Military ranks

Team Romania at the 2020 Invictus Games - to be attended by soldiers injured in war zones - was officially presented on Monday evening, in the presence of Defence Minister Nicolae Ciuca. The minister spoke about the Invictus Games, which he said were not "a competition project." "[Invictus] is a project of what the spirit of the Romanian army means.

On the eve of the Bravery Day and the Feast of the Bulgarian Army - May 6, the head of state Rumen Radev awarded three Bulgarian soldiers with a senior officer rank.

More than 5,000 are the vacant positions in the army, reports bTV. The Chief of Defense demanded an increase in the retirement age for soldiers to end the dangerous tendency of them leaving the armed forces.

The number of generals and admirals in the Turkish military has decreased 40 percent due to the dismissals after the coup attempt, retirements and resignations, according to the data gathered by the state-run Anadolu Agency. 

The number of generals and admirals has decreased from 326 to 196 after the military coup attempt on July 15 last year. 

Two transgender cadets will be able to graduate from military academies on the condition that they pass their exams, but they will not be allowed to serve in the military after graduation.

The Air Force and Army will not allow the cadets to be commissioned into the military because the Pentagon has not yet established guidelines for accepting transgender troops, USA Today reported.

Caretaker Minister of Defense Stefan Yanev has met with Deputy Assistant Secretary General for Intelligence of NATO Brigadier General Paul D.Nelson, the ministry reports, quoted by BNR.

Thousands of people have applied to be recruited by Turkey's Special Forces Command, which will recruit personnel from outside the military for the first time ever amid ongoing suspensions and dismissals carried out in the army since the failed coup attempt of July 15. 

According to initial data, a total of 7,929 people have applied to the command in only four days.

Turkey's military academy will resume student admissions in February 2017, following a halt after the failed July 15 coup attempt.

The academic year will kick off in February 2017 primarily for the air force academy, according to an official from the Defense Ministry who wanted to remain anonymous. 

Military and religious ceremonies have started this morning at all military facilities in Romania and at such facilities abroad where Romanian troops operate to remember eight soldiers who died in a recent military helicopter accident.