Gendarmerie General Command

Gendarmerie General Command
Jandarma Genel Komutanlığı
Emblem of the Gendarmerie General Command
Emblem of the Gendarmerie General Command
Flag of the Gendarmerie General Commander
Flag of the Gendarmerie General Commander
Agency overview
Formed 1839
Preceding agencies
Employees 182,000 active personnel
Jurisdictional structure
Operations jurisdiction Turkey
General nature
Operational structure
Headquarters Ankara
Elected officer responsible
Agency executives
  • General Arif Çetin, Commander
  • General Ali Çardakçı, Deputy Commander
  • Lt. General Halis Zafer KOÇ, Deputy Commander
  • Lt. General İsmail BALIBEK, Deputy Commander
  • Lt. General Hüseyin KURTOĞLU, Deputy Commander
Parent agency Ministry of the Interior, Turkish Armed Forces, (in wartime until 2016)
Notables
Significant operations
Website
jandarma.gov.tr/

The Gendarmerie General Command (Turkish: Jandarma Genel Komutanlığı) is the national Gendarmerie force of the Republic of Turkey. It is a service branch of the Turkish Ministry of Interior responsible for the maintenance of the public order in areas that fall outside the jurisdiction of police forces (generally in rural areas), as well as assuring internal security along with carrying out other specific duties assigned to it by certain laws and regulations. In wartime, some of its elements can be subordinated to Turkish Land Forces by the President of Turkey.

The Commander of the Gendarmerie reports to the Minister of the Interior.

The Gendarmerie has its roots in the Ottoman Empire military law enforcement organization "Subaşı" (later known as the "Zaptiye"). A similar, earlier force called "Şurta" existed during the medieval Seljuq Empire.

History

Ottoman Gendarmerie Cavalry in Macedonia.

Ottoman era

Main article: Ottoman Gendarmerie

After the abolition of the Janissary corps of the Ottoman Empire in 1826, military organizations called Asâkir-i Muntazâma-i Mansûre, Asâkir-i Muntazâma-i Hâssa, and, in 1834, Asâkir-i Redîfe were established for security and public order in Anatolia and in some provinces of Rumelia.

British officers in the Ottoman Gendarmerie, 1904

As the first use of the term Gendarmerie was in the Assignment Decrees published in the years following the 1839 Edict of Gülhane, it is assumed that the Gendarmerie organization was founded after that year, but the exact date of foundation has not yet been determined. Therefore, the date on which the name Asâkir-i Zaptiye Nizâmnâmesi was adopted, June 14, 1839, is usually considered the foundation date of the Turkish Gendarmerie.

After the 1877–1878 Russo-Turkish War, Ottoman prime minister Mehmed Said Pasha decided to bring police officers from Britain and France to establish a modern law enforcement organization. The Gendarmerie was used to great effect after the 1908 Young Turk Revolution, particularly in Rumelia. In 1909, the Gendarmerie was affiliated with the Ministry of War, and its name was changed to the Gendarmerie General Command (Ottoman Turkish: Umûm Jandarma Kumandanlığı).

Gendarmerie units continued their internal security duties as well as taking part in the conflict at various fronts as a part of the Armed Forces during World War I and the Turkish War of Independence.

Republic of Turkey

20th century

A Turkish conscript gendarme on guard at Topkapı Palace in Istanbul

The Gendarmerie organization achieved its current legal status on June 10, 1930. In 1939, the Gendarmerie organization was restructured, having three groups: Fixed Gendarmerie Units, Mobile Gendarmerie Units, and Gendarmerie Training Units and Schools.

In 1956, the Gendarmerie General Command was assigned the duties of protecting borders, coasts and territorial waters, and fighting smuggling, which had been previously carried out by the Gümrük Umum Kumandanlığı, under the Ministry of Customs and Monopoly. In 1957, Gendarmerie Border Units were transformed into brigades, and Gendarmerie Training Brigades were established.

In 1961, Gendarmerie Regional Commands were established. In 1968, the first Gendarmerie Aviation Unit was established in Diyarbakır under the name of Light Helicopter Company Command.

In 1974, Gendarmerie Commando Units and Gendarmerie Aviation Units took part in the Turkish military operations in Cyprus.

In 1988, the duty of protecting the land borders and ensuring their security was assigned to the Land Forces Command, but Gendarmerie General Command still holds the responsibility for some parts of the Iranian and Syrian borders and the whole Iraqi border.

The Gendarmerie Criminal Department was founded in Ankara in 1993 and from 1994, Gendarmerie Regional Criminal Laboratory Superiorities? were founded. Crime Scene Examination Teams, Explosive Material Disposal Units, Fingerprints and Palm Prints Branches and Crime Scene Examination Units were also established.

21st century

In 2016, the Gendarmerie General Command was affiliated to the Ministry of Interior.

In 2018, Gendarmerie Special Operations participated in Operation Olive Branch, part of the Turkish involvement in the Syrian Civil War. According to the Syrian Observatory of Human Rights, Turkish Gendarmerie killed 500 Syrian civilians at the turkish-syrian border.

