The Swiss army has long been a militia trained and structured to rapidly respond against foreign aggression. Swiss males grow up expecting to undergo basic military training and a mandatory period of service in the Auszug (the active-duty field army), after which Swiss men still remain part of the militia either in a home guard (Landwehr) or reserve capacity (Landsturm) until age 42 (age 52 for officers). Each such individual keeps his army-issued personal weapon (the Sig 550 5.6mm assault rifle for enlisted personnel, or the SIG-Sauer P220 9mm semi-automatic pistol for officers, medical and postal personnel) at home with a specified quantity of government-issued ammunition, sealed and inspected regularly to ensure that no unlawful use takes place.
When relieved of duty, militiamen have the choice of keeping their personal weapon and other selected items of their equipment. The government sponsors training with rifles and shooting in competitions for interested adolescents.
The sale of ordnance ammunition - including Gw Pat.90 rounds for army-issue assault rifles - is subsidized by the Swiss government and made available at the many shooting ranges patronized by both private citizens and members of the militia. There is a regulatory requirement that ammunition sold at ranges must be used there. Indeed, while the sale of all ammunition is registered at the dealer if purchased at a private store, ammunition purchased at a shooting range is not.
In addition to the general tendency of self-discipline running strongly throughout the Swiss national character, the Swiss Army maintains tight adherence to high standards of proper military conduct. In 2005, for example, the Swiss prosecuted Auszug recruits who had reenacted the torture scenes of Abu Ghraib, one of the charges having been improper manipulation of service weapons.
