Visiting the troops

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Three different military uniforms for infantry recruits Keystone

Swiss infantry recruits near the barracks of Colombier, off Lake Neuchâtel Keystone

Applying camouflage face paint Keystone

Wet room for the troops in a former fortress on top of the Gotthard Pass in central Switzerland Keystone

A trainee member of the parachute reconnaissance unit in Altmatt handling machine gun ammunition Keystone

Soldiers in a Super Puma helicopter monitoring data of an aeroradiometric survey on behalf of the National Emergency Operations Centre Keystone

Mountain specialists in action: a stretcher with a wounded victim is lowered from a cliff above the Devil's Bridge in the Schöllenen Gorge Keystone

The mobile kitchen's task is to provide catering for the troops in the field Keystone

Lunch in the barracks of Andermatt Keystone

The army band performing on Parliament Square during a state visit to Bern by India's president in 2011 Keystone

An F/A-18 fighter plane of the Swiss Airforce waiting to leave the hangar in Meiringen Keystone

A squadron of the airforce's aerobatic team during a training sortie near Emmen Keystone

Members of the Swiss army install a fence along a helicopter airport at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos Keystone

A cannon seen from the outside at the former army fortress on the Gotthard Pass Keystone

Members of a special unit in winter camouflage gear Keystone

Sleeping quarters in the dorms of the barracks at Colombier Keystone

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The Swiss Armed Forces train their members for a multitude of activities, including reconnaissance flights, close combat and abseiling. But critics want a radical overhaul.

In September, voters will have the final say on a proposal by pacifists to scrap the conscription system and replace the militia army with professional troops. (Images: Keystone)