Employed professionals, elected officials, and active reserve volunteers: Switzerland needs all three to function. Two stories explain why.
A very long time ago, Switzerland chose to organize its society using a principle we call the active reserve system. This system remains the cornerstone of our society — in security, politics, education, and associations.
As unique as the active reserve system is, its benefits and challenges are unique. But that’s not the point of this article.
Although I am a huge supporter of the active reserve system, active reserve alone cannot get the job done. No matter if you’re engaged in security, politics, education, or associations, good solutions always require a mix of employed professionals, active reserve members, and elected officials.
Let’s look into a couple of examples.
Example 1: Inviting a Foreign General
As an active reserve officer in the Swiss Armed Forces, I preside over an officers’ association. The committee consists of both active reserve officers and career officers — thankfully, as the following example illustrates.
Every year, we invite a high-ranking keynote speaker to our annual general assembly. A few years ago, we invited a retired foreign general. That’s easy, as retired generals are civilians. However, a few months before the assembly, the retired foreign general informed me that he had a scheduling conflict. He asked me if he should look for a replacement speaker, which I affirmed.
A couple of weeks later, my phone rang. It was the active successor to the retired foreign general who couldn’t make it. The active general informed me that he would deliver the keynote speech himself.
As honored as I was, I realized that this change in keynote speaker would pose a few challenges: Inviting an active foreign general is a protocol matter. Try to do this as an active reserve officer. You’re lost if you don’t have good relations with career officers who can help you.
It’s quite simple. You need both active reserve officers and career officers to succeed in such a situation. A career officer cannot invite a foreign active general, while an active reserve officer can. But an active reserve officer cannot succeed with all the protocol matters, while a career officer can.
Example 2: Expanding a School
Change of scene. As part of my active reserve engagement, I am also the president of our local music school. The school has been growing for years, and there is no end of growth in sight. That’s why we decided to expand the school and buy an adjacent building.
The adjacent building belongs to a private company, but the plot underneath the building belongs to the local municipality. Plus, the private company selling the building needed a new plot of land to build their new home, which they bought from the municipality.
If this sounds complicated, it is. And that’s why it took us a few years to get it sorted and cleared by the municipal parliament. And it would have been impossible to get it done without an employed school director, an elected municipal mayor, and an active reserve president all working hand in hand.
Conclusion
When you enter the Swiss parliamentary building, look up towards the ceiling, and you will see a glass dome with the unofficial motto of Switzerland:
The motto became popular in 1868, when a severe storm caused flooding in the mountains and the Italian-speaking part of the country. The Federal Council issued a nationwide appeal for donations. The fundraising for natural disasters helped to forge the identity of our nation of will and promoted federal solidarity.
So much for the history.
I often cite Switzerland’s unofficial motto because it illustrates the active reserve system like nothing else: No matter if you’re employed, elected, or volunteering, the country needs every person to be successful.
