Swiss Army Conscription Costs Too High, Internal Audit Warns

The Swiss army should urgently review its finances, according to an internal audit from the defense ministry's inspection body. While the recruitment process—which assesses conscripts for roles ranging from mountain grenadier to civil protection or outright rejection—functions reasonably well, the costs have raised red flags.

In recent years, approximately 35,000 conscripts have been evaluated annually at a total cost of about 37.5 million francs. That works out to a financial outlay of roughly 1,100 francs per person, the audit report calculated—a considerable sum.

The audit found that costs are clearly not a priority. The various actors involved are only aware of the expenses within their own areas of responsibility. The audit body wrote that the required resources are mostly taken for granted by those in charge. When cost overruns occur, the army staff tries to compensate for them.

Given the federal government's budget-cutting efforts and planned investments in the military, the audit concluded that it is essential to know where and how federal funds can be deployed most effectively and efficiently. The report recommends implementing comprehensive financial oversight for the recruitment process.

The auditors identified a central risk: high dependence on costly contract doctors due to difficulties in recruiting permanent medical staff. This reliance affects both cost stability and operational security.

The audit showed that medical examinations cannot be reliably ensured by army doctors alone. Even now, occasional shortages of medical personnel are leading to waiting times and delays in the recruitment process, particularly in peripheral regions. To cover necessary capacity, the army supplements its staff with contract doctors. While the audit acknowledges this is an effective short-term solution, it is expensive and carries the risk of increasing dependency.

Last summer, the National Council's Audit Committee already raised concerns. It noted that federal council directives requiring fitness assessments to always be conducted by at least two doctors were not being followed. Additionally, doctors involved must be members of the armed forces or employed by the military.

The internal audit assessed the situation as partially critical. The risk exists that departures cannot be replaced in time, which could impair the entire recruitment process, as its completion depends entirely on the assessment by specialist medical staff.

The army is aware of the problem. Previous measures to increase the attractiveness of permanent positions have been unsuccessful. Since this year, the army has been specifically targeting re-entrants, part-time workers, and military doctors to increase the number of permanent staff and reduce reliance on contract doctors. If the pilot project proves successful, it will be continued and gradually expanded to all locations. Only then, the audit suggested, are recruitment costs likely to fall again.