The Supreme Military Council (YAŞ) meeting was held in Beştepe under the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. At the 3-hour session, the new command staff of the Turkish Armed Forces was determined. Accordingly, General Metin Gürak, Commander of the 2nd Army, was appointed Chief of General Staff. General Selçuk Bayraktaroğlu, the 2nd Chief of the General Staff, was appointed as the Commander of the Land Forces, and General Ziya Cemal Kadıoğlu, the Commander of the Combat Air Force, was appointed as the Commander of the Air Force.
Gürak is a well-known soldier in Ankara.
Gürak’s last post was in the 2nd Army. The headquarter of the 2nd Army is based in Malatya, and its primary duty is to provide the safety of southeastern borders. In other words, Gürak’s last post was to fight against the PKK terrorist organisation and provide the security of Iraq and Syrian borders.
Gürak was promoted to brigadier general in 2006 and assigned as the Commander of the 2nd Armoured Brigade. While serving in this position, he held weekly press briefings on behalf of the Turkish Armed Forces on Ergenekon, Balyoz and other cases related to the Turkish Armed Forces.
In response to the 15 July Coup Attempt, he went to the Armoured Troops School and Training Division in Etimesgut with the order he received from General Hulusi Akar, the then Chief of General Staff, and made sure that no tanks moved and that those that were on the move returned to the nearest units; he also inspected the Land Aviation Command to ensure that no air platform took off. At around 22.00, he went to the General Staff headquarters, was intercepted by the coup plotters and taken to Akıncı Base. He was later rescued the next day, together with other commanders.
He served as the Commander of the Training Doctrine Command (EDOK) Communication Service Support Training between 2016 and 2017, as the Chief of Staff of the Turkish Land Forces between 2017 and 2018, and as the Turkish General Staff between 2018-2020. On 10 January 2020, he was appointed Military Counsellor of the Turkish Armed Forces in Libya.
In 2020, he was promoted to the rank of major general and appointed as the Commander of the 2nd Army. On 24 December 2021, he was awarded the Turkish Armed Forces Distinguished Service Medal by the Minister of National Defence, Hulusi Akar, for his achievements.
