Swiss Army

Swiss Army posts cover the militia army of Switzerland built on universal male conscription and the long tradition of armed neutrality. Articles look at the basic recruit school of around eighteen weeks at age twenty, the annual refresher service that continues until the early thirties, the home-issue rifle that conscripts used to keep at home with ammunition, the structure built around militia officers rather than a large standing force, the air force and its mountain bases and the ongoing political debate over the size and budget of the army. There are also notes on alternative civilian service.