The Gendarmerie General Command currently has a total of 3,600 units, including 3,056 Internal Security Units, 218 Commando Units, 162 Prison Units, 160 Protection Units and four Aviation Units.

Duties

The duties of the gendarmerie according to the Law No. 2803 on the Organization, Duties and Powers of the Gendarmerie; It is categorized under four main titles as judicial, military, civil and other duties.

Judicial duties

  • Finding crimes and criminals,
  • Capturing suspects,
  • Transferring evidence judicial authorities,
  • Conduct preparatory investigations when instructed to by the public prosecutor,
  • Transporting prisoners between jails and courthouses.

Civil duties

  • To ensure that the services for general safety and security are carried out in accordance with the relevant legislation,
  • To carry out the services of informing the public about how to protect the society from public order crime, directing children and young people to crime and taking precautionary measures,
  • To evaluate the information and statistics about public order crimes, to conduct or have an analysis of the crime and to determine the methods of combating crime to prevent public order crimes by evaluating them,
  • Carrying out activities to prevent crime,
  • Preventing, pursuing and investigating smuggling,
  • External protection of penal institutions and detention centers.

Military duties

  • To perform military services provided by law

Other duties

  • These are duties other than judicial, military and civil duties, such as facility and personal protection and transport security, which must be carried out in accordance with laws and regulations, orders and decisions.

Structure

Gendarmerie General Command Headquarters

Commands

Gendarmerie General Command Headquarters (Ankara)

Criminal units

  • Provincial Gendarmerie Commands in 81 provinces & in 388 districts.
    • The Crime Scene Investigation Teams (CSIT) (Working under the Provincial and District Gendarmerie Commands systematically examine the crime scene by means of technical and scientific methods; properly gather physical evidences; pack and send them to forensic laboratories.)
    • Explosive Ordnance Disposal Teams ( which have been established in tourism regions, regions with a concentration of terror incidents and big cities, dispose of explosive ordnances.)
    • Crime scene investigation units
    • Anti-Smuggling and Organized Crime Department (ASOCD)

Other units

  • Gendarmerie Traffic Teams
    • The Gendarmerie Motorcycled Public Order Teams (Round-the-clock at the highways established by the protocols in the responsibility areas of the Gendarmerie General Command.)
  • Gendarmerie Dog Teams
  • Gendarmerie Environmental Protection Teams (Environmental Protection Teams have been established in order to protect environment, ecological balance and natural life, to protect living species and areas protected by national legislation and international conventions and to prevent environmental pollution.)
  • The Gendarmerie Mounted Units (Used in performing patrolling services at resort areas, forestlands, recreation spots and museums (Topkapı Palace), and in performing preventive law enforcement services.)

Ranks

Officers

NATO code OF-10 OF-9 OF-8 OF-7 OF-6 OF-5 OF-4 OF-3 OF-2 OF-1 OF(D) Student officer
Turkish Gendarmerie
 Various
Orgeneral Korgeneral Tümgeneral Tuğgeneral Albay Yarbay Binbaşı Yüzbaşı Üsteğmen Teğmen Asteğmen

Other Ranks

NATO code OR-9 OR-8 OR-7 OR-6 OR-5 OR-4 OR-3 OR-2 OR-1
Turkish Gendarmerie
Uzman Jandarma VIII Kademeli Çavuş Uzman Jandarma VII Kademeli Çavuş Uzman Jandarma VI Kademeli Çavuş Uzman Jandarma V Kademeli Çavuş Uzman Jandarma IV Kademeli Çavuş Uzman Jandarma III Kademeli Çavuş Uzman Jandarma II Kademeli Çavuş Uzman Jandarma I Kademeli Çavuş
Uzman Çavuş IV Uzman Çavuş III Uzman Çavuş II Uzman Çavuş I
Astsubay kıdemli başçavuş Astsubay başçavuş Astsubay kıdemli üstçavuş Astsubay üstçavuş Astsubay kıdemli çavuş Astsubay çavuş Uzman onbaşı

The Gendarmerie Museum

Museum

The Gendarmerie Museum is established in order to reflect the developments in periodical order beginning with the foundation of the Gendarmerie organization; to exhibit its activities, heroic deeds, services in the history; to protect all kinds of military cultural assets related to the Gendarmerie by collecting them and to transfer them to the future generations. The Gendarmerie Museum in the Beytepe Lieutenant General İsmail SELEN Quarters in Ankara and is open to public.

