Army has almost no staff left

The problems are still manageable. The Swiss army still has sufficient personnel. But if the measures already taken and planned do not work, the necessary stocks will probably be missing from 2030. This is what the Ministry of Defense (VBS) writes about the latest army count. Meanwhile, the Federal Council is even investigating conscription for women.

The military’s target is 100,000 members of the military. However, because not everyone assigned to a contingent withdraws, an effective number of 140,000 is needed, clarifies the department of Central Federal Councilor Viola Amherd (60). At the 2022 reference date, the effective inventory was 151,299, ie above the requirement.

The problem: fewer and fewer Swiss are on duty. More and more people are also running away – for medical reasons or because they switch to community service. “By the end of the decade we will be missing about a quarter of supplies!” Army chief Thomas Süssli (56) had already made it clear in the BLICK interview. Things don’t look much better for civil defense.

The proportion of women is growing slightly

The proportion of women in the army has increased, from 1.4 percent in 2022. 1,778 women were assigned, 278 or 18.5 percent more than the previous year. Efforts to recruit more women for military service are paying off, the DDPS writes. However, the military is still a long way from the self-proclaimed target of 10 percent women.

With the further development of the army, a temporary surplus is planned, according to the report on Thursday. In this way, stocks could also be replenished during the transition period, when an above-average number of members of the military are still recruited but have already fulfilled their training obligations.

Way too many early departures

Since after this transition period, conscription for all age groups will be ten years instead of twelve, two age groups each will be discharged from the military in 2028 and 2029. Without countermeasures, especially against too many premature departures from the military, gaps are likely to arise from 2030, the DDPS writes.

Every year, between 10,000 and 11,000 people leave the military before the end of conscription. In 2021, a switch to community service was the most common reason, namely in 60 percent of the cases. In another 30 percent of cases, military personnel turned their backs on the military for medical reasons.

The Federal Council is currently investigating how to guarantee the number of personnel in the army in the long term. Among other things, the merging of civil service and civil defense or the extension of conscription to women are under discussion. What has already been decided: in the future, young Swiss women should also participate in the army induction day. (SDA/dba)