Military of Luxembourg

Luxembourg Army
Lëtzebuerger Arméi, Armée luxembourgeoise, Luxemburger Armee
Cap Badge of the Luxembourg Army
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.