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qgyh2 maxwellhill BritishEnglishPolice anutensil AutoModerator kwangqengelele Pharnaces_II slapchopsuey SarahLee 1603 No Swiss fighter jets were scrambled Monday when an Ethiopian Airlines co-pilot hijacked his own plane and forced it to land in Geneva, because it happened outs ide business hours, the Swiss airforce said. (news.yahoo.com) submitted 14 hours ago by QuarterPounderz 246 comments share top 200 commentsshow all 246 sorted by: best [ ]angstycoder 345 points 11 hours ago A: "Sir! We're being invaded! We must-" B: "Nope! We're closed. Tell them to come back later." A: "Ummm...." permalink [ ]Dr_Mottek 205 points 10 hours ago Hokay, then have a nap... Then scramble ze Jetz! permalink parent [ ]subfighter0311 50 points 9 hours ago "'Bout that time eh chaps?" permalink parent [ ]sonofabitch 29 points 7 hours ago .....righto. permalink parent [ ]happycrabeatsthefish 14 points 5 hours ago O fuk we're dumb asses

permalink parent [ ]sean_incali 20 points 5 hours ago fuckin kangaroos permalink parent [ ]spartan_155 10 points 3 hours ago What's going on eh? permalink parent [ ]WestEndRiot 1 point 21 minutes ago WTF? ^ ^ permalink parent [ ]ex-apple 39 points 10 hours ago Wow.... It's been a while since I've seen that. permalink parent [ ]thorismybitch 14 points 9 hours ago dont worry the US will accept the phone call, even if its collect. permalink parent [ ]NotSafeForEarth 4 points 1 hour ago No need for that; the Swiss have their own way of dealing with invasions. (And if Wikipedia is to be believed, there even are further volumes that tell yo u how to cook chemical weapons in your home kitchen, how to build your own IEDs, and much more fun schtuff.) Besides, the Swiss have lots and lots of (nuclear) bunkers, basically for every man, woman and child, and those kinds of places are generally hard to get into a nd often pretty darn defensible. Not to mention the terrain... permalink parent [ ]Stompedyourhousewith 4 points 4 hours ago what is this referencing? google returns nothing... permalink parent

[ ]TheLetterOne 18 points 4 hours ago End Of Ze World permalink parent [ ]nusince 14 points 4 hours ago The End of the World permalink parent load more comments (2 replies) [ ]Randis_Albion 2 points 4 hours ago Zen scrambol ze Jetz! permalink parent [ ]ChiperSoft 28 points 5 hours ago C: "What did he say?" D: "He said we have to come back later." C: "What? How much later? I have to pick my kid up from dance class." D: "HEY! HOW MUCH LATER? LIKE, CAN WE INVADE YOU IN THE NEXT FEW HOURS OR SHOULD WE COME BACK TOMORROW?" permalink parent [ ]angstycoder 24 points 5 hours ago He asked about the grail. I told him we've already got one. permalink parent [ ]komradequestion 2 points 24 minutes ago Hehehe. permalink parent [ ]le_goyim 4 points 2 hours ago Nobody would dare invading Switzerland permalink parent [ ]nighcry 7 points 4 hours ago

But I am le tired... permalink parent [ ]davi00a1 2 points 23 minutes ago Imagine how the hijacker felt when he called "Hello, I have a plane full of hostages. I need to have...' "Ok, ok slow down. T he office is closed, but ill take a message" "Wha...uh...Did you not hear that I have hostages?!?" "Yes yes, I understand, but the office is currently closed, t hey will reopen on Monday. Ill leave them the message, and they will get back to you then" "I...they...THAT'S THREE DAYS AWAY! We don't have enough food to last us till then!" "Well, maybe you should have thought about that before you decid ed to hijack a plane" permalink parent [ ]rimjobtom 2 points 9 minutes ago* An invasion of Swiss wouldn't be >that< easy. Nearly every household is armed. Switzerland does not have a standing army, instead opting for a people's mil itia for its national defense. The vast majority of men between the ages of 20 a nd 30 are conscripted into the militia and undergo military training, including weapons training. The personal weapons of the militia are kept at home as part o f the military obligations; Switzerland thus has one of the highest militia gun ownership rates in the world. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_politics_in_Switzerland Also there are bunkers everywhere. Fuckin everywhere. Invasion would be worse th an Afghanistan. permalink parent [ ]lmperator 91 points 10 hours ago* It costs $30m extra per year to have it 24/7. Too expensive for our defense mini ster...he's butthurt about all the budget cuts and is trying to prove a point. permalink [ ]fsm41 99 points 7 hours ago In the US, $30m would buy staplers and pens for one office... Obviously that's hyperbole but you get the idea. permalink parent [ ]swohio 64 points 6 hours ago Of course that's hyperbole, only $30m for pens AND staplers? Lol

