    the swiss armed forces (german: schweizer armee, french: armÃ©e suisse, italian: esercito svizzero, romanisch: armada svizra) operate on land, in the air, and in international waters. under the country's militia system, professional soldiers constitute about 5 percent of the military and the the rest are conscripts or volunteers aged 19 to 34 (in some cases up to 50). because of switzerland's long history of neutrality, the army does not take part in armed conflicts in other countries, but it does participate in international peacekeeping missions. the structure of the swiss militia system stipulates that the soldiers keep their own personal equipment, including all personally assigned weapons, at home (until 2007 this also included ammunitionsoldiers can keep guns at home but not ammo swissinfo). compulsory military service concerns all male swiss citizens, with
Federal_Department_of_Defence,_Civil_Protection_and_Sports Military_of_Switzerland