30 Years of Mixed RS – A Milestone for Female Army Members – News


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Up until 30 years ago, the use of women in the army was limited. Then in 1993 the first joint recruit school with both sexes started. An important step for the integration of women into the army.

The pictures were unusual at the time: young men and women were sitting together in camouflage suits in a wooded area, recovering from an exercise. In a few weeks they will be trained to become drivers. 16 women and around 100 men took part in this first mixed recruit school in Burgdorf in March 1993.

Previously, recruits were trained separately. Women were only allowed to hold a few positions in the army anyway. They were welcome, among other things, in the medical service, in field post offices or military kitchens.

A successful pilot test

The first mixed RS, a pilot project, was therefore an important step towards equality between men and women in the army. Sibylle Freudweiler-Haab is convinced of that. She is a retired colonel and has served in the military for over 30 years. “The mixed recruit school has shown that training no longer has to be done separately and can be carried out successfully together. In doing so, she also laid the foundation for women to be able to work in many functions and today in all functions together with men,” says Freudweiler-Haab.

Nevertheless, it took another ten years after the first mixed RS before women were allowed to perform all functions in the army and were armed in the same way as men. Missions with the Swisscoy in Kosovo have only been possible for women for almost 20 years.

Lieutenant sees room for improvement

What is the status of women in the army today? “Good,” says Carmen Affentranger. She is a lieutenant and president of the association FiT – women in the TAZ (camouflage suit). Women in the army now have the same rights and duties as men.

Nevertheless, she still sees room for improvement: “The army is a male-dominated system. There are very few women in the army. As a result, the strengths promoted in the army, or images of how someone should lead, are clearly male-dominated. I wish there was more space for women’s strengths and their ways of leading,” says Affentranger.

She gives an example. “I don’t have a loud voice like a man. I was often annoyed when people told me to speak louder, because I can drive a train well with a quieter voice. I do it differently and it works too.”

Inaugural readings in the military.  Shot of a group of army personnel in the rest position.

Legend:

Soldiers training for a Swisscoy mission. Since 2004, women have also been able to take part.

Keystone/CHRISTIAN BEUTLER

Even if women are now well integrated into the army, one big difference remains: unlike men, women do their service voluntarily. It is quite possible that this last inequality will also fall, because the federal government is currently examining, among other things, extending compulsory service to women.

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