permalink parent [ ]Just_like_my_wife 5 points 3 hours ago Now Ziodberg is crafty investor! permalink parent [ ]goldrogue 7 points 3 hours ago* You'd be surprised. US Military has been caught spending $14,586 per a coffee ma ker and $836 per a hammer back in the 80s (adjusted for inflation). Of course, t hese were likely to cover up clandestine spending... permalink parent [ ]Ameisen 12 points 2 hours ago Here's an old article from 1998 explaining why that isn't true. The military bought the hammer, Kelman explained, bundled into one bulk purc hase of many different spare parts. But when the contractors allocated their eng ineering expenses among the individual spare parts on the list-a bookkeeping exe rcise that had no effect on the price the Pentagon paid overall-they simply trea ted every item the same. So the hammer, originally $15, picked up the same amoun t of research and development overhead-$420-as each of the highly technical comp onents, recalled retired procurement official LeRoy Haugh. permalink parent [ ]xFoeHammer 2 points 2 hours ago Ah... so that's what that quote in Independence Day was about. permalink parent [ ]mrfox007 1 point 3 hours ago probably. permalink parent [ ]Tanniith 2 points 3 hours ago But, those staplers would be remote controlled and have laser guided ink/staple targeting software. permalink parent [ ]test_alpha 1 point 49 minutes ago Well of course you would think that, but those are aeronautical grade staplers, and that price is also factoring in the design cost.

/typical moron permalink parent [ ]TheCodexx 1 point 3 minutes ago But these are new pens, and space-age staplers. We'll need to put in an order th rough our contractor for the designs, give them royalties, and then work out a m anufacturing partner. Of course, we'll need to order extras, and stockpile them next to the old stockpile of unused pens and staplers. permalink parent [ ]Canadian_Infidel 21 points 7 hours ago Wow. That's nothing. That is the budget over-run from the construction of one wa stewater plant in one region of one province in Canada. permalink parent [ ]amebas 19 points 4 hours ago To be fair, it would be odd if that were the budget overrun from one wastewater plant located in multiple regions and provinces. Of course quantum wastewater ma nagement can't be cheap. permalink parent [ ]Salicylic 1 point 3 hours ago Sound like the hospital in sudbury permalink parent [ ]NopeBus 1 point 2 hours ago 1/6th the cost of our city's new sewer overflow project. permalink parent [ ]Commisar 16 points 6 hours ago that's IT??!?!?!?! Surely Switzerland has the cash to have 6 fighters good to go at all times permalink parent [ ]freetheloli 12 points 3 hours ago We have te money but the people dislike the army and they dont want to give more money for it

permalink parent [ ]AcesAndEights21 6 points 2 hours ago Then why even have them at all? If someone was going to attack or whatever obvio usly they would just do it outside of normal operating hours. Even if the hours were a secret it wouldn't be hard to figure out. permalink parent [ ]Ashimpto 4 points 48 minutes ago Attack switzerland? really? permalink parent [ ]Schmich 1 point 19 minutes ago Because it's the middle-ground. Also the jets they have aren't so good for bad w eather and night-time flying. So they have an agreement with France and Italy. A long with that, no one is going to attack Switzerland so it's more than enough. permalink parent load more comments (1 reply) [ ]_1ud3x_ 2 points 1 hour ago this is simply not true. There is enough money for the army, but a lot of it is wasted because of inefficient management and an outdated strategy. 400 modern Le opard Tanks in Switzerland? No one is going to need them, and in case of a war t hey are practically useless without Air superiority (Which we'll lose in a matte r of minutes). We have 32 modern FA-18 jets, which is easily enough to provide 2 4/7 air surveillance. permalink parent [ ]freetheloli 1 point 1 hour ago Management Shure is a big issue same with sbb.. permalink parent [ ]xeribulos 2 points 3 hours ago there is no way this is correct, source please? permalink parent [ ]lmperator 3 points 2 hours ago Here's an interview with him. (German)

Google translated news report. permalink parent [ ]BigSwedenMan 1 point 3 hours ago Think about it. Does 30 million sounds that ridiculous a figure to keep it runni ng 24/7? No, not really. Then if it's not for monetary reasons, why else would t hey have limited effective business hours? permalink parent load more comments (3 replies) [ ]Cgn38 1 point 1 hour ago Well if a jet is not on standby with all the shit that requires, you can't just shit a pilot, load of fuel and weapons in 10 minutes. What is he gonna do anyway, shoot down a loaded passenger plane? You boys have G round to air missiles right? permalink parent [ ]el_padlina 1 point 4 minutes ago Seriously, what would be the point to keep a 24/7 jet squadron in times like now for a country with geopolitical situation of Switzerland? permalink parent load more comments (1 reply) [ ]TheGravemind_ 98 points 11 hours ago TIL the Swiss Airforce has business hours. permalink [ ]unlustig 40 points 11 hours ago So does the US military during garrison. There is a COB (close of business, 5PM) everyday. Obviously COB doesn't mean anything if something serious was happenin g. permalink parent [ ]Ask_If_I_Care 44 points 8 hours ago Former USAF here. Things that are open all night: control tower, base ops, weath er, flight kitchen, most maintenance, fuels, security police, ER and some parts of the hospital, comm help desk and communications center, and command post. It's probably a running joke but the only thing that you can count on steadfastl

