In Kazakhstan, a military drill tragedy will spur a leadership shake-up among the Armed Forces, modest reforms and more foreign supplier diversification, but not a larger institutional overhaul, leaving Kazakh forces hampered by their Soviet military legacy and keeping the door open for another mishap that could become a broader political flashpoint. On Sept. 27, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev dismissed Defense Minister Lt. Gen. Dauren Kosanov and appointed Maj. Gen. Aidos Myrzakhmetov, commander of the Special Operations Forces, in his place. The move followed an accident during the Khazar Qorgany 2026 ("Caspian Shield") naval exercise, in which 17 marines were swept into the sea on Sept. 24 while landing from a vessel about 43 kilometers (about 27 miles) from Aktau, a city in the western Mangystau region. Only three survived, leaving 14 servicemen dead, most of them conscripts.