Military service, no thanks?! Part I

The war in Ukraine has reignited the debate on reintroducing conscription in Germany. In Switzerland, military or civilian service is compulsory for men. How do young people there perceive their period of service?

Just a few days ago, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock reiterated her rejection of reintroducing conscription in Germany. This reflects the attitude of most young people in the country: only 18 per cent of 14- to 29-year-olds support such a step, whilst 50 per cent clearly oppose it (Source: trend study "Youth in Germany – Summer 2022"). Timon and Sebastian live in Switzerland and have already completed their service there. In the interview, they share their perspective on the topic and report on their experiences in recruit school or as a civilian service worker.

Infobox: Military and civilian service in Switzerland

Every Swiss citizen is obliged to perform military service; Swiss women can currently volunteer (an expansion of the service obligation to women is currently being debated). Military service can be performed between the ages of 19 and 25 and typically lasts 18 weeks. After recruit school, graduates remain assigned for nine years and complete six refresher courses of three weeks each during this period. Those deemed fit for military service but who consider it incompatible with their conscience can perform a civilian alternative service in the social and health sector or in the environmental field. This lasts one and a half times as long as military service. Those deemed unfit and who perform neither military nor civilian service must pay a replacement levy of three per cent of taxable income per year (for a maximum of eleven years). People with a disability rating of at least 70 per cent are exempt from the replacement levy. For each day of service, both military and civilian service workers are entitled to earnings replacement, even if they were not employed before starting service. The earnings replacement amounts to 80 per cent of income before starting service, but at least 62 CHF per day. Civilian service workers additionally receive 5 CHF pocket money daily from the service provider, whilst recruits receive an additional 4 CHF daily pay (Source: ch.ch).

Interview on civilian service with Sebastian (23, studying International Relations)

I: When exactly did you perform your service and where, or in which institution?

S: Well, you don't have to do civilian service in one place, and you can do it in differently-length stages. That's one of the great advantages of civilian service for me – that you can decide for yourself when and where, within certain limits. When I was 19, so four years ago, I did it for the first time, two months in the Bergwald Project. That's a foundation that does forestry work with young people and volunteer adults, and I then returned there for the following three years, each summer for two months. And then I did one more Covid deployment in a hospital in Samedan in the mountains, where I did reception control – that was only three weeks. And the long deployment, the equivalent to recruit school, I did last autumn, half a year in Bern, at the Federal Office for the Environment. That was mostly office work.

I: And if I may just follow up briefly: equivalent to recruit school – does that mean you also receive training?

S: No, the idea is simply that you do one longer deployment in one go.

I: Ah, I see. But it's not like in recruit school, where you learn certain skills?

S: No, so not all service providers are approved for long deployments, but in principle you can also select a service provider yourself there.

I: Okay, got it. Which factors played a role for you in selecting the different institutions you worked in?

S: For the shorter deployments, it was the content of the work and the location. So I wanted to work outdoors, physically – ah, work is the Swiss German word (laughs)…

I: …I understand, we have that in my dialect too (laughs)…

S: …work outdoors, physically, all of it – I thought the combination of everything was really cool. And for the longer deployment, it was also the idea of linking it a bit with my studies, in terms of content it was actually like a university internship. So there was also a bit of a career consideration, that it might help me with my studies or something.

I: Okay, and did you just apply for it?

S: Exactly, there's a platform from the federal government where all the service providers are listed, and you can search according to different criteria. Some of these are service providers that many people are looking for and who don't scrutinise too carefully who comes. You can just get in touch and say, "hey, I'll come then and then, is that okay?". At the Federal Office, I had to write an application, there was an interview and so on, so they looked a bit more carefully at who was coming. It depends a bit on the nature of the work.

I: Okay. Could you describe what a typical working day was like for you? Of course, that's difficult with the different institutions (laughs)

S (laughs): Yeah, I'll just do both, okay? So, in the Bergwald Project, it's always project weeks from Sunday to Saturday. You have to get up quite early, prepare breakfast for the participants or school classes. Then usually around seven, half past six breakfast, then you wash up, and then you head outside. Then you work until around half past nine, then there's a half-hour snack break –

I (laughs): What's that?

