July 15 Coup Attempt Yaşar Güler

Yaşar Güler

Born in Bayburt in 1954, General Yaşar Güler graduated from the Military Academy in 1974 with the rank of Communication Lieutenant. Until 1984, he served as commander of the team and company in the signal units affiliated to the Land Forces Command. He graduated from the War Academy in 1986 and became Chief of Staff. He served as Plan Officer and Branch Director at various headquarters. He served as Commander of the Internal Security Battalion in Silopi, Deputy Commander of the Bosnian-Herzegovina Turkish Brigade, Project Officer in the Prime Ministry Military Consultancy, Vice President of Communications in the NATO Southern Regional Command (Napoli / Italy), Commander of the Turkish Armed Forces Partnership for Peace Training Center and Directorate of General Staff Exercises.

General Yaşar Güler was promoted to Brigadier General in 2001. He was the 10th Infantry Brigade Commander and General Staff Communication and Electronic Information Systems Planning and Coordination Department, respectively. He was promoted to the rank of Major General in 2005 and served respectively as Communication and Electronics Information Systems School and Training Center Command and General Staff Training Department. Güler was promoted to the rank of lieutenant general in 2009 and has served as General Command of Mapping, 4th Army Corps Command and Chief of General Staff Intelligence respectively. In 2013 he was promoted to a four-star General and was appointed to the 2nd Chief of General Staff.

Following the 15 July coup attempt, he was appointed to the General Command of the Gendarmerie.

July 15 Period

During the July 15 coup attempt conducted by FETÖ, 2nd Chief of General Staff Yaşar Güler, Chief of General Staff General Hulusi Akar and commanders-in-chief of armed forces were taken hostage by the coup leaders and taken to the Akıncı 4th Main Jet Base Command.
2nd Chief of General Staff Yaşar Güler was interned by his aide-de-camp Mehmet Akkurt in the office room.

His aide-de-camp betrayed him

2nd Chief of General Staff Yaşar Güler who was at the headquarters said “They were knocking on the door. Then they said, "get on the floor!" I held one of these and threw it to the other side and fell down. Then they were with a greater anger and they laid me down. One of them pressed my head. Immediately, my hands were tied behind my back. Then someone dressed as a civilian laughed sarcastically and said: "Commander, do not worry, this is a drill." I watched and saw that this was aide-de-camp Mehmet Akkurt.

Güler, dressed in such a way as to cover his face, wanted to be dragged to the Naval Forces Command, but the other soldiers resisted it. When the Patriotic Soldiers did not open the door, the traitor Mehmet Akkurt came down from the car. He shouted at them, 'Open the door or I will shoot' and then he shot. With countervailing fire from the other side, a lot of bullets hit the car where Güler was sitting. Güler hit the person on the left side hard. He was then taken out of the car and dragged into another vehicle.

General Yaşar Güler was taken hostage by putschists

Two traitors put Güler in a helicopter and took him to the 4th Main Jet Base Command. In a dark room, his hands and feet were bound for hours.

General Yaşar Güler said that the former Air Force Commander Akın Öztürk, who he referred to in his statement after the FETÖ attack and who was arrested after FETO's coup attempt, provided contact between himself and the putschists when he was taken a hostage and held at Akıncı Base.