Equipment

Handguns

Shotguns

Submachine guns

Assault and battle rifles

Machine guns

Sniper rifles

Rocket and grenade launchers

Mortars

Directed energy weapon

  • JARMOL-Laser weapon

Anti-drone system

  • ASELSAN IHTAR KARTAL-2

Vehicles and Aerial vehicles

Model Image Origin/Assembly Type Variant Quantity Details
Patrol vehicles
TOGG Turkey Electric Patrol vehicle SUV N/A
BMC Tulga Armoured patrol vehicle SUV Expected to enter the inventory of Gendarmerie 2025.It will be produced 300 in total.
Isuzu D-Max Japan
Turkey 		Patrol vehicle Pick-up N/A
Dacia Duster France
Romania
Turkey 		SUV
Fiat Egea Italy
Turkey 		Sedan 50
Fiat Doblo Bus 50
Reanult Megane France
Turkey 		Traffic patrol vehicle Sedan N/A
Renault Fluence
Toyota Corolla Japan
Turkey
Mitsubishi Triton Pick-up
Nisan Navara
Ford Ranger United States
Turkey 		Patrol vehicle
Ford Transit Custom Van
Ford Transit
Honda Africa Twin Japan
Turkey 		Patrol Motorbike CRF1000L
BMW R1200 Germany
Turkey 		R1200 GS
Armoured vehicles
Sisu Nasu Finland Tracked All-Terrain Vehicle NA-140 BT 47
BMC Kirpi Turkey MRAP Kirpi

Kirpi II

200

200

Based on the Israeli Hatehof Navigator. Integrated JARMOL Directed energy weapon on Kirpi 1.It can be combined with IHTAR KARTAL-2 anti-drone system.
BMC Vuran Turkey MRAP Vuran 4x4

Vuran Alkar

200 BMC Vuran armored vehicle with Mobile Adjustable Ramp System. The Gendarmerie took delivery of the VURAN vehicles mounted on the ALKAR 120mm Mortar Weapon System. Mobile mortar capability will be gained with ALKAR-mounted VURAN vehicles.
Nurol Ejder Turkey MRAP Ejder Yalçın 4x4 400+
Otokar Cobra Turkey Infantry Mobility Vehicle Cobra I

Cobra II

200

100

Its suspension / wheel base is based on the American HMMWV which led some to mistakenly claim that Turkey actually uses the HMMWV as one of its utility vehicles.
Otokar Ural - Turkey Armoured patrol vehicle N/A
Otokar Akrep Turkey Armoured reconnaissance vehicle Akrep I Turkish Land Forces as new models enter the equipment slowly giving the old equipment to the gendarmerie.
Otokar APV Turkey

United Kingdom

Armoured Patrol vehicle Based on Shorland S55.
FNSS PARS III Turkey Armoured personnel carrier Expected to be delivered 6x6 and 8x8 vehicles in 5 different variants.
BTR-80 Soviet Union BTR-80M 180 Bought from ex-GDR surplus. Modernized with ASELSAN thermal suite. In storage.
BTR-60 BTR-60PB 295 Bought from ex-GDR surplus. Modernized with BMC powertrains. In storage.
Community Incident Intervention Vehicle
TOMA Turkey Armoured vehicle N/A
Condor Germany Armoured personnel carrier Condor 1 25
Dragoon United States Amphibious Armoured fighting vehicle Dragoon 300 150
Engineering vehicle
MEMATT - Turkey Demining vehicle 2 on order
Aircraft
Beechcraft Super King Air United States Light transport/

Reconnaissance aircraft

B350 N/A Used by Gendarmerie Aviation Command
Cessna C-680 United States Light transport aircraft C-680
AQUILA A212 Germany Light aircraft/Trainer aircraft A212 1 New variant in use.
Helicopters
TAI/AgustaWestland T129 ATAK Turkey
Italy 		Attack helicopter Phase I

Phase II

13 3 on order.
Sikorsky-S70 Black Hawk United States
Turkey 		Medium Transport/Utility helicopter S-70A
S-70i
T-70 		12
N/A
3 		Avionics upgraded by ASELSAN.

30 T-70 on order.

TAI T625 Gökbey Turkey Light Transport/Utility Helicopter T625 It will replace UH-1 Huey helicopters.

20 on order.

UH-1 Huey United States Utility helicopter/Transport AB-204B/

AB-205A

14 Avionics upgraded by ASELSAN.
Mil Mi-17 Russia Transport/Utility helicopter Mi-17 IVA 19 Avionics upgraded by ASELSAN. Upgraded with night vision system.
Gyrocopter
Autogyro Cavalon Germany Reconnaissance/Surveillance 3 In the first stage 3 gyrocopters will be put into service. In the agreement, the number of gyrocopters to be purchased will be up to 8.
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
TAI Anka Turkey UCAV Anka S 6 Elazig Gendarmerie UAV command
Bayraktar TB2 TB2 18
STM KARGU Loitering munition Kargu-2 N/A
Baykar Bayraktar Mini Miniature UAV C
UÇBEY - VTOL UAV
Black Hornet Nano Norway Micro-UAV PD-100 Black Hornet

Surface Combatant

Boat
Name Origin Quantity Type Details
ASBOT KN-35 Turkey 10 Security Boat ASBOT KN-35 boats were designed and developed by ASFAT A.Ş. for the units belonging to the Gendarmerie General Command.

Gallery

See also