Luxembourg Army Lëtzebuerger Arméi, Armée luxembourgeoise, Luxemburger Armee |
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Cap Badge of the Luxembourg Army
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Founded | 16 February 1881 |
Current form | 29 June 1967 |
Headquarters | Military Centre, Diekirch |
Leadership | |
Commander-in-Chief | Grand Duke Henri |
Minister for Defence | Etienne Schneider |
Chief of Defence | Romain Mancinelli |
Manpower | |
Military age | 18-24 |
Available for military service |
118,665 males, age 16-49 (2010 est.), 117,456 females, age 16-49 (2010 est.) |
Fit for military service |
97,290 males, age 16-49 (2010 est.), 96,361 females, age 16-49 (2010 est.) |
Reaching military age annually |
3,263 males (2010 est.), 3,084 females (2010 est.) |
Expenditures | |
Budget | 279 million $ (2011) |
Percent of GDP | 0.5% (2011) |
Related articles | |
History | Military history of Luxembourg |
Ranks | see Grades and insignia |
The Luxembourg Army is the national military of Luxembourg. The army has been an all-volunteer force since 1967. It has a current strength of approximately 450 professional soldiers—340 enlisted recruits and 100 civilians—with a total budget of $369 million, or 0.9% of GDP.
The army is under civilian control, with the Grand Duke as Commander-in-Chief. The Minister for Defence, currently Etienne Schneider, oversees army operations. The professional head of the army is the Chief of Defence, who answers to the minister.
Luxembourg has participated in the Eurocorps, has contributed troops to the UNPROFOR and IFOR missions in former Yugoslavia, and has participated with a small contingent in the current NATO SFOR mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Luxembourg troops have also deployed to Afghanistan, to support ISAF. The army has also participated in humanitarian relief missions such as setting up refugee camps for Kurds and providing emergency supplies to Albania.
On 8 January 1817, William I, Grand Duke of Luxembourg, published a constitutional law governing the organization of a militia, the main provisions of which were to remain in force until the militia was abolished in 1881. The law fixed the militia's strength at 3,000 men. Until 1840, Luxembourg’s militiamen served in units of the Royal Netherlands Army. Enlisted men served for five years: the first year consisted of active service, but during each of the subsequent four years of service they were mobilised only three times per year.