y following business hours would be MPF (personnel) and finance. Closed all afte rnoon for training, too! permalink parent [ ]All_you_need_is_sex 11 points 8 hours ago And the med clinic. Don't forget the med clinic! permalink parent [ ]_Bones 27 points 6 hours ago You mean the Ibuprofen Dispensary? Nah, man, that shit closed at 4 sharp. permalink parent [ ]thermite451 9 points 4 hours ago Yep, clean off at the elbow. 800mg Ibuprofen. It'll be fine.... permalink parent [ ]Ask_If_I_Care 2 points 2 hours ago yep, that's the place (they actually called it that ~1993) permalink parent [ ]jeremythelee 3 points 7 hours ago And people call comm non mission essential.. permalink parent [ ]Ask_If_I_Care 2 points 2 hours ago I was in weather... comm saved our hide more times than I can remember. permalink parent [ ]_Bones 1 point 6 hours ago Fuel cell sure did like to not staff their night shift where I was. Their hangar was always vacant after 5. permalink parent [ ]unlustig 1 point 7 hours ago I guess I should of mentioned COB is an Army thing in my opinion. I'm Army but h ave been on air base from 2011-13 and they do run 24hrs. Which is awesome, I mis

s that midnight chow. permalink parent [ ]Ask_If_I_Care 3 points 7 hours ago I was at Yongsan (Korea) in the 1990s. Many memories of going to the chow hall a t 3 a.m. while on shift and lining up alongside Army guys who were getting bacon cheeseburgers grilled up after a night of drinking in Itaewon. That was my only Army assignment and I don't remember any other place I was at having midnight c how. About our only option at 2 a.m. was to go to the flight kitchen and buy a b ox lunch or go off base. permalink parent [ ]unlustig 2 points 7 hours ago My midnight chow experience was also in Korea, Kunsan AB to be exact. Maybe it's a Korean thing considering people working the night shift can't go off post to get food due to curfew, and everything else on post being closed. permalink parent [ ]Clovis69 26 points 10 hours ago Well, yes and no. Example - US Army in Alaska and USAF in Alaska. The US Army has normal garrison hours, the USAF has some planes on alert (so the re are people sitting next to them, supporting them 24/7/365) and there is alway s an E-3 in the air 24/7/365 and tanker support when it will need it, like once every 6 hours. There are always people on duty at the early warning stations, at the BMD site, etc permalink parent [ ]yourefunny 12 points 7 hours ago I did not realise that there was always an E-3 up there. That is really interest ing to me. Anymore info? permalink parent [ ]iamdelf 20 points 7 hours ago The USAF has some aircraft which are always in the air monitoring the skies in w ays that ground stations cannot or to reduce the chance that all command and con trol could be annihilated. Here is one such mission that I remember from when I was a kid http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Looking_Glass Whenever that pla ne decided to flyover EVERYONE knew because some of its communication equipment or ECM caused every garage door to open.

permalink parent [ ]MarsMJD 9 points 3 hours ago At DEFCON 2 or higher, the Looking Glass pilot and co-pilot were both requir ed to wear an eye patch, retrieved from their Emergency War Order (EWO) kit. In the event of a surprise blinding flash from a nuclear detonation, the eye patch would prevent blindness in the covered eye, thus enabling them to see in at leas t one eye and continue flying. Damn, talk about planning for the worst. permalink parent [ ]AcesAndEights21 1 point 2 hours ago That's genneraly what they are there to plan for. permalink parent load more comments (2 replies) [ ]The_One_Above_All 93 points 10 hours ago Bad Luck Switzerland: gets invaded by every other country at 5:01 p.m. permalink [ ]defroach84 25 points 3 hours ago 5:01 PM...on a Friday. permalink parent [ ]borickard 26 points 3 hours ago Fucking savages. permalink parent [ ]Dack_ 5 points 1 hour ago Like invading Britain at tea-time. permalink parent [ ]Matyrs 2 points 51 minutes ago You got us wrong. You're thinking that because we would be in the middle of afte rnoon tea we would be too buisy to fight back. In reality, if an invading army were to interupt us and cause our tea to get col d THE QUEEN HERSELF WOULD LEAD THE CHARGE...

...And when we had sorted that little inconvience out, we would put the kettle b ack on. permalink parent [ ]Dack_ 1 point 41 minutes ago That is what you are saying now... but will anything actually pull you away from your tea? :D I guess with tea-brewing-facilities in your tanks, you dont really have to. permalink parent [ ]jl45 1 point 19 minutes ago who finishes work at 5PM? I want that that job! permalink parent [ ]StiMoney 23 points 14 hours ago Well thankfully he was telling the truth about seeking asylum then and not out t o crash the plane into downtown Zurich. permalink [ ]abrabled 14 points 9 hours ago Note to self: If desiring to attack Switzerland, do so outside of Swiss banking hours... permalink [ ]Vinura 13 points 7 hours ago That reminds me the opening panel in Asterix in Britain. If anyone was wondering permalink [ ]CurtHoliday 152 points 11 hours ago Switzerland: A fallout shelter in damn near almost every home, all able-bodied m en who leave the military expected to possess a assault rifle so the military ca n mobilize reserves at a faster rate, a entire national strategy based on strong -armed neutrality and the will to fight for it Doesn't scramble fighter jets because it's outside business hours. Lulz....that's a LITTLE ironic....is it not? permalink

[ ]Turicus 20 points 4 hours ago This false fact gets repeated a lot. No, most men don't keep the rifle when they leave the army. It's certainly not mandatory. You can keep it if you like, but it gets blocked to semi-auto. Source: Swiss infantry reservist for 12 years. permalink parent load more comments (5 replies) [ ]fart-in-the-yard 71 points 10 hours ago You're confusing history/culture/tradition with practicality. Who the fuck's goi ng to attack Switzerland? permalink parent [ ]CurtHoliday 49 points 10 hours ago* That history/culture/tradition define Swiss military doctrine up to the present era though. And since that doctrine defines Swiss military thinking to this very day, it's more than practical. It's not the question of who would attack Switzerland, it's the fact that Switze rland is prepared to defend and uphold it's neutrality through military force, w hether or not there is a imminent threat present. Switzerland doesn't participate in it sure as hell didn't participate t in the European Union, so it has EU member-states or participate in interventions like CAR, Mali or Afghanistan, in The Balkans, and it's not in NATO. It's no no reason to cooperate militarily with other their Battlegroups.