S (laughs): Just eat something at half past nine, a snack. Then you work again until noon, take an hour for lunch outside, and then there's often a civilian service worker there who's the cook –

I: So there were several of you?

S: – yes, and then you just cook in the forest with wood, make a fire, bring soup in a big pot and cook on the fire, and eat outside. And then you work until around four, five, depending on the weather.

I: Quick question: working means what exactly? So you supervise the different projects with the children?

S: It depends, so when you work with young people, the main task is really more about instructing and supervising the kids. When you work with adults, you're also doing a lot of the work yourself. So it depends a bit on how independent the kids are, whether you're also doing a lot of the work yourself. And otherwise you're often preparing and clearing up food, instructing, coordinating, checking whether they've done it correctly, if you need to build fences or something. And then when you work with adults, you're also doing a lot of the work yourself, because they're more independent. So then you're really working physically for about seven hours yourself. It's a bit different. Yeah and then home, washing tools or something. So they're long working days, usually you're working nine or ten hours. Exactly.

I: Okay.

S: And it's always Sunday to Saturday, so you don't really have a weekend, but in return, for example, if you do a two-month deployment, you get two whole weeks off.

I: And did you also sleep in the institution during that time?

S: Yes. Accommodation was provided, and also food. That means you don't really have any expenses. And then with the long deployment, at the BAFU, Federal Office for the Environment, it was very, very different. It was really full office work, 41½ hours a week, with some flexibility. So I could start between seven and nine in the morning, whenever I wanted, and then had to do at least five hours a day and 41½ hours over the week. But they trusted me a lot to record my own working hours, so I wasn't very closely monitored. Then I came to the office, sometimes I could also work from home with Corona in the summer. I shared an office with another civilian service worker, and we were there writing our statements and listing our proposals and looking at project documents, so it was really like a normal office job. There I also had to find my own accommodation and pay for it with my earnings replacement, buy and cook my own food, so it was actually like an internship or a job. So also a lot of flexibility, and you don't sleep in the barracks or anything like in the military, but you have your own flat. That's nice too, but then also expensive. In the military, accommodation is provided.

I: Yes, of course.

S: Exactly. Pros and cons.

I: Okay, got it. To what extent did civilian service then influence your further life path? Were there perhaps impulses during this period that played a role in your orientation for later career choice, or did civilian service perhaps get in the way of your future planning?

S: Well, the question of whether I see myself in an office job long-term or whether I'd rather work physically outdoors has always come up in my life. And it was really cool, within the framework of civilian service, to work physically outdoors for a limited time, to get a sense of whether that's something for me. I always really, really enjoyed it. And then I also wanted to try the opposite, and decided to do the long deployment entirely in an office, to see whether I can imagine that long-term at all or whether I need to take a completely different path in my training so I'm not stuck in an office for the rest of my life. So for me it was a great opportunity to try both. And the conclusion is actually that I can imagine both, that I like both, that if the content is interesting, an office job is okay too. So it gave me a lot to figure that out. Getting in the way – sort of, you have to do the long deployment within three months of recruitment, and my plan was actually to do it after my bachelor's. But then the bachelor's dragged on a bit and then I had to do the civilian service during my bachelor's, so I had to take a semester off from university, which was a bit annoying, but not a big deal now. It could have been avoided with better planning (laughs), but basically it didn't get in my way, I saw it much more as an opportunity to get insights into professions and
institutions that I otherwise would never have had the same insight into. Especially now with the Bergwald Project or the hospital. So yes, that was great.

I: Okay, perhaps linked to that – what positive or perhaps also negative experiences did you take away from your period of service? So skills you may have learnt, but also impressions in general, personal growth…?

S: Yes, working with young people, that I really enjoy it, and I think I have a flair for it – that showed me that, so I always had a good and relatively relaxed, but still decent way of dealing with them. So (pauses). And the BAFU deployment gave me a lot for my studies, how a federal office works, the whole collaboration between federal and cantonal level, between different federal offices, I found that really fascinating, that certainly gave me a lot. I've met a lot of people who I still have a lot of contact with outside of civilian service, especially in the Bergwald Project, people I now go climbing with and so on, so a lot of friendships developed from that. Working in the Bergwald Project was also really cool, but I think I also realised: I don't want to become a forester. I think it's really cool to be a would-be forester for a couple of months and see what that would be like, but long-term, just working outdoors physically isn't really my thing, I'm just not the type for it. And finding that out was also really cool. Yeah, you also get thrown into a forestry operation as a student and suddenly have to take responsibility with young people, you really get thrown in at the deep end and yes, you can also make mistakes or ask for help if you're completely overwhelmed, so you learn a lot, also interpersonally. Yeah.

