Security sources said a man with immediate links to Fetullah Gülen, the now-deceased leader of the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ), became an officer in the U.S. Army.

Hayreddin Kalaç is the son of Adem Kalaç, one of "mollas" or high-ranking members of the terrorist group that orchestrated a deadly coup attempt in Türkiye and was involved in a long list of crimes. The elder Kalaç is married to the daughter of Fetullah Gülen’s brother Seyfullah. He was also an executive at U.S.-based Ebru TV founded by FETÖ members shortly before the 2016 coup attempt.

Gülen, who died last month, ran a global network of terrorists and its close circle is formed by "families," members with blood relations to each other and by marriage. The wife of Adem Kalaç is the sister of the wife of Cevdet Türkyolu, the right-hand man of Gülen who was rumored to succeed him as leader of the terrorist group.

Sources said Hayreddin Kalaç attended the Scarlet Knight Battalion- Army ROTCS at Rutgers University in New Jersey and graduated in May 2023 with the rank of second lieutenant.

Kalaç is not the only FETÖ member to serve in the U.S. Army. In 2022, Turkish media outlets revealed that a major of Turkish descent serving as a bioterrorism expert in the army had links to the group.

The United States is among the countries Ankara has pressed for the extradition of the terrorist group's members, primarily Gülen. Despite multiple requests since the 2016 putsch bid, Washington has stalled the process, according to Turkish officials. Gülen had arrived in the U.S. in 1999 and resided in a posh compound run by a foundation loyal to the group, in Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania for a long time. The compound was also home to other senior figures of the terrorist group.

FETÖ has a considerable presence internationally, particularly in the U.S., including private schools that serve as a revenue stream for the terrorist group. Several prominent figures linked to the group had fled to the country following terrorism investigations in Türkiye, including journalists from the now-defunct Zaman newspaper and former footballer Hakan Şükür. The family of Adil Öksüz, a prominent figure of the terrorist group, also lives in New Jersey where they settled before the putsch bid. Öksüz remains at large and his whereabouts are unknown.