If this wasn't the Swiss military doctrine....why do they have a military at all ? Why do they still conscript soldiers from the population? Why don't they disba nd their military like Costa Rica and rely on heavily-armed Gendarmerie law enfo rcement? It's not even disputable, it's a fact. permalink parent [ ]Snabelpaprika 15 points 10 hours ago http://www.swedennotswitzerland.com/ permalink parent [ ]Jazz-Cigarettes 6 points 4 hours ago I wasn't even aware that people confusing the two of them was "a thing". I mean if you're totally geographically ignorant, then Austria and Australia I g et. The sounds are fairly similar.

But Sweden and Switzerland have totally different vowel sounds. They just share the first consonant cluster, that's all. Makes no sense to me. permalink parent [ ]Mirnhir 3 points 2 hours ago Danish people tend to get confused with the Dutch as well. permalink parent [ ]Feriluce 1 point 17 seconds ago That makes a bit more sense. Both countries are completely flat, we both ride bi kes permalink parent [ ]yangx 1 point 52 minutes ago damn I'm ignorant permalink parent load more comments (1 reply) [ ]CurtHoliday 2 points 9 hours ago Yeah, sorry lol edited. permalink parent [ ]rapax 2 points 2 hours ago it sure as hell didn't participate in The Balkans Swisscoy permalink parent load more comments (2 replies) [ ]atetuna 5 points 3 hours ago Who the fuck's going to attack Switzerland? Me. I'm going in at 5:01 PM on a Friday and I'll be out before they report back for work on Monday. permalink parent [ ]das_thorn 6 points 5 hours ago

Radical Islamists, that's who. permalink parent [ ]Gargilius 6 points 4 hours ago Radical Islamists are no more stupid than the nazis: you don't attack the fine f olks who keep your finances in order and hide your loot. permalink parent [ ]BitchinTechnology 9 points 10 hours ago The Nazis, the only reason why they didn't is because they held some Nazi cash i n their banks. They really didn't have a choice. Hold our money or we will invad e you and win. permalink parent [ ]CurtHoliday 17 points 9 hours ago* Nah, Hitler wanted to invade Switzerland, he had plans drawn up and everything. The country infuriated him, he called it "A pimple on the face of Europe". But the National Redoubt and the military readiness of the Swiss in general woul d've made it a very bloody campaign, much more bloody than Greece, and I wouldn' t be surprised if some German units suffered the same causality rates as the Fal lschirmjager at Crete. permalink parent [ ]matt2884 13 points 5 hours ago My grandma is Swiss. She used to tell me stories how her father had to go to pat rol the boarders in case the Germans attacked. Her father also taught her how to shoot at the age of 14 because if the Germans broke through the front lines it was her duty to defend the house. permalink parent [ ]abillnt 18 points 8 hours ago Do you really believe that if Barbarossa turned south, the Swiss would have stoo d a chance? Bloody battles in Switzerland compared to what they had on the Easte rn Front? Hardly. Switzerland cooperated (collaborated if you want to use that word). As long as t hey kept trading with them and the alpine tunnels open, all was well. The bigges t threat they could give the Nazis was not the national redoubt but destroying t he tunnels and easy transport to the south. permalink parent

[ ]Meglomaniac 6 points 7 hours ago It would have been like stalingrad and finland put into one. They have tons of mountains, a defensive doctrine to make every inch of swiss so il covered in your blood, and they were super determined. They definitely would have lost, but taking it more then likely delays your atta ck on the soviet union to the point where its no longer possible to defeat them( if it ever was). Germany was in a race against the soviet unions industrializati on. permalink parent [ ]CurtHoliday 9 points 8 hours ago* No, if Hitler threw the weight of Barbarossa at Switzerland than the Swiss would have of course succumbed, but they would have done so very bloodily. But the thing is, Switzerland wasn't worth Barbarossa, although it could've dela yed Barbossa. Greece and the Balkans delayed the Eastern Front by a season, Swit zerland could've delayed it for a year. One of Hitler's main goal was lebensraum and the associated necessity of expandi ng into the East because of it. In my opinion, Switzerland was saved because, to Hitler, invading it would've been to costly to his preparations for Barbarossa, it would've been too big of a hindrance. And I'd argue destroying those tunnels and bridges was apart of the National Red oubt, because it made the National Redoubt an actually viable defense (to the de gree envisioned). One needed the other, and I don't think it takes away from my main point. permalink parent [ ]Meglomaniac 8 points 7 hours ago Hitler needed the oil and grain fields of western soviet union WAY more then he needed greece and the balkans. permalink parent [ ]CurtHoliday 2 points 6 hours ago Yes, but that didn't stop him helping Italy with Greece and The Balkans, even th ough it set him back a season for Operation Barbarossa. My argument is that Switzerland would of delayed the invasion of the Soviet Unio n much longer than that, or distracted much more from it than let's say The Balk ans, so in Hitler's eyes, in my opinion, Switzerland wasn't worth the trouble wh en it came to deliberating how many resources to put to the Eastern Front. permalink parent [ ]Cgn38 2 points 1 hour ago

