Swiss armed forces
| Swiss Armed Forces |
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Service branches | Land forces, Air Force |
| Leadership | |
| General | Vacant in peacetime |
| DDPS Minister | Swiss Federal Councilor Guy Parmelin |
| Chief of the Armed Forces | Lt Gen Philippe Rebord |
| Manpower | |
| Military age | 19 years of age for male compulsory military service; 18 years of age for voluntary male and female military service; |
| Conscription | 19–34 years of age obligatorily 36 for subaltern officers, 52 for staff officers and higher |
| Available for military service |
1,852,580 males, age 16–49 (2009 est.), 1,807,667 females, age 16–49 (2009 est.) |
| Fit for military service |
1,510,259 males, age 16–49 (2009 est.), 1,475,993 females, age 16–49 (2009 est.) |
| Reaching military age annually |
48,076 males (2009 est.), 44,049 females (2009 est.) |
| Active personnel | 147,075 (2013) (ranked 38th) |
| Expenditures | |
| Budget | CHF4.53 billion (~US$4.83 billion FY12) |
| Percent of GDP | 0.76% (2012) |
The Swiss Armed Forces (German: Schweizer Armee, French: Armée suisse, Italian: Esercito svizzero, Romanisch: Armada svizra) operates on land, in the air, and in international waters. Under the country's militia system, professional soldiers constitute about 5 percent of the military and the rest are conscripts or volunteers aged 19 to 34 (in some cases up to 50). Because of Switzerland's long history of neutrality, the armed forces do not take part in conflicts in other countries, but it does participate in international peacekeeping missions. Switzerland is part of the NATO Partnership for Peace programme.
The structure of the Swiss militia system stipulates that the soldiers keep their own personal equipment, including all personally assigned weapons, at home (until 2007 this also included ammunition). Compulsory military service applies to all male Swiss citizens, with women serving voluntarily. Males usually receive initial orders at the age of 18 for military conscription eligibility screening. About two-thirds of young Swiss men are found suitable for service, while alternative service exists for those found unsuitable. Annually, approximately 20,000 persons are trained in basic training for a duration from 18 to 21 weeks (increased from 15 weeks, in 2003).
The reform "Army XXI" was adopted by popular vote in 2003. It replaced the previous model "Army 95", reducing manpower from 400,000 to about 200,000 personnel, 120,000 receiving periodic military training and 80,000 reservists who have completed their total military training requirements.
The land component of the Swiss Armed Forces originated from the cantonal troops of the Old Swiss Confederacy, called upon in cases of external threats by the Tagsatzung or by the canton in distress. In the federal treaty of 1815, the Tagsatzung prescribed cantonal troops to put a contingent of 2% of the population of each canton at the federation's disposition, amounting to a force of some 33,000 men. The cantonal armies were converted into the federal army (Bundesheer) with the constitution of 1848. From this time, it was illegal for the individual cantons to declare war or to sign capitulations or peace agreements. Paragraph 13 explicitly prohibited the federation from sustaining a standing army, and the cantons were allowed a maximum standing force of 300 each (not including the Landjäger corps, a kind of police force). Paragraph 18 declared the "obligation" of every Swiss citizen to serve in the federal army if conscripted (Wehrpflicht), setting its size at 3% of the population plus a reserve of one and one half that number, amounting to a total force of some 80,000.
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