Advancement of the army

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The advancement of the army (WEA) is a project of the Swiss army . After Army 95 and Army XXI, the WEA is another reorganization of the Swiss Army, which was initiated with the security policy report of June 23, 2010 and the Army report of October 1, 2010.

history

From 2017, the WEA will increase the readiness of the armed forces, improve training and equipment and strengthen regional roots. The relationship between performance and financial resources should be placed on a sustainable, solid basis. The WEA is intended to enable the armed forces to continue to defend and protect Switzerland and its population effectively against modern threats and dangers. Most of the implementation of the WEA project should be completed by 2020, with the further development of the Swiss Army remaining an ongoing process.

The consultation took place in autumn 2013. Cantons, political parties, umbrella organizations and other groups interested in individual cases were invited to comment on the submission and the associated partial revision of the military law. The message was subsequently adapted and passed by the Federal Council for submission to parliament on September 3, 2014. The parliamentary deliberations took place from 2014 to 2015.

On March 18, 2016, the two councils adopted the legal basis for the WEA with the Military Act and Ordinance 513.1 of the Federal Assembly on the Organization of the Army (Army Organization, AO). They came into force on March 29, 2017 by the Federal Council.

Goal and benchmarks

The aim of the project is to align the armed forces with future requirements as a security instrument in Switzerland within the framework of the political and legal framework.

The cornerstones of the wind turbine are therefore:

  1. Increasing readiness
  2. Improvement of training
  3. Complete equipment
  4. Strengthening regional roots

The basic parameters of the army after the implementation of the wind turbine:

  • Basis: conscription and militia principle
  • Annual budget: CHF 5 billion
  • Target population: 100,000 members of the army
  • Service days: approx. 5 million years
  • Tasks: The Swiss Army defends the country, population and infrastructure.

Basics and constitutional mandate

The basis for this project are the security policy report (SIPOL B 2010), the army report 2010 and the so-called deficiency list 2009.

Article 58 Paragraph 2 of the Federal Constitution reads: “The army serves to prevent war and helps to maintain peace; it defends the country and its people. It supports the civil authorities in warding off serious threats to internal security and in dealing with other extraordinary situations. The law can provide for further tasks. "

Adjustments to the army organization and restructuring of management structures

With the reduction to a target number of 100,000 (effective number of 140,000) members of the army (AdA), several large units and various battalions and departments are being restructured and newly subordinated.

The current structure is maintained while the number of battalions, divisions and squadrons is reduced from 177 to 109. The areas are divided into deployment, support and training. A total of 69 troops are to be disbanded, of which 17 are active and 52 are in reserve.

In the course of the conversion of the army, the tank brigades (Pz Br 1, 11), the infantry brigades (Inf Br 2, 5, 7) and the mountain infantry brigades (Geb Inf Br 9, 10, 12) will be dissolved on December 31, 2017. The infantry and mountain infantry battalions subordinate to them are either disbanded, subordinated to Territorial Divisions 1 to 4 or converted into mechanized battalions and subordinated to the mechanized brigades (Mech Br 1, 4, 11) with the tank battalions .

Infantry Brigade 5 will become Mechanized Brigade 4 on January 1, 2018 . Three infantry battalions will be disbanded at the end of 2017, including the Zurich Infantry Battalion 70 .

With the transfer of the current army to the new army organization, numerous files of disbanded or transferred militia formations have to be archived so that the thoughts and actions of the troops can be documented for future generations in terms of military history and for research into Swiss social and cultural history. Members of the army archive support the large associations in the professional preparation of the files and transfer them to the Swiss Federal Archives .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. admin.ch: Further development of the army
  2. Swiss Armed Forces March 29, 2017: Federal Council finally puts the amendment of March 18, 2016 to the Military Act into force and passes the ordinance on the structures of the armed forces
  3. VBS project report: Project assessment as of December 31, 2016
  4. Security Policy Report (SIPOL B 2010)
  5. ^ Army report 2010
  6. Ordinance on the Structures of the Army (VSA) of March 29, 2017
  7. WEA brochure from June 2016: Our Swiss Army of Tomorrow
  8. ^ Officers.ch from October 2014: The advancement of the army and the infantry
  9. Press release Brigade Report 2017
  10. Swiss Army: Commander Inf Bat 70
  11. ^ Swiss Army: Troop Archiving