Countries of the World/COUNTRYS.BIN/dp/0036/00363.txt

Text File | 1991-06-24 | 27KB | 458 lines

$Unique_ID{COW00363}
$Pretitle{370}
$Title{Belgium
Chapter 5C.   Manpower, Support, and Conditions of Service}
$Subtitle{}
$Author{Peter J. Kassander}
$Affiliation{HQ, Department of the Army}
$Subject{military
nato
belgian
belgium
defense
armed
forces
ranks
service
alliance}
$Date{1984}
$Log{Figure 16.*0036303.scf
Figure 17.*0036304.scf
}
Country:     Belgium
Book:        Belgium, A Country Study
Author:      Peter J. Kassander
Affiliation: HQ, Department of the Army
Date:        1984

Chapter 5C.   Manpower, Support, and Conditions of Service

     There were approximately 93,600 personnel serving on active duty in the
Belgian armed forces and the gendarmerie in 1984, or about 3.6 percent of the
adult population between the ages of 17 and 45. This represented 2.9 percent
of the total Belgian work force.

     The gendarmerie was an all-volunteer force, but one-half of the army,
one-third of the navy, and one-fifth of the air force are selected by the
draft. Universal conscription has been in effect since 1964. Although the
draft remained a controversial political issue, extensive efforts have been
made to ensure that the process was as impartial and as beneficial to
individuals of draft age as possible. Women are not required to register for
the draft but may volunteer for service in the armed forces. In 1984 about
3,500 women were serving in the Belgian armed forces.

     Preliminary screening to determine draft eligibility and classification
occurs at age 16. In 1981, for example, more than 223,000 males aged 16 were
screened or tested. Of these about 45,000 were deemed physically and mentally
able for service. About 39,000 males aged 18 and 19 were called into one of
the armed forces during 1981.

     Preliminary screening of 16-year-olds permits the local authorities and
the armed forces to determine the military occupational specialty as well as
the service compatibility of the potential draftees. There are also tests of
educational background and proficiency in mechanical and electrical
engineering. In 1981 over 70 percent of those entering the armed forces had
educations beyond the elementary-school level. The services also admit a small
number-about 350 in 1981-of physically handicapped or mentally impaired
individuals who are assigned to positions where their abilities can best be
used.

Service Obligations

     Each male must register at age 16 and is liable for service in the army,
navy, or air force two or three years later. Authorities communicate with
potential draftees annually after registration. Registrants normally are
called at age 18, or one year later upon request for a deferment. All eligible
draftees are automatically called up when they are 19. Prior to that, each
individual undergoes two days of questioning, screening, and testing in order
to determine background, education, interests, abilities, qualifications, and
assignment preferences. At that time the selection board recommends specific
service and training assignments. If the candidate is qualified, a more
intensive, 15-month reserve officer training course may be offered. Otherwise,
the normal service tour is eight to 10 months. Upon completion of this tour of
duty, military conscripts remain in the active reserve until age 45. Enlisted
men are recalled only once after active duty; officers are annually recalled
for one month.

     The percentage of those conscripted who ultimately serve in capacities
advantageous to themselves is not known, but the armed forces make a positive
effort to encourage the draftees to regard their service as a right and an
honor as well as a duty to the state. Accordingly, the Belgian armed forces
admit only Belgian citizens and reject all applications from non-Belgians.
Belgians who have resided out of the country for five consecutive years prior
to conscription are considered to have lost ties with their communities to
such an extent that exemptions are granted. Belgian law also guarantees that
conscripts may return to their old jobs after completion of their service
obligation.

     Deferments are granted for a variety of reasons. The sole supporter of
parents or siblings, the oldest son in a family having five or more children,
or anyone with unusual problems is deferred. Merchant marines, coal miners,
and those in high-priority jobs are deferred or exempted. Students may be
deferred on an annual basis until they have completed secondary or technical
school. They may start a university course and be deferred while they complete
the course in a specified time period. Exemptions are granted to the
physically unfit and to some for whom a military tour of duty would constitute
an unusual hardship. Deferments are also granted for conscientious objection
to military service, but the individual is required to participate in
noncombative work.

     Voluntary service for three years in poor or less developed countries
may be substituted for military duty. The law defines missionaries,
physicians, teachers, engineers, agricultural specialists, and skilled
blue-collar workers in broad enough terms so that virtually any Belgian having
a professional or technical skill of value to developing economies may choose
this option. About 80 percent of those who have chosen this option were
educators, most of the remainder were physicians.

Training and Logistics

     Training for new conscripts and enlistees is on a continuing monthly
schedule. As a result, the armed forces remain in a better state of readiness
than would be possible if all new soldiers were inducted at one time. All
kinds of training facilities operate 52 weeks per year, enabling individuals
to get the most from their instructors. All military units are in a constant
state of partial preparedness-much different from systems where training
progresses by annual cycles to develop fully trained, combat-ready forces at
the end of the year.

     A variety of in-service schools are available for technical and
administrative training of NCOs, as well as schools in Zedelgem and Dinant
for warrant officers. Technical schools for naval personnel are located in
Oostende and Brugge; the air force technical school is in Saffraanburg, and
flight training occurs in Goetsenhoven and Brustem.

     The Royal Military Academy and War College, founded in 1834, is located
in Brussels. It is the primary source of regular officers for all four
services and offers a bachelor of military science and economics degree upon
completion of a four-year curriculum and a civil engineering degree that
requires five years of study. The war college program for the midcareer
training of professional officers consists of a two-year course that prepares
officers for positions of greater responsibility.

     Pay scales for service personnel are comparable to those of the other
European NATO members. When monetary allowances for food, housing and clothing
are included, the lowest grade soldier is compensated at about the same rate
as the typical unskilled laborer in Belgian industry. NCOs are paid on a scale
roughly equivalent to blue-collar workers. Officers receive lower salaries
than their civilian counterparts in managerial positions, but fringe benefits
permit them a comparable standard of living.

Medical Care

     Military medical facilities are designed to provide for the medical and
health requirements of armed forces personnel, to cope with emergencies and
disasters, and to maintain accepted standards of medicine and sanitation.
Routine medical care is available to active-duty military personnel as well as
to the reserves and the retired. Their dependents can also use civilian
facilities at little or no cost, depending on the coverage to which they
subscribe.

     Military hospitals admitted more than 21,000 patients in 1981. Patients
with respiratory diseases, gastrointestinal problems, and injuries caused by
accidents were treated in greater numbers than any other group. Military
hospitals treated relatively few cases of cancer and, as a res