What you may of not known about the Swiss Army!

Good day, ATS! I hope that I am posting this in the right forum as this sort of article could fit into about three different subjects, so mods please feel free to move this! Anyways, I recently stumbled upon an interesting article regarding the Swiss Army, and the way it works! I found it really interesting because up until this point, forgive my ignorance, I didn't know the Swiss even had a military! But apparently they do, and it's about 10% of their population!
Here are some interesting points about the article called The Swiss Army and the Porcupine Principle

Everyone knows that “Switzerland does not have an army. Switzerland IS an army,” quipped an observer. (1) Indeed, a little known fact is that the Swiss maintain, proportionally, the largest military force in the world, with more than twice as many active-duty soldiers per capita as the next proportionally-largest force, in Israel. Israel admired the Swiss model so much that it copied it. (2)

The military of Switzerland is a unique institution that falls somewhere between a militia and a regular army. A militia in the case of Switzerland is the entire able-bodied population of the country, which can be called to arms against an invading enemy in considerably less than 48 hours, according to one source, and within 12 hours, according to another. (4,2)

Every Swiss soldier receives a gas mask and a tin of 50 rounds of ammunition that is to be opened in case of war. The ammunition is loaded in the rifle magazine, which is carried in the soldier’s pocket, and engaged in the weapon only for the personal self-defense of the soldier in case he or she is attacked between home and the barracks.

Where a highway bridge crosses a railroad, a segment of the bridge is programmed to drop on the railroad. Primacord fuses are built into the bridge. Hidden artillery is in place on either side, set to prevent the enemy from clearing or repairing the damage. All purposes included, concealed and stationary artillery probably number upward of twelve thousand guns.

What I found most interesting about the article, and how it may relate to Political issues is the defencive motto of the Swiss military so to speak. To have an entire population be ready to put up a fight against an army and conscript the younger people would have any libertarian and anti-government/authority figure person up in arms! However, in such cases, the Swiss have a good concept on it being purely for defensives purposes and are strictly against offensive movement!

I personally find this a wonderful idea! Be ready to defend your country, but never to invade another! Could you imagine if all countries had foreign policy like this? Not only would we be fit from training, but we would never have war! Of course, this is a pipe dream!

Oh, and to appeal to all you anti-government buffs:

In Switzerland, there are people prepared to fight even against the government if the government were to capitulate.

Check out the article! Thanks for reading!

Very interesting cheers for posting. I had no idea that the swiss had a millitary set-up like this.

I assumed that they just ran around with swiss army knifes

Howdy, if you want more information about the Swiss army model, look here

If you have any question, please ask, as I'm happy to go into details as far as I know them.

Wow. I was wondering how long it would be before the inevitable joke about Swiss army knives turned up. One post.

On a more positive note of actually contributing to the thread, in 1979, in my first year at university, I met a Swiss kid who said he'd seen inside one of the secret bases inside a hollowed-out mountain. I thought this was BS at the time... but these days I think he was telling the truth, And that was 30 years ago.

Serious people, the Swiss.

(Always end on a racist generalisation if you can, that's my motto.)

The hollowed out mountains are not BS. At the beginning of WW2, when it was feared that Hitler would attack Switzerland, the alpes were basically fortified in what was known as the "Reduit" see here.

During the cold war, when the fear of the Soviet Union and their powerful nukes was looming, the fortresses were improved and updated.

Most of those bunkers and fortresses are now dismantled and turned into musees, see here for example.

Yes, the Swiss took their liberty and way of life pretty serious. After the fall of the Soviet Union, some people wanted to abolish the army, but with recent geopolitical happenings, those voices become fewer and quieter.

Well too bad the israelis did not copy the morals of the Swiss army.

Instead of sniping infants and women they should have copied the "code of conduct" bits as well

I would like to quote a military leader from WWII.

"You cannot invade the mainland United States. There would be a rifle behind each blade of grass."

"I fear all we have done is awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve."

As for Switzerland, I salute the model they have created for the United States Citizen, that has not forgotten they are the longest running country without an invasion.

I would like to remind folk, that we the knowledgeable American Citizen, have learned from history also.

The Swiss are a very important reminder, to NEVER give up your rights to Keep and Bear Arms. For than, the only ones with arms are your government and in the US we are our government. Never forget that. For those who forget history are DOOMED to repeat it.

A nice thread I created on the lines of Yamomoto's second quote.

Have they woken the Sleeping Giant?

S&F for reminding the world why you should never surrender your basic rights of Life, Liberty, Pursuit of happiness, and the most important-

Your ability to defend those rights from all possible tyrants.

[edit on 3/29/2010 by endisnighe]