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Support for civil or non-official activities with military means: This is what the federal government calls the army operations that cause criticism year after year.
Peter AeschlimannFederal house editor Sunday view
Forward, stair! Soldiers are back in the snow. In Wengen BE, where the Lauberhorn races will be held this weekend, 450 men and women from Infantry Battalion 97 are helping out. Dressed in green, they prepare the slopes and help set up and dismantle the infrastructure. “Without an army, a Lauberhorn race would simply not be possible,” says OC President Urs Näpflin (63) in view.
The support of civilian or off-duty activities with military means, as the federal government calls these operations, causes criticism year after year. A video showing army personnel shoveling snow late at night drew scathing comments on Twitter last week: “The best snow removal army in the world.”
Politicians are willing to make concessions to ensure that the ski races in Wengen or Adelboden BE are held: “On the one hand, it hurts to see these pictures,” says Mauro Tuena (50, SVP), President of the Security Policy Commission in the National Council. “On the other hand, the races could not take place without the use of the army.”
20,000 service days
It sounds similar from committee members from the SP. Priska Seiler Graf (54) says that she is fundamentally critical of army operations without a training character, but does not want to appear as a Lauberhorn preventer. Her party colleague Min Li Marti (48) takes a similarly pragmatic view. It’s a matter of consideration, says the woman from Zurich: “I don’t have any strong feelings about this.”
This year, the army will do a little more than 20,000 days of service in support of civilian causes, says army spokesman Daniel Reist (64). Before Corona there were almost 25,000, in the peak year 2016 even 33,600. In the future, however, the number of these external service days will decrease. The reason is a change in the military law that has been in effect since January 1st. Events that are of no significant use for training or exercise for members of the army should be reduced.
What does that mean for soldiers shoveling snow in Wengen? Army spokesman Reist: “It’s still too early to talk about specific reasons or the scope of the reduction.”