TURTLE SOP
Anonymous

The purpose of this article is to create a uniform code for the purchase, award and wear of the Turtle Award With Balls ( hereafter referred to as the 'Turtle' ) by all personnel serving at the Sinop Common Defense Installation. It should also help to alleviate the confusion which has occurred in the past concerning the wear of the Turtle.

All personnel eligible to wear the award must have served at the SCDI for a sufficient period to have attained the honored status of 'Eski'. Also eligible for the award are those personnel who, through no fault of their own, are unable to complete the full tour here on the Hill. For example, those people who complete their TDY, receive a hardship discharge or a compassionate reassignment, separate from the service, retire, or contract a case of terminal trots are also eligible to purchase and wear the Turtle as if they had completed a full tour on the Hill. For these persons, the date of initial wear of the Turtle will be determined by the actual departure date or a published port call date.

Because the Turtle is not an official award of the U. S. military, procurement of the award will be at personal expense. The Turtle may be purchased at the Turkish Bazaar located here on the Hill, or may be obtained on the local economy. Either way the charge is minimal, usually less than five lira.

The Turtle may be worn on the left breast pocket of the military uniform in which personnel perform their duties, or any place on the civilian clothing. A Turtle with two Balls may first be worn on the thirtieth day prior to departure from SCDI. Upon the fifteenth day prior to departure, one of the Balls will be removed. The second Ball is removed at the time that the individual is officially ROD.

An informal ceremony may be utilized by any group, section, trick, platoon, squad or staff to present an individual with his Turtle provided the ceremony does not conflict with the carrying out of the mission by that group. Additionally, when a member is ROD, a ceremony may accompany the removing of the second of the two Balls from the Turtle in accordance with the guidelines above.

The authorization to wear the Turtle on the uniform was given by LTC John Norris. Should this privilege be abused, the commander could revoke his authorization for uniform wear. For those who wear the Turtle, it is a distinctive 'badge' signifying to others that those individuals have weathered the storm and are about to return to the good life. Let's keep the Turtle as a meaningful symbol to all of us serving out our time here on the Hill.
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Editor's note: On her page, Cindy Polgar describes an additional ceremony involving the turtle, in which it is smashed on the tarmac just before a person boards the plane to leave Det. 4 (1982??).

"This is John stomping on a turtle. The tradition was they bought this little fake turtle when they were "short" and crushed it on the tarmac before departing. "

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If anyone remembers LTC John Norris and could indicate when he was stationed on "The Hill", it would help to pinpoint when these Turtle traditions began.

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