Swiss militia facing shortage of recruits

The Swiss army is warning of a looming shortage of military personnel for refresher training. More people are leaving the army prematurely, opting for civic duty. +Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox According to the 2025 army census published on Thursday, early departures are making work in the refresher courses more difficult. Positions in advanced training services cannot be adequately filled. The resulting difficulties in training would reduce the standard of training and readiness in the medium term. + How Switzerland's militia system impacts civic identity Around 140,000 deployed members of the armed militia forces - the effective number - are needed to ensure the 99,101 positions required for mission fulfilment - the so-called target number. This takes into account the fact that not all of those deployed will be able to fulfil the order. Since the implementation of the Further Development of the Armed Forces (WEA), members of the armed forces remain ...