Are you or someone close to you a reservist in your country’s military? If so, what is a reservist expected to do? Do you get a salary or some other benefit for your service? Are you expected to assist in non-military emergencies?

15 comments

1. Finland has conscription for men, so odds are that if you’re Finnish you either are in the reserve or somebody you know closely is in the reserve. Doesn’t mean much, depending on what you did in the army you might be called for refresher training occasionally.

2. Switzerland has a general draft for adult men, which means that every man above the age of 18 must serve. There are three types of service you can choose from: the first is the regular military serive. This is chosen by the large majority of people. The government also kinda tries to push people there. So if you tell them you’re not sure where you want to go, you’ll almost certainly end up in the military because that is where they will put you. The second type is called “Zivilschutz” (Civil Protection). These are the guys who take care of non-military emergencies; mostly things related to natural disasters. They save people during floods and clean mud and rocks of train tracks after a mud avalanche goes down. That sort of thing. They frequently cooperate with fire departments. The third type of service is called “Zivildienst” (Civil Service). These guys mostly do social services; they help out in hospitals, retirement homes, homes for the disabled, refugee homes and places like that. The boundaries are not always super sharp, for example the military is sometimes used to do disaster relief alongside the Zivilschutz. But generally speaking, they have different fields of responsibility and also different tools and skills.

   If you choose to go to Zivilschutz or Zivildienst, you’ll have to serve for 1.5 years at once. After that, you’re done and won’t be asked back anymore. If you do military service, things look a little differently. In this case, you’ll have to serve for roughly 9 months. After that, you’re done with the bulk of your service but you’ll be a reservist until the age of 30 (it used to be until 40 but they changed it first to 35 and then to 30). So, basically most Swiss men are reservists. As a reservist, you’ve got two main responsibilities. Firstly, you have to serve about 2-3 weeks per year. So every year you’ve got to pack your things and go back to the barracks for a while. And secondly, you’ve got to “do your annual”. This means you’ve got to do your annual shooting practice. For this you don’t have to go to the barracks, though. When a soldier finishes his service in the Swiss military, he is allowed to keep his military rifle. Until recently, you were even forced by law to keep it in your home. These days, you can either store it in your closet or you can bring it to an arms’ debot where they keep it for you. Shooting stands exist all around Switzerland, almost every village has one. So when you need to do your shooting practice, you just grab your gun and walk to the nearest shooting stand. Sometimes I see young guys with assault rifles slung around their back walk through my neighborhood… it’s quite funny because in other countries, this would make people feel very uneasy. In Switzerland, it’s normal sight.

   And yes, you get paid for your services as a reservist, both the regular ones as well as any special (unexpected) ones that may be necessary. Your salary depends on your military rank. Switzerland has a militia-style military. This means we don’t really have any professional soldiers (we do, but there number is very, very small). The vast majority of military personell are people who’ve got regular jobs on the side. This isn’t just true for soldiers but also for all levels of officers. For example my best friend’s dad used to be a Brigadier General in the Swiss Army, one of the highest positions you can have. In his “normal” life, he owned a company (I think he still does). If you want to rise up the ranks, you’ll have to serve extra time of course and it won’t be over by age 30. You can also be forced to continue if the higher-ups consider you very talented (something a lot of soldiers are scared of).

   I should perhaps mention that I myself didn’t serve in any capacity because I’m physically disabled (blind). However, if you’re a Swiss guy, you know this stuff pretty well even if you couldn’t serve for some reason because literally everyone else you know, did. My dad, my grandpa, my former teachers but also all of my friends have been in the military. If you’re among guys, it’s a pretty common topic of conversation. Usually WHILE guys are in the army they whine and complain about how much they hate it and once they’re done with it, they love to tell everyone how much fun it was and how much they miss it lol. But yeah, so, even though I haven’t served myself, I’m pretty well informed because I constantly hear other guys talk about it (also to me).

