As you may or may not know, Swiss military service is mandatory for all Swiss males. Nevertheless, most Swiss youth think that the military is a waste of time. They go to great lengths to try and get themselves out of service duty. For me, on the other hand, military service was not mandatory. Once I received my letter form the Swiss government stating that I was exempt from military service, it finally sank in. I really wanted to fulfill my service obligation.

The actual application process went surprisingly smooth. I sent a letter to the Swiss Embassy in Atlanta explaining my situation and desires. The staff sent a reply letter stating that they would look into my case. Then, within about a month, I received my application papers. After filling out and sending in all of the paper work, I was told that I had to go to Atlanta for a physical, and if I passed it, I would get my enlistment date.

In Switzerland, future recruits go through a physical and mental evaluation in order to place them into their respective military units. The application process was a little different for me since I was unable to travel to Switzerland just to be assessed. I wanted to experience the Swiss military at its finest, which is why I wanted to join a very physically and mentally demanding unit. When I received my application papers, I simply wrote on the application that I wanted to be placed into a very tough unit. I attached some document showing my physical achievements in sports to my application, and hoped that the information would be enough to get me a spot in an exciting and demanding military unit.

Sure enough, after about 6 months, I received my enlistment date for a 15-week summer recruitment school. I was placed in a very exciting and adventurous unit, which was the equivalent to the Special Forces (officially the Swiss military dose not have special forced due to its neutrality). I was very surprised in how simple and organized my application and enlistment process went. From what I know, not that many out-of-country Swiss citizens apply to go to the military. I had one of the best times of my life in the army, and after 15 weeks of basic training I was sad to leave and go back to college in Florida.