Belgium - Military Personnel

The Belgian military's biggest challenge is staff. The consequences of the pension wave have been perceptible in all units for a long time. Bridging these gaps was the main focus in 2019. This obviously will not be possible in the short term, but this year, as in the years to come, the military will be making a big effort in terms of recruitment. While it was recruiting just 900 people in 2016, the hope was to reach the 2,000 mark in 2019. The numbers of NCOs have almost doubled compared to previous years. Which is good sign. The intention is to recruit more than 10,000 military personnel in the next five years. All this to achieve a healthy age pyramid with a solid foundation.

In January 1995, the Belgian Minister of Defence announced that all conscripts would be sent home as of 1 April. The restructuring, with the suspension of the military service and a very substantial reduction of the strength of the Armed Forces, was done in the context of a frozen budget and without changing the scope of the existing missions.

The transition from conscript to professional army took the period of 2 months. Belgium is a small country, and it is easier for Belgium to take radical decisions. It sometimes behaves as a forerunner in certain matters, adopting a more flexible and trend setting approach. An example is the decision taken in 1992 to suspend the conscription and turning the armed forces into an all-volunteer force.

In 1988 and 1990 the first two phases essentially consisted of a reduction in scale : a 20 % reduction of the volume of the armed forces and the presence of Belgian troops in Germany (proportionally it was the largest one of all allied countries ) has been reduced from 23.000 to 4.000 military. The third phase, with an implementation deadline of 1998, was a reduction of military manpower to half, from 80.000 to 42.500 military (5.000 officers, 15.000 non-commissioned officers or NCO’s, 20.000 volunteers, 2.500 aspirants or cadets and 5000 civilians) and a corresponding reduction of equipment ; these measures had to be implemented without dismissals and at the same time measures were to be found to release excess personnel in an acceptable way.

The Modernisation Plan 2000–2015 Of The Belgian Armed Forces is based on a strategic reflection called VISION 2015, that was initiated in 1997. The operational characteristics of the new 2015 Force structure will be more readily available, flexible, modular, sustainable, deployable, effective and fully equipped and manned units. As far as the personnel is concerned, the total strength of defence personnel will be reduced to 39.500, from the actual 44.000, by 2015. At the same time the distorted age pyramid will be improved in order to reduce the average age from 36.4 to 33 years. For this a special budget of 5,6 billion BEF, on top of the normal defence budget has been approved for the coming 4 years.

After multiple restructuring (plan Charlier and bis Charlier, Delcroix, plan strategic plan for the modernization of the Armed Forces 2000-2015 plan + strategic plan Director 2003 and the plan De Crem), it is impossible to say if the next will be renamed "Plan De Crem II", but what is almost certain that the envelope in staff for the 2015-2020 horizon is less than 30,000 military personnel.

Selective service was originally conceived as a means of creating a broad-based armed force responsible to the elected government, rather than a select group of professional warriors hired by, and responsible exclusively to, the head of state. The Belgians wished to avoid the French and Prussian experience in which strong leaders used the national army to satisfy personal ambitions.

The selective service evolved from an inadequate system of favoritism in the nineteenth century to an inherently egalitarian system in the 1980s. In the 19th Century the working class did not care for the regular army, in which the workers served as conscripts. Conscription practices led to dissatisfaction; those unable to purchase exemptions and those willing to sell their services to the wealthy made up the bulk of the Belgian military in the nineteenth century.

Until 1910 selection of individuals for conscription was determined by lottery. The law also provided loopholes for those not wishing to serve. A lottery number was regarded as "good" if it resulted in an exemption, "bad" if it led to selection. Poor individuals with bad numbers served long tours of duty with little or no compensation. Wealthy individuals with bad numbers were often able to arrange for a paid substitute to serve in their place. Insurance companies wrote policies covering bad luck at the lottery. The inequities of the selective service system also caused political and social unrest.

The system was widely recognized as unsatisfactory, and 17 laws were written attempting to correct it between 1830 and 1910. Finally, in 1913, universal compulsory service was adopted and the lottery abandoned. The law has been modified over time, but changes adopted in the 1960s made the draft as equitable and generally acceptable as it has ever been in Belgium.

Manpower levels had remained relatively constant from the mid-1960s to the late 1980s. The armed forces totaled about 93,600 in 1984, of which approximately one-third were conscripts. By the end of the Cold War approximately two-thirds of the armed forces were volunteer or career military personnel; the gendarmerie is all volunteer. The army, having a larger component of its staff deployed in the field, drew about 50 percent of its personnel from the draft; the navy and air force have smaller percentages of conscripts. Eighteen- and 19-year-old men were subject to conscription. After considerable debate throughout Belgian history, both parliament and the armed forces made every effort to keep the selective service system equitable for all economic, linguistic, and social groups.

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 occurred 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 permitted 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 admitted 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.

Each male must register at age 16 and was liable for service in the army, navy, or air force two or three years later. Authorities communicated with potential draftees annually after registration. Registrants normally were called at age 18, or one year later upon request for a deferment. All eligible draftees were automatically called up when they are 19. Prior to that, each individual underwent 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 was 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 remained in the active reserve until age 45. Enlisted men were recalled only once after active duty; officers were annually recalled for one month.

The percentage of those conscripted who ultimately served in capacities advantageous to themselves was not known, but the armed forces made 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 admitted only Belgian citizens and rejected all applications from non-Belgians. Belgians who had resided out of the country for five consecutive years prior to conscription were considered to have lost ties with their communities to such an extent that exemptions were granted. Belgian law also guaranteed that conscripts may return to their old jobs after completion of their service obligation.

Deferments were 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 was deferred. Merchant marines, coal miners, and those in high-priority jobs were deferred or exempted. Students may be deferred on an annual basis until they had 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 were granted to the physically unfit and to some for whom a military tour of duty would constitute an unusual hardship. Deferments were also granted for conscientious objection to military service, but the individual was 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 defined 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 chose this option were educators, most of the remainder were physicians.

Training for new conscripts and enlistees was on a continuing monthly schedule. As a result, the armed forces remained in a better tate 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 Goetsenhoyen 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.