3. Yeah, a few friends. They recently got conscripted so… Now they’re in the reserves. They have to go back every now and again to exercise and stuff. No salary as your not on active duty or anything. You can be called in for non-military emergencies.

4. My friend was in the army reserve but transferred to the regulars. There’s a minimum training commitment of 19 or 27 days a year (but most do more) and they’re paid according to their rank for the days they work. Some of them see active service, including in Iraq and Afghanistan.

5. People who are conscripted automatically joins the “reserve” and once every couple years do a refresher service. But we also have two different “reserve” categories which is the home guard which are local defence forces which practice recurringly and have some gear at home, then we have the part time employed (which i am a part of) which are part of “normal” units, like mechanised battalions or such which like the home guard have gear at home. The conscripts gets some payment which is really low while the home guard is meant to basically makes up for lost income while the part time employees makes a quite normal salary but alot more when in the field. Every one only gets paid when on training or exercises of course and part timers and home guard gets some minor benefits when not in service and alot more when in service.

6. Well, technically I’m a reserve officer. I was.
   While studying at the university, once a week we went to classes in the military specialty. Then a month of military training and we are officers.
   In the first years after training, we could be called up for service for two years as an officer.
   Or later, for a few weeks for military training.
   I’ve never been called up. Fortunately for everyone. I’d make a disgusting officer.

7. I am not, and I do not know anyone who’s in reserve.
   Military conscription was abolished in 2009, I believe, thus my generation wasn’t called in for service.

8. So we have conscription here.

   This means a 6-12 month training period and then you are moved into the reserve.

   And what do you do there?

   A few excercises for the next 40 years or so and then ofc if war breaks out, you fight.

9. All men do mandatory service. After that you are a reservist, unless you go live abroad, like me (university). When I move back to Cyprus, I will get called to enlist as a reservist, get issued a full set of gear, including rifle and ammo, wich will then sit in a corner somewhere collecting dust. 1-3 times a year, depending on where you served, you will be called for 1-2 day training to refresh your memory, like shooting drills, marches etc. If you are unlucky you might even get called in to keep watch at night, during the period when new conscripts are still in boot camp and other bases need manpower to fill in positions. Some people see this as annoying, others enjoy their paid day off work, depending on their job. You don’t get paid anything for being a reservist.

10. Uk here. There are European armies that, with reservists, seem to be quite large- the Scandinavians, or Greeks, for instance. With all due respect to them, apart from minuscule peacekeeping postings, they are not capable of expeditionary warfare. In Europe, only the UK, France and (sort of) Russia are able to act and sustain operations outside their territories.

11. Yup, my dad is a reservist. He was in the military as a member of GNR (Guarda Nacional Republicana) and reached the necessary requisits to be a reservist before retiring (age + years of service). He basically receives a little less money but still has full benefits. The chance of being called back is really small.

12. Technically yes, but all that’s happened is I’ve received a letter after finishing my initial service, telling me where to go in case of war, and later another one telling me I’ve been reassigned.

13. I generally try to stay away from the army as much as possible. And I don’t get anything except my obligations

14. We may or may not have an odd system.

    First, everyone who has completed their military service as a conscript is a reservist unless medically discharged. They may be called up for a month every few years to freshen up.

    That happened to me and surprisingly all I needed was less than a week before I was up to speed.

    Then there is the national guard. Conscripts who enjoyee their service so much, but want a regular job(so they actually earn money) sign up for the national guard and they train for I think 2 or 3 weeks spread out during a year to always keep their skills relatively fresh. You may think this sounds like it’s not enough – it is. They keep their gear stored at home aside from their weapons. The gear is the same the regulars have aside from the rifle and no heavy equipment in the form of tanks. I believe they are compensated for the days they are in the field.

    The national guard is the largest arm of the armed service with 22000 soldiers.

    Then there are part-time soldiers. They function as part of the regulars and are salaried and serve for a few days a week.

15. I’m a reservist I guess, but not in the traditional sense. I have a duty to get trained and serve in case of war, but until that happens I’m a civilian.