Army gets back its bullets but not all

The Swiss Army should have recuperated most of the ammunition it allows soldiers to keep at home very soon, Defence Minister Ueli Maurer has assured parliamentarians.

More than 240,000 boxes of bullets had been returned by the end of August, Maurer said on Monday. That is out of a maximum total of 257,000 boxes, according to estimates calculated in October 2007. The army should have the rest “in the weeks to come,” he said.

The army does not expect to recuperate about 7,500 boxes, which were sent to recruitment schools and to those serving a long-term military career. Some 5,200 soldiers have not yet returned their ammunitions but digital records and cross referencing should clarify who has what, Maurer said.

Parliament demanded in 2007 that most of the ammunition sent home with soldiers be returned by the end of 2009.

Switzerland has a militia-style army whereby citizen soldiers can be mustered from all corners of the country in relatively little time should they be needed.