Average Number of Years' Soldiers

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Average number of years’ soldiers (OR1-OR9) serve in the European armed forces

Document based on information provided by EUROMIL member associations in January 2017.

I. Belgium

• There is no difference between officers, NCO’s and other enlisted personnel.

• In average, young men and women enter the armed forces at 22. Except for the generals, all of them must leave at the age of 56 years, which is the mandatory retirement age. This means that most of the Belgian military personnel serve in average about 34 years in active duty.

• Of course, those who choose to can always leave the armed forces earlier on personnel request.

• A couple of years ago, a new law was promulgated creating a new legal status for all service personnel. With this law an ADDITIONAL career path was created with a service time limited to 8 years (approx. the age of 30 years), however providing the possibility for a LIMITED number of military to make the transition to the regular career path up to the age of 56.

• For information, political discussions are currently conducted in Belgium to raise the retirement age to above 60 years. Their outcome is still unclear.

II. Cyprus

There are no professional soldiers serving in the Cyprus Armed Forces – with the exception of a very small number of professional soldiers that were hired in the National Guard mid-2016 and which will be serving for 10 years only.

III. Denmark

See inserted document on the next page.

IV. Germany

Number of active soldiers and the length of service:

The Bundeswehr includes 177.608 active soldiers.

The compulsory retirement ages are 62 or 65 years. The Federal Ministry of Defence reports in the German Parliament on the average number of years’ professional soldiers serve in the Bundeswehr. It is regulated in the Legal Status of Military Personnel Act, § 45. The minimum and maximum length of service to maximise pension entitlements cannot be schematically depicted. In Germany, you should differentiate between professional soldiers and soldiers for fixed terms. The pensionable age of professional soldiers can be normal (62 or 65 years) or special (individual case between 55 and 62 years). If the maximum pension is reached, you need in average 40 chargeable years of service. Exemptions are possible.

Distribution: - Federal Ministry of Defence: 967

- departments, which are directly subordinated to the Federal Ministry of Defence: 1.449

- Army: 60.303

- Joint Support Service: 40.941

- Air Force: 28.262

- Central Medical Service: 19.695

- Navy: 16.011

- area of Infrastructure, Environmental Protection, Services: 960

- area of Equipment, Information Technology, Utilization: 1.778

- area of Personnel (civil and military): 7.242, of whom 4.492 are students at the Bundeswehr universities

Status: - 168.342 professional soldiers and soldiers for fixed terms

- 9.266 volunteers

Women in the Bundeswehr:

20.079 women

V. Hungary

Lack of data but independently of his/her rank, a professional or contractual soldier can serve between the ages of 18 and 65 (universal pensionable age) in the Hungarian Defence Forces, if he/she meets the health, psychic and physical requirements.

VI. Ireland

No data available.

VII. Italy

Until the end of 2018, personnel from the Italian police and armed forces may retire, regardless of age, after 40 years and 7 months of active service.

VIII. The Netherlands

The number of soldiers drops sharply around the age of 30 years. This is because many soldiers in the Netherlands get dismissed after a temporary contract. This dismissal usually takes place around the age of 30-35 years. Therefore, the average age of soldiers in the Netherlands is 35 years.

IX. Portugal

The provision of service in the Portuguese armed forces is carried out by military personnel of the permanent staff in situations of active service and in the situation of reserve in effectiveness and in complement with the military under contractual regime. Well, the military of the active, and according to the statutory regulations, have defined age limits of passage to the reserve (out of service) according to the respective rank, but never before 57 years of age. Naturally, this condition is assured if the career is regular, although the statutes approved in 2015 have created conditions for the most natural occurrences to take place in the armed forces, trapped with compensatory punishments.

Posts from OR1 to OR4, in active service situation, is only present in the Navy. The remaining branches of the Armed Forces only have these positions in the service in contract regime (only 6 years of service). Although the long-term contract is foreseen in the armed forces, it does not apply to posts from OR1 to OR4 and a situation similar to that occurring and taking place in Spain is expected to occur in Portugal.

Under the contract regime, the age for admission is limited to 25 years old and the period of service in this situation is never more than 6 years, when the military becomes available, that is, leave the armed forces. Thus, the age of the soldiers at time of departure will never be more than 31 years of age. In the case of OR5, the only one rank under contract is precisely the same situation. And in the case of officials, OF1 posts, the only ones under contract, fulfill the same assumptions.

In order to be able to bear with more consistency the request addressed to us, we have attached two files. In one we present the amount of Navy personnel distributed by ranks (OR1 to OR9) and their age distribution. The information regarding the data of the Army and Air Force, are still awaited. In any case, in the second file, the quantities currently authorized for the Portuguese Armed Forces are sent, in which the information elements required may be projected. See annex on the next page.

X. Sweden

In Sweden, a soldier OR1-OR5 can be employed full time for a maximum of 12 years. On average, they stay employed for 4 years. But it is too early to draw any conclusion since the system is still quite new.

For OR6-OR9, there is no limit in time but as for OR1-OR5 the system is still quite new so it is difficult to draw any conclusion at this stage.