It would have been a bloodbath, Every bridge in the country was wired to be blow n, every man in the country was armed with a extremely high quality rifle and th e great majority were drilled in long distance marksmanship most of their lives. Add to that the place is a big pile of mountains most of which are riddled with gun emplacements and huge well stocked bunkers, enough for the whole goddamn cou ntry. Not to mention that no one in the country had the authority to surrender u nder any circumstances period, (posted publicly in the country during that time) it was a fight to the death for every single inch incredible well defended moun tainous land. The Germans could have taken it in time, but they would have lost most of the me n in their army doing so. And had a pile of dead people and the entire world as enemies to show for it. In any case the Swiss were the NAZI party bank anyway we "accidentally" bombed t he shit our a Swiss rail yard or two, blowing the shit out German rail cars full of Holocaust victims gold. I read a story once, no cite, where a German General asked a Swiss general what he would do if Germanys 400,000 man army attacked the Swiss 200,000 man army. Th e Swiss general answered shoot twice and go home. permalink parent [ ]futurespice 2 points 1 hour ago The great majority were drilled in long distance marksmanship most of their lives. The great majority turn up to a shooting range once a year and try not to shoot themselves in the foot. Don't overestimate the Swiss army. permalink parent [ ]Schmich 1 point 22 minutes ago That's about 10000000x better than most civilians in other countries. permalink parent load more comments (2 replies) [ ]cobbleswald 2 points 4 hours ago Drive into Switzerland from Germany or France or Austria, it's all big towering mountains with pillboxes everywhere, full of Swiss troops, who are know for thei r marksmanship. This is not a country you want to invade unless absolutely nesse cary. I'd say it's be much more like trying to invade Afghanistan, only much muc h better armed, organised, and trained. And in recent history Afghanistan is cur rently 3/0 for repelling outside forces. permalink parent [ ]Gargilius 2 points 4 hours ago

Not just the money, they were running really nice armament factories that the al lies couldn't bomb... permalink parent [ ]Not__A_Terrorist 1 point 55 minutes ago Me, I want the Toblerone permalink parent [ ]Skyrim4Eva 10 points 6 hours ago He explained that French fighters can escort a suspicious aircraft into Swis s airspace, "but there is no question of shooting it down. It's a question of na tional sovereignty". quote from the article pretty much sums the situation up. permalink parent [ ]Plsdontcalmdown 7 points 4 hours ago escort a suspicious aircraft into Swiss airspace, "but there is no question of shooting it down. It's a question of national sovereignty". copy paste from my other reply: The whole purpose of escorting a hijacked plane is to be able to destroy it, so that it cannot be used as a missile. If that can not be done for Rules of Engagement reasons, the escort serves no purpose but in timidation, which may not be a good thing when dealing with a suicidal terrorist . permalink parent [ ]Schlagv 2 points 3 hours ago In case of real emergency I am sure they find a way to get authorization to fire . permalink parent [ ]Rednys 4 points 7 hours ago Because they have agreements in place with neighboring countries with aircraft o n alert to cover a certain airspace. Contrary to what you might think military fighter aircraft are not routinely flo wn with munitions. Only on alert or for other missions expecting to use munition s will they be loaded. permalink parent [ ]Plsdontcalmdown 5 points 4 hours ago That would be fine if EU military had any Rules of Engagement in Switzerland, bu

t it doesn't, at all. If the French escorts saw the plane heading to a Nuclear power plant and nose di ving, destroying the plane would have been an act of war against Switzerland, wh ich no one has done in nearly 550 years. Of course the moral thing to do would have been to destroy the plane, even the 2 00 people on board, in order to prevent a nuclear catastrophe in the center of E urope. But the EU military isn't a shoot first, court martial later sort of club (unlike you know who). One of the reasons why the EU is how it is today is beca use of Swiss neutrality. But Switzerland needs to sort out it's defense plans, and coordinate with the EU , which now surrounds it on every border, and that does mean at least allowing t he French, German and Italian air forces to take control of their airspace when it's "outside of business hours", and turn it momentarily turn it into an EU def ense zone. Invaders don't come on horseback anymore, and Switzerland won't get a 3 weeks notice before getting attacked. Neutrality will be a perfect target for post Syria Jihadists. If the war ends in Syria, their Jihadist combatants will go elsewhere, most likely to Europe. All of us need to be prepared for that, and much sooner than 2020. permalink parent [ ]MarsMJD 7 points 4 hours ago Neutrality will be a perfect target for post Syria Jihadists. If the war end s in Syria, their Jihadist combatants will go elsewhere, most likely to Europe. All of us need to be prepared for that, and much sooner than 2020. Sorry, I was with you until this point. Care to elaborate? IMO any jihadist combatants are more likely to spill into africa with ambitions to develop an pan-islamic "empire" (informal) of sorts across historical islamic territories. We can already see a large rise in islamic militants in northern a frica, and I see no reason why this wont continue to spread south into countries like Mali (again), and Chad. There is already plenty of religious tension even as far as central africa, and African countries tend to have weak state and mili tary apparatuses, making them easy targets. Example of pre-existing tensions that could easily be exploited: http://www.npr.org/blogs/parallels/2014/02/17/278389250/troops-escort-muslims-ou t-of-central-african-republic (That came up today) Alternatively, they could go into europe, but turkey would be a more likely targ et than western europe, due to proximity and historical/cultural ties to the ara b world. permalink parent [ ]darian66 3 points 2 hours ago He is talking about the jihadist Europeans who will return home after the war wi nds down. It's a big issue in Europe