I: Yeah cool. And is it the case that civilian or military service is also a topic of conversation in your circle of friends?

S: Yes, although I have to say, my circle of friends is already very civilian-service-heavy. For example, in the context of studies or in group work, so when you meet new people among guys, military or civilian service is already a topic. And I especially notice that in groups where everyone was in the military, like: oh, where were you?, it's definitely a topic. Definitely. It's also very connecting, because you immediately have something to talk about: oh, you also had that blabla, that commander anyway, or were also in that and that barracks, blabla, everyone laughs – it's also a connecting element, the military, for many young men. And also many friendships that result from the military. So people also always say, the networks and connections from the military, that lasts forever. But I can also say that about civilian service. The service providers and supervisors I had in civilian service, those are also great contacts where I can reconnect. My grandfather was quite a big shot in the military back then and tried for a long time to get me into the military, and always said: yes, his best friends are still from the military, those are such good people and contacts and times that you have. So it's definitely a big topic. And I'm not ashamed at all to tell a military person that I did civilian service or anything like that. It's not rated very negatively, or at least not in many circles. Maybe it's also a bit my bubble, but it's not very judgmental. You often have friends: oh, you also did civilian service, where were you? Or likewise in the military. I: Okay. Yes, because you just mentioned your grandpa: do you perceive an attitude in your generation that differs from, for example, that of your grandparents? And what differences do you observe between the different generations?

S: Yes, there are definitely differences. On the one hand, the military is weighted less in my generation, and on the other hand, the social aspect is weighted a bit more. That certainly has to do with the fact that my grandparents and also my father were closer to the war. So the proximity to and awareness of the Second World War certainly contributed to the older generations being more proud of the military and it being more important (pauses). And it's also lost value in the social value system, I think. So in the past, the question was often also in job applications: yes, were you in the military, what did you do? That was important. And it was also a plus if you had leadership experience in the military. And I'd say that's not the case nowadays. Yeah.

I: Okay. Yes, thank you very much, from my side all the questions I had noted are now clarified! I don't know if you want to add anything? Anything you want to particularly highlight or underline, summarise, draw a conclusion?

S: Yes, civilian service is longer. The narrative from the military is a bit like, they say: yes, you can do civilian service if you have, yes, how do you say it, a conflict with the –

I: Conscientious objection?

S: Conscientious objection! Thanks, that's the word I was looking for – if you have conscientious objection, and the proof that you have conscientious objection is that you're willing to do more days of service. And that's kind of true and kind of not. I would have done it even if it was twice as long, but I would also have done it if it was only half as long. For me it was somehow secondary how long it was. I also know a lot of friends who are now finished with civilian service and wish they had more days of service. That's especially the case with people who do an apprenticeship and then just work in a profession that maybe doesn't interest them that much. For them, civilian service is also a full opportunity to get out and still earn 80 per cent of their salary. That's also seen as a great opportunity. And as a student, it's also a way to earn money during semester breaks. You still earn nearly 2,000 francs a month, which is okay for holidays. And depending on the service provider, it's also really cool. So. And you're also a bit dependent on your own initiative, you have an annual target of 28 days, and if you don't register for it and don't look for service providers yourself, you just get assigned. And then you're somewhere and do something, which can also be okay, but then you're often in a care home or a disability home, which are also really great deployments, so I don't want to judge that at all, but it wouldn't be something that would really interest me. And that's how it goes for a lot of people, who then curse because they didn't sort it out early, got assigned, and then it's a shit experience. So.

I: Okay thanks, that was a lot of input and very thoroughly answered!

S: Alright, thanks!

Sophia Gessner

Note: The views presented reflect the opinion of the interviewees and not that of Sprachrohr.