to return to civilian life. The officers were given no weapons, funding, or immediate task.
The recruitment was more concentrated in the east, where an invasion was most likely to occur.
See also
*
List of Chiefs of the Special Forces of the Turkish Army
References
{{Reflist
Special forces of Turkey
Counterterrorist organizations
False flag operations
Istanbul pogrom