The Unit
Most people picture Switzerland as a militia of part-time citizen-soldiers — and it largely is. The exception is AAD 10, the country's only full-time, professional special-forces unit, raised in 2004 and grouped with the Grenadiers under the Special Forces Command.
Its job is the quiet end of Swiss security: special reconnaissance, hostage rescue, counter-terrorism and direct action, plus protecting Swiss citizens, diplomats and interests abroad — the kind of tasks a neutral state still has to be able to do for itself. The unit keeps a deliberately low profile, hence how little is known about it.
The Gate
Selection is open to all branches and functions of the Swiss Armed Forces, and — unusually — to both men and women, once they have completed their initial six-month mandatory service. There is no upper age limit; candidates need a clean record and, if they wear glasses, corrected vision of at least 0.80.
It is one of the few tier-one units a motivated conscript can aim for directly off the back of national service, rather than after years in a standing army.
Selection
The gate is steep: of roughly 300 who apply, about ten are taken.
Pre-selection (2 days)
A two-day sports test — including 10 chin-ups and 50 press-ups in two minutes — plus a medical at the Institute of Aviation Medicine, a psychological assessment and an individual interview.
19-day practical selection
Those who pass are put through a 19-day practical selection course that tests endurance, decision-making and character under sustained pressure — the filter that pares the field to a handful.
Into the pipeline
Survivors are accepted to begin the long qualification. As with every unit of this kind, the numbers who finish are a small fraction of those who start.
The Training
Qualification runs a full 18 months — about six months of basic special-forces training followed by 40 weeks of infiltration techniques. The syllabus is broad by design:
Train To The Standard
AAD 10 rewards the all-round mountain athlete who can ruck, climb and keep moving. The Gate's Selection tier maps the run, ruck and strength base it's built on.