The military is viewed as the main defender of secular rule, a role it has played since the death in 1938 of the nation's founder and former army officer, Mustfa Kemal Ataturk.
Vojska se smatra glavnim braniteljem sekularne vladavine, što je uloga koju igra od 1938. godine, od smrti utemeljitelja države i bivšeg vojnog časnika, Mustafe Kemala Ataturka.