The staffing problem is homemade

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Army chief Thomas Süssli (56) struck a dramatic tone. The army was out of soldiers! Every year the army loses a few thousand people. “By the end of the decade, we will be missing about a quarter of supplies,” Süssli said with an eye. That’s more than 30,000 soldiers.

To fill the gaps, the Federal Council is examining two new service models. Even all women can be held responsible. The House of Representatives was also active: the Council of States discussed an initiative with which the SVP wants to make it more difficult for people to perform civilian service.

The excess stock is against the law

But the army is not short of soldiers – on the contrary. The army is even too big! The Ordinance on the Organization of the Army states that the Army has a target of 100,000 and an effective number of up to 140,000 conscripts.

However, the requirement is no longer met. The population grew to more than 151,000 people in 2022. The permitted limit is exceeded by more than 11,000. The Federal Council already pointed this out in the 2021 alimony report. The surplus has therefore been known for a long time.

The surplus is now even illegal, as the “Republic” has announced. Under military law, the federal government is allowed to exceed the maximum allowable army numbers; but that was limited to the end of 2022. Now it is even against the law.

Army missed deadline

The Federal Council confirmed this in its response to advances from the left-green camp. And: “The DDPS department has only known since November 2022 that the effective stock will remain higher than the legal basis allows from 2023.”

In plain English: the army simply missed the deadline. With the revision of the military law and the regulation on the organization of the army, it failed to create the missing legal basis for the 2023 overrun by the end of the decade, army spokesman Stefan Hofer admits.

That feeds mistrust in the left camp: the Federal Council confirms that stocks are too high. At the same time, the army constantly warns about personnel shortages, criticizes Greenland Council member Marionna Schlatter (42). “Something is wrong here.”

Army overshoots target on dismantling

The DDPS now wants to be legally compliant again as soon as possible. “In order not to exceed the effective number, we plan that military service will be ten years from 2024 for all members of the team and non-commissioned officers,” explained army spokesman Mathias Volken. So far it has taken twelve years.

And this is exactly where the dog is buried: the impending shortage of personnel, which the military warns, has been internalized. With the further development of the army, the Bundesrat had already decided to shorten the service time: “Otherwise the army would be unnecessarily blown up.” Now it should just happen sooner.

With the reduced service time, two cohorts should retire in 2028 and 2029. That will already be the case in 2024. The problem: The effective number has not only been reduced to the military’s maximum allowable 140,000 members, but much lower. The military misses the point here.

Yet activism breaks out in parliament

But even the Federal Council admits that these calculations are uncertain. While it is clear that more 18-year-olds will need to come in the coming years as the population increases, the number of future churns can only be guessed at.

Nevertheless, the DDPS insists that the army will run out of measures. Activism has therefore also broken out in parliament. On Monday, the Council of States will discuss how the army should lose fewer people. The fact that the personnel problem in the army is self-inflicted will hardly change the mind of the majority of the middle class.

Source:Blick