permalink parent [ ]Rednys 0 points 4 hours ago Where do you buy your tinfoil? permalink parent [ ]Cgn38 2 points 1 hour ago More like he read their damn book. permalink parent [ ]Not__A_Terrorist 1 point 54 minutes ago Quran? permalink parent [ ]FreshFruitCup 3 points 2 hours ago Keep in mind the jets are in hidden "batcaves" in the sides of mountains... permalink parent [ ]rapax 3 points 2 hours ago Not anymore, they're not. Switzerland has moved on since the cold war, but appar ently, this has gone unnoticed. permalink parent [ ]FreshFruitCup 2 points 1 hour ago http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aircraft_cavern I couldn't find a single mention that they were not using them, but more article s about how they were using them. Edit: this is the only operational cavern : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meiringen_Air_Base permalink parent [ ]Gargilius 6 points 4 hours ago Because the whole Swiss military apparatus, as impressive as it might appear to the uninformed, has very little to do with defense; it is essentially a boys sco ut club for grown ups, doubling up as the mother of all ol' boys network (they d on't have glass ceilings over there, but military grade reenforced concrete ones

- if you are not an officer, your career stops right here...); think of their A ir Force as a really fancy aeroclub. Seriously, look at their history, and you'll see that their military is complete superfluous. permalink parent [ ]rapax 5 points 2 hours ago This is largely true (source: I was in the intel brigade of the swiss airforce f or several years). The only thing I wouldn't agree to is the career ceiling thin g. It used to be the case, but nowadays, most companies prefer employees that do n't take an additional 3 weeks vacation every two years (or significantly more f or officers) to go play with their friends in green. permalink parent [ ]Gargilius 3 points 2 hours ago Sure, the jock who spends three months a year playing soldier (even more in some cases) - and uses the company resources to further his military career (these f uckers have no shame stealing office supplies, and toner, etc. :-) is not really productive, but he can bring in the right connections... depending on your line of business, it can be worth while... If I am not mistaken, some businesses who were trying to avoid these types got i n trouble at one point though permalink parent load more comments (2 replies) [ ]torpedoshit 13 points 11 hours ago now we know when to attack permalink [ ]atetuna 4 points 3 hours ago 5 more days... permalink parent [ ]smilingonion 8 points 6 hours ago It's not so different here either I used to drive a cab and often would return soldiers to their base At the front gate was a building I had to go into to get permission to enter...I had to show my drivers license, my cabby license, registration, the VIN for the car, they did everything short of taking a blood sample I had to do this EVERY time I entered the base(more than a 100 times) UNLESS I g

ot there after 5:00pm THEN I drove right through the open gate and dropped off my fares...often gettin g lost trying to leave and I KNOW I was in areas I really should not of been and yet I never was stopped and questioned once Apparently the opinion of the US military is terrorists only attack between 9:00 am and 5:00pm permalink [ ]BeerPowered 7 points 6 hours ago It's simply because the commanders are home, and nobody gives a fuck. Source: Been in the Air Force, ordered pizza. permalink parent [ ]jeannaimard 8 points 5 hours ago It's silly, the fighters weren t needed anyways, because the Cointrin airport in G enve is something like 30 meters from France permalink [ ]lestratege 3 points 2 hours ago Indeed. You are probably never in Swiss airspace before touching the wheels at G eneva airport... permalink parent [ ]rapax 1 point 2 hours ago The end of the runway is actually in France, IIRC. permalink parent [ ]dynamicperf 7 points 4 hours ago It's actually a brilliant negotiation strategy. It establishes that Swtizerland doesn't give a fuck and gives them a strong adva ntage. permalink [ ]dreamsplease 32 points 11 hours ago If you read the article, the Swiss government pays neighboring countries to patr ol their borders and respond to these types of situations, which is what happene d here. They don't put the same type of emphasis on military dominance as some c ountries, since they are pretty neutral. permalink

[ ]CurtHoliday 15 points 11 hours ago They don't put the same type of emphasis on military dominance as some count ries, since they are pretty neutral. Actually, it could be argued they put more emphasis on military dominance BECAUS E they're neutral. Why do you think there are some many fallout shelters, military bunkers and civi lians with firearms in Switzerland? permalink parent [ ]Jizzlobber58 26 points 10 hours ago Nah, they just do that since it makes Belgium the easier way for the Germans to flank the French. They don't want dominance, just to delay long enough to make t he other option more attractive given the German proclivity to look for quick vi ctories in the west. permalink parent load more comments (3 replies) [ ]Hurdy 2 points 1 hour ago Mostly historical reasons. You're not required to build fallout shelters anymore , military bunkers get decommissioned by the dozens and civilians are returning the firearms. The only thing that doesn't go with the times is apparently the im age of the Swiss military on reddit. permalink parent [ ]Schmich 1 point 18 minutes ago Why do you think there are some many fallout shelters, military bunkers and civilians with firearms in Switzerland? The cold war and tradition. permalink parent load more comments (10 replies) [ ]mnbvmnbvm 3 points 9 hours ago It's a shame that foreign aircraft are pretty useless since they cannot actually do anything... (cannot shoot down an aircraft if it becomes necessary) permalink parent [ ]boomanwho 22 points 9 hours ago So what are fighter jets going to do? Shoot down a airliner full of passengers? There are really very limited options if the pilot is being forced by highjacker