ANNEX:

Portugal

QT OF MILITARIES IN ACTIVE QT OF MILITARIES IN ACTIVE QT OF MILITARIES IN ACTIVE QT OF MILITARIES IN ACTIVE SERVICE IN THE ORGANIC SERVICE IN THE STRUCTURE OF NATO UK RANKS PORTUGAL RANKS TOTAL TOTAL SERVICE OUT OF THE ARMED TOTAL SERVICE IN THE DIFFERENT TOTAL STRUCTURE OF THE ARMED CHIEF OF STAFF OF THE ARMED FORCES SITUATIONS FORCES FORCES

NATO ORDER PORTUGUESE NAVY ARMY AIR FORCE NAVY ARMY AIR FORCE ALL SERVICES NAVY ARMY AIR FORCE ALL SERVICES NAVY ARMY AIR FORCE ALL SERVICES NAVY ARMY AIR FORCE ALL SERVICES RANKS DESIGNATIONS RANKS

AIR CHIEF ADMIRAL GENERAL CHEFE DE ESTADO MAIOR OF-9 MARSHALL 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 (CNO) (CAO) ALMIRANTE/GENERAL (CAFO) VICE- LIEUTENANT VICE-CHEFE DE ESTADO AIR MARSHALL OF-8 ADMIRAL GENERAL MAIOR ALMIRANTE 1 2 1 4 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 3 1 5 (VICE-CAFO) (VICE-CNO) (VICE-CAO) /GENERAL

VICE- LIEUTENANT VICE-ALMIRANTE/TENENTE- OF-8 AIR MARSHALL 7 7 6 20 1 2 2 5 1 1 1 3 9 10 9 28 ADMIRAL GENERAL GENERAL

CONTRA- REAR- MAJOR AIR VICE OF-7 ALMIRANTE/MAJOR- 8 18 10 36 2 6 2 10 3 10 1 14 13 34 13 60 ADMIRAL GENERAL MARSHALL GENERAL

AIR COMODORO/BRIGADEIRO- OF-6 COMMODORE BRIGADIER 12 10 12 34 4 2 3 9 0 0 0 0 16 12 15 43 COMMODORE GENERAL

GROUP CAPITÃO-DE-MAR-E- OF-5 CAPTAIN COLONEL 93 162 86 341 25 40 18 83 18 28 14 60 136 230 118 484 CAPTAIN GUERRA/CORONEL

CAPITÃO-DE- LIEUTENANT WING OF-4 COMMANDER FRAGATA/TENENTE- 194 455 223 872 80 170 62 312 45 47 33 125 319 672 318 1309 COLONEL COMMANDER CORONEL

LIEUTENANT- SQUADRON OF-3 MAJOR CAPITÃO-TENENTE/MAJOR 262 515 267 1044 74 159 57 290 22 45 18 85 358 719 342 1419 COMMANDER LEADER

FLIGHT OF-2 LIEUTENANT CAPTAIN 1º TENENTE/CAPITÃO 380 512 501 1393 27 60 20 107 28 14 20 62 435 586 541 1562 LEIUTENANT

SUB- FLYING 1 LIEUTENANT 2º TENENTE/ TENENTE 293 404 232 LIEUTENANT OFFICER 280 398 223 901 7 1 5 13 6 5 4 15 929 SUB-TENENTE | GUARDA- OF-1 MIDSHIPMAN 2 LIEUTENANT PILOT OFFICER 0 0 0 MARINHA/ALFERES

ASPIRANTE 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

WARRANT WARRANT WARRANT OR-9 OFFICER SARGENTO-MOR 44 70 44 158 7 12 5 24 7 10 18 35 58 92 67 217 OFFICER OFFICER CLASS1 CHARGE MASTER MASTER AIR OR-8 CHIEF SARGENTO-CHEFE 134 482 190 806 95 205 71 371 25 31 29 85 254 718 290 1262 SERGEANT CREW ARTIFICER

CHIEF PETTY STAFF FLIGHT OR-7 SARGENTO-AJUDANTE 476 1140 576 2192 61 131 46 238 40 32 37 109 577 1303 659 2539 OFFICER SERGEANT SERGEANT

PETTY SERGEANT SERGEANT 1º SARGENTO 1513 1309 1227 4049 22 47 16 85 38 12 13 63 1573 1368 1256 4197 OFFICER OR-6 PETTY SERGEANT SERGEANT 2º SARGENTO 243 175 317 OFFICER

PETTY SERGEANT SERGEANT SUB-SARGENTO/FURRIEL 237 172 316 725 1 1 1 3 5 2 0 7 0 0 0 735 OFFICER OR-5 PETTY 2º SUB-SARGENTO/2º SERGEANT SERGEANT 0 0 0 OFFICER FURRIEL

LEADING CORPORAL CORPORAL CABO-MOR 0 0 0 0 0 0 2228 0 0 RATING 2006 2006 104 104 118 118 2228 LEADING OR-4 CORPORAL CORPORAL CABO / CABO -DE-SECÇÃO 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 RATING

1º LEADING CORPORAL CORPORAL MARINHEIRO/CABOADJUNT 901 0 0 901 41 0 0 41 10 0 0 10 952 0 0 952 RATING O NO LANCE JUNIOR OR-3 EQUIVALENC 2º MARINHEIRO/1º CABO 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 CORPORAL TECHNICIAN E

AIRCRAFTMAN OR-2 ABLE RATING PRIVATE 1º GRUMETE/2º CABO 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 SENIOR

ORDINARY PRIVATE OR-1 AIRCRAFTMAN 2º GRUMETE/SOLDADO 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 RATING (CLASS 4)

TOTAL 6548 5253 3682 15483 551 837 308 1696 366 237 188 791 7465 6327 4178 17970

QT OF MILITARIES IN RESERVE QT OF MILITARIES IN RESERVE QT OF MILITARIES IN RESERVE QT OF MILITARIES IN ACTIVE SITUATION IN THE ORGANIC SITUATION IN THE STRUCTURE OF NATO UK RANKS PORTUGAL RANKS TOTAL TOTAL SITUATION OUT OF THE ARMED TOTAL SERVICE IN THE DIFFERENT TOTAL STRUCTURE OF THE ARMED CHIEF OF STAFF OF THE ARMED FORCES SITUATIONS FORCES FORCES

NATO ORDER PORTUGUESE NAVY ARMY AIR FORCE NAVY ARMY AIR FORCE ALL SERVICES NAVY ARMY AIR FORCE ALL SERVICES NAVY ARMY AIR FORCE ALL SERVICES NAVY ARMY AIR FORCE ALL SERVICES RANKS DESIGNATIONS RANKS

OF1 - OF10 OFFICERS OFICIAIS 51 67 30 148 0 12 0 12 26 68 25 119 77 147 55 279

OR5 - OR9 SERGEANT SARGENTOS 16 59 20 95 0 6 0 6 3 151 16 170 19 216 36 271

OR4 CORPORAL PRAÇAS 15 0 0 15 0 0 0 0 5 0 0 5 20 0 0 20

TOTAL 82 126 50 258 0 18 0 18 34 219 41 294 116 363 91 570

QT OF MILITARIES IN CONTRACT QT OF MILITARIES IN CONTRACT QT OF MILITARIES IN CONTRACT QT OF MILITARIES IN CONTRACT SITUATION IN THE ORGANIC SITUATION IN THE STRUCTURE OF NATO UK RANKS PORTUGAL RANKS TOTAL TOTAL SITUATION OUT OF THE ARMED TOTAL SITUATION IN THE DIFFERENTS TOTAL STRUCTURE OF THE ARMED CHIEF OF STAFF OF THE ARMED FORCES SITUATIONS FORCES FORCES

NATO ORDER PORTUGUESE NAVY ARMY AIR FORCE NAVY ARMY AIR FORCE ALL SERVICES NAVY ARMY AIR FORCE ALL SERVICES NAVY ARMY AIR FORCE ALL SERVICES NAVY ARMY AIR FORCE ALL SERVICES RANKS DESIGNATIONS RANKS

OF1 - OF10 OFFICERS OFICIAIS 156 393 271 820 0 12 0 12 0 0 0 0 156 405 271 832

OR5 - OR9 SERGEANT SARGENTOS 11 670 20 701 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 11 670 20 701

OR4 CORPORAL PRAÇAS 1121 9408 1752 12281 0 326 72 398 0 0 0 0 1121 9734 1824 12679

TOTAL 1288 10471 2043 13802 0 338 72 410 0 0 0 0 1288 10809 2115 14212

FINAL TOTAL 7918 15850 5775 29543 551 1193 380 2124 400 456 229 1085 8869 17499 6384 32752

ALL NAVY SERVICES OR1 TO OF10 OR9 OR8 OR7 OR6 OR5 OR4 NEW OR4 OR3 OR2 OR1 AGE M F Total M M M F Total M F Total M F Total M M F Total M F Total M F Total M F Total FROM: TO: 7114 840 7954 55 107 463 7 470 1357 186 1543 156 26 182 250 1735 115 1850 911 149 1060 245 52 297 316 30 346 >=60 <100 33 33 1 1 >=55 <60 161 161 14 18 17 17 30 5 5 >=50 <55 742 3 745 40 78 195 195 39 39 135 74 74 >=45 <50 1117 16 1133 1 11 197 197 201 1 202 78 327 327 >=40 <45 912 75 987 48 6 54 308 29 337 2 2 7 382 16 398 >=35 <40 1105 166 1271 5 1 6 417 65 482 34 2 36 473 46 519 18 2 20 >=30 <35 1461 239 1700 1 1 364 81 445 85 12 97 464 52 516 383 41 424 >=25 <30 805 211 1016 28 10 38 35 12 47 8 1 9 469 101 570 66 20 86 6 6 >=0 <25 778 130 908 1 1 41 5 46 179 32 211 310 30 340