Turkish military instructors are adding a prerequisite language course to their training programme.
Somali soldiers training at the Commando Training Centre in Isparta, Turkey, and Camp TurkSom, a Turkish military base and defence university in Mogadishu, will now be required to complete a 6-month intensive Turkish language course before enrolling in officer and non-commissioned officer cadet courses, according to Turkish state media.
Security experts said that the Turkish Task Force Command in Somalia (STGK) instructors in Somalia have a limited grasp of Somali and English; also, the majority of the training manuals and reading materials are produced in Turkish.
Afterwards, officers receive two years of education while NCOs receive one. The trainees will study physics, chemistry, mathematics, computer science, military history, military geography, operations management and intelligence, and traditional combat training in combat formations and marksmanship.
Somalia and Turkey signed multiple defence pacts between 2009 and 2015, focusing on military training and defence.
Turkey has instructed nearly 5,000 Somali soldiers and officers at various times, including five infantry battalions of the Gorgor (Eagle) brigade, according to Turkish officials. CAMP TurkSom can train up to 1500 trainees at the same time.
Defence experts estimate that Turkey has trained about one-third of Somalia’s military.