s to fly somewhere the authorities don't like. And I think that most governments have ruled out the possibility of shooting down passenger airliners in any circ umstance. There was a lot of brave talk about this possibility after 9/11 by internet blog gers, and it makes people feel good about an all powerful military. But how far off course would the plane have to be before the fighter pilot would shoot it do wn, turning an uncertain probability that it will crash land killing many people on the ground into a certainty that everyone on board the plane is killed. Then how do you deal with the aftermath when media, egged on by the relatives of tho se killed in the plane, second guess the decision to shoot it down - and the law suits roll in. It would be the worst possible PR nightmare for whoever made the decision to shoot down the plane. permalink [ ]das_thorn 18 points 5 hours ago I've actually listened to some of the radio traffic between Air Force / Air Nati onal Guard pilots in the minutes immediately after the 9/11 attacks. They were o n the alert for even more hijacked aircraft, but were launched without munitions . The pilots discuss the best method of bringing down a jetliner via ramming, an d decide on a course of direct, head-on collisions with no ejection in case the weight shift caused the fighter to miss. Of course, the command and control on the ground was still trying to figure out who to ask for the authority to shoot down civilian airliners. permalink parent [ ]Nefeera 5 points 3 hours ago Do you have a link? permalink parent [ ]xerberos 1 point 1 hour ago The Washington Post have an interview with one of the fighter pilots: http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/f-16-pilot-was-ready-to-give-her-life-on-sep t-11/2011/09/06/gIQAMpcODK_story.html permalink parent [ ]mgolf 1 point 47 minutes ago The pilots discuss the best method of bringing down a jetliner via ramming, and decide on a course of direct, head-on collisions with no ejection in case th e weight shift caused the fighter to miss. That's only because the fighter planes that responded didn't have missiles with them. permalink parent

load more comments (2 replies) [ ]zombie_upvotes 11 points 8 hours ago This is the only sensible answer in this thread. No one is going to shoot down t he plane and you can still talk to people over the radio. Aside from having a fi ghter jet take-off and confirm that yes, it is indeed a plane and not some sort of bird, what's the point? permalink parent [ ]Flauschkatze 19 points 8 hours ago This is the only sensible answer in this thread. No one is going to shoot do wn the plane and you can still talk to people over the radio. Aside from having a fighter jet take-off and confirm that yes, it is indeed a plane and not some s ort of bird, what's the point? Yeah ive read about the intercepting fighter not shooting down planes. They will signal the other pilot with their wings / order them to follow. The problem is that a standard airliner can easily be used as a missile and can cause way more death than its number of passengers on board (hit a nuclear facil ity / any bigger amassing of people). Shooting down such a threat must be consid ered in some cases. permalink parent [ ]bttruman 12 points 6 hours ago It's rather grim to say, but it's the whole "needs of the many" argument. If tho usands of people are in harms way, 200 casualties is obviously a better outcome, especially if those 200 are attached to the missile permalink parent [ ]Not__A_Terrorist 1 point 50 minutes ago They had missile batteries ready for London 2012 to shoot down any planes permalink parent [ ]ItsRichardBitch 2 points 13 minutes ago And the air contingent was stepped up. We had some old girl fly into London airspace only to be confused as to why two Typhoons were telling her to fuck off permalink parent [ ]Not__A_Terrorist 1 point 12 minutes ago We had some old girl fly into London airspace

Her? permalink parent [ ]sandos 1 point 59 minutes ago Aren't most nuclear facilities much stronger built than a lightweight aluminium aircraft? permalink parent load more comments (2 replies) [ ]Not__A_Terrorist 1 point 50 minutes ago The fighter pilots also provide infromation on what is happening inside the plan e as they can see into it permalink parent [ ]BeerPowered 2 points 6 hours ago Well the best they can do is to fly close and show signs. But alpha scrambling t he jets is the mandatory procedure if something shitty happens in the air. permalink parent [ ]Draakon0 1 point 1 hour ago Scare the airline hijackers into submission? permalink parent [ ]Commisar 1 point 6 hours ago they would have shot it down if ordered. However, I believe all the jets had were their 20mm guns, so they would have had to go for the engines permalink parent [ ]Loud_Hawk 2 points 2 hours ago 20mm guns are more than enough to take out an airliner. A few rounds in the wing spar will bring it down pretty fast. permalink parent [ ]Inkertus_0 7 points 6 hours ago "We're sorry, we're closed right now, if you'd like to report a hijacking, pleas e do so between the hours of 9 AM and 5 PM. Thank you and have a nice day."

