The cabinet on Friday approved a series of measures in an effort to reduce the number of applications for civilian service, which rose sharply in the wake of last year’s reform.
The measures include a personal discussion with applicants to motivate them for army duty.
The defence ministry added it will not reintroduce a vetting system of conscientious objectors suspended in 2009.
However, critics have described the planned measures as “ridiculous and unreasonable” and a setback for a fair system in a modern society.
Under the conscript system all able-bodied men are liable to serve in the Swiss armed forces, including basic training and regular refresher courses up to the age of 34.
The average service days in the army for a private is around 260 days, while community service lasts longer.
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Initiative launched to end conscription
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The Social Democratic Party, the Green Party and the Group for Switzerland without an Army (GSoA) argue that Switzerland’s army is inordinately large and that the only things its bored soldiers learn how to do is kill time. Such a large defence force no longer reflects the reality of a post-Cold War world, they argue,…
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Hans-Ulrich Ernst was for many years general secretary of the defence ministry, and is now a knowledgeable critic of the army. He tells swissinfo.ch that reintroducing screening for those who do not want to join the army is pointless. At present, all able-bodied Swiss men between the ages of 20 and 36 must serve 260…
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Entry requirements to the civilian alternative to military service were relaxed last April. Conscientious objectors are no longer required to undergo written and oral assessments by a committee to explain their motives. Even though the civilian alternative lasts one and a half times longer than military service, the number of applications leapt from around 1,700…
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