Switzerland - A Model for Defense and Long Term Survival???
Switzerland is a fascinating country land-locked in the middle of Europe. It has managed to stay out of two major world wars literally fought around its' borders over the last century. What was probably the major contributing factor? The form of government? The state and nature of its' defenses and army?
Important considerations in the 21st century when we must keep our minds open to different methods of securing our futre.
From the Department of State website - a brief portion of the report on Switzerland (accessed at http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3431.htm on 21 July 09)
DEFENSE
Switzerland has a militia army. The armed forces have a small nucleus of about 4,200 professional staff, half of whom are either instructors or staff officers, with the remainder mostly being fortification guards. The army has virtually no full-time active combat units but is capable of full mobilization within 72 hours. Women may volunteer to serve in the armed forces and may now join all units, including combat troops; currently 1,050 women are active-duty members of the Swiss military.
The major military transformations, connected to the “Army XXI” program initiated in 2004, are still in progress. The goals for 2008 were “consolidation and improvement of quality.” The “Development Stage 08/11,” the program concerning reforms for 2008-2011, was approved by parliament in 2007. The general strategy is a reduction of the size of the military while maintaining a high quality of knowledge and equipment standards.
The Development Stage 08/11 also involves an increase of military personnel for overseas deployments, such as peacekeeping missions and disaster relief. In 2007, the Swiss parliament approved a doubling of Peace Support Operations (PSO) troops from 250 to 500. Further, an increase of cooperation with civilian authorities is anticipated, e.g., with the police and the border watch corps. Four new “military police regions” have been created, which will cooperate more closely with the regional security partner organizations.
Switzerland has been a Partnership for Peace (PfP) member since 2006. Each year, Switzerland proposes to NATO an Individual Partnership Program (IPP), where the objectives, priorities, and potentials of the Swiss participation in PfP are defined.
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