permalink [ ]iFap2Wookies 9 points 11 hours ago Naaah, they just couldnt find the fighters on their knives. It detaches, like th e toothpick and pincer see, so most of them probably fell off and got lost at so me point permalink [ ]featherback 5 points 4 hours ago I think this is the most civilized thing I have ever heard of. permalink [ ]bhtp 7 points 7 hours ago This is why Swiss Army Knifes have crochet hooks and wine openers. permalink [ ]gary_mcpirate 3 points 1 hour ago What were jet fighters supposed to do? Shoot it out the sky? They would have onl y aggrivated the situation. Sometimes intimidation isn't the best course of acti on permalink [ ]jeffp12 2 points 6 hours ago Before we get all high and mighty, recall that on 9/11 we didn't have any armed fighters available either, and the only planes scrambled, which were too late an yway, weren't armed. permalink [ ]xerberos 2 points 1 hour ago Same thing in Sweden. And we have Russian bombers doing practice runs just outsi de the border. http://www.defensenews.com/article/20130502/DEFREG/304290022/Russian-Attack-Rais es-Questions-Over-Sweden-s-Readiness permalink [ ]Griffolion 2 points 57 minutes ago Note to self: Invade Switzerland after 5pm. permalink [ ]texasguy911 2 points 11 hours ago What if it happened during lunch time? permalink

load more comments (8 replies) [ ]whiskynomnom 2 points 8 hours ago The Swiss have an air force...? permalink [ ]AbsoluteTruth 8 points 8 hours ago The Swiss have actually held a notable military for a very long time, it's just almost 100% defensive in nature. Look up the National Redoubt for a good example of Swiss military. permalink parent [ ]rapax 1 point 2 hours ago for a good example of Swiss military ... ... during the cold war. FTFY permalink parent [ ]skullcandy90 1 point 9 hours ago Got to give them top marks for customer service. permalink [ ]MilhausMN 2 points 7 hours ago In other news Swiss fighter pilots are at the hospital having their palms separa ted from their faces. permalink [ ]gk3coloursred 1 point 7 hours ago I foresee an increase in unexpected flights in the evenings, nights and early mo rnings... permalink [ ]wanmoar 1 point 6 hours ago no country will ever invade Switzerland...they hold all the dirty money after al l permalink parent [ ]theangryintern 1 point 6 hours ago Even in Switzerland it's Air Force, Inc. permalink

[ ]Plsdontcalmdown 1 point 5 hours ago From the article... Savary said Switzerland relies heavily on deals with its neighbours, especia lly France, to help police its airspace outside regular office hours. He explained that French fighters can escort a suspicious aircraft into Swis s airspace, "but there is no question of shooting it down. It's a question of na tional sovereignty". I'm extremely curious how the French Air Force handled the plane's hand off to S wiss air space. As far as I heard from other sources, the French escort did not follow the plane into Switzerland (at least not all the way to Zurich)... The whole purpose of escorting a hijacked plane is to be able to destroy it, so that it cannot be used as a missile. If that cannot be done for Rules of Engagem ent reasons, the escort serves no purpose but intimidation, which may not be a g ood thing when dealing with a suicidal terrorist. Btw, the Italian and French fighter escorts entered each others airspace without any issues, in order to make a proper handover. While the EU is still pretty bo ttlenecked on any active military cooperation, it's fully prepared for reactive military coordination (perhaps a little too well, as you might remember the Ecua dorian President's plane incident). But this makes it ever so clear once again t hat Switzerland is NOT the EU... permalink [ ]Geminii27 4 points 3 hours ago The whole purpose of escorting a hijacked plane is to be able to destroy it, so that it cannot be used as a missile. The whole point of being Swiss is that no-one feels like flying a plane into you r buildings in the first place. permalink parent [ ]futurespice 1 point 55 minutes ago the French escort did not follow the plane into Switzerland (at least not al l the way to Zurich)... It landed in Geneva, on the French border. The Swiss do have an arrangement with the French for them to provide air control while the glorious Swiss air force is asleep, so they can enter Swiss air space . permalink parent [ ]pera_lurk 1 point 4 hours ago So... Only bomb Switzerland nights and weekends. permalink

[ ]sleepturbator 1 point 4 hours ago 8am until noon, then 1:30 to 5pm. Those are the exact hours the porno billing complaint line is open. (They charge d me three times) permalink [ ]d1560 1 point 3 hours ago Man I must move there .. Sucks to work 60 hour week Guessing the pilots would be bingeing on chocolates watching Winter olympics permalink [ ]aband0nship 1 point 3 hours ago Way to fuck up the only time in recent history we have ever had the need for fig hter jets...good we're voting to cut military spending, i hope the measure passe s. permalink [ ]Oznog99 1 point 3 hours ago buuut, I am already in my pajamas permalink [ ]londubh2010 1 point 3 hours ago Sounds very sensible to me. permalink [ ]avataRJ 1 point 2 hours ago I think Finnish Air Force used to be pretty much the same way, at least pretty l ong to the Cold War. Possibly even some radar installations were shut down for t he night. Lapland (the northern part of the republic) was used as a free corrido r for American spyreconnaissance aircraft, which prompted the Soviets to back do wn on treaties like "no missiles to losing parties of the WWII" and sell us MiGs . Being able to intercept cruise missiles was a pretty large selling point on bu ying F-18s (and I think we were first trying to buy F-16s, but the Americans wer e pretty good at up-selling). There's one old Finnish "Tom Clancy clone" short novel where a cruise missile is flying over Finland. And yes, one of the characters does wonder why someone's t rying to start a war during office hours. permalink [ ]IndirectCell 1 point 2 hours ago Damnit, i didