Swiss With Army Knives

Point d'argent, point de Suisse.

—"No pay, no Swiss" , the eminently practical creed of the Swiss mercenaries.

The Swiss Army is a force that is so well-armed that the country escaped both World Wars because the able-bodied men aged 18 above are conscripted and ready to fight as La Résistance.

Because of its time-honored policy of neutrality, it does not participate in foreign wars since 1815 [after the Napoleonic conflicts], though it does participate in peacetime operations.

The Swiss Military conscripts its male citizens 18 to 50 years old. Females can join voluntarily, though the idea of female conscription for non-combat purposes existed long time ago. Those who are unfit may either join a civilian service [as cooks, medics, paramilitary construction workers, etc.] or pay extra tax.

There had been movements to abolish the army. Both failed, since many Swiss are quite happy to have an army [and keep their guns at home, since the Swiss Army is essentially like the National Guard in the United States].

Responsible for trope Swiss Army Weapon, the Swiss Army Knife is still used in the military and probably will still be used in the future. The military version, as opposed to the commercial versions, is green camouflage in color and doesn't have a superfluity of blades/tools.

The Swiss also created the Cool Gun SIG SG-550, the MOWAG Piranha Awesome Personnel Carrier, and many other cool weapons. They don't make their own planes though, and have to buy from France [Mirage fighters] and the U.S [Hornet fighters].

One note that might be made is that the Swiss Army wasn't always so, well, respectable. They were once the most ferocious Private Military Contractors in Europe, their pikemen contributing to major revolutions in military doctrine, and the cost of their pikemen contributing to several national bankruptcies. Later they were highly valued and formed part of the bodyguard of several European monarchs, including the King of France. In this role they made a Last Stand defending the King against a Parisian mob. Interestingly, in the Napoleonic Wars they wore red coats which made them easy to confuse with British, against whom they were sometimes arrayed as part of the forces of Napoleon Bonaparte . The Pope still uses Swiss troops as guards - they may look a bit behind the times, with their sixteenth-century outfits, but underneath the poofy sleeves and wacky colors, they're heavily armed and (reportedly) armored.

During the World Wars they enforced their country's neutrality well by possession of a pugnacious population and tough terrain, and by rigging their railway tunnels to detonate so poor Adolf would have to do his own digging if he wanted to transit anything even through an occupied Switzerland. Several times they shot and forced down planes of both belligerents who were intruding on their airspace, including 11 Luftwaffe planes. Well, Hitler got so annoyed with them in the end, that he attempted to sabotage their airfields, to no avail. When the Allies accidentally bombed Swiss cities, the Swiss captured up to 100 US bombers and their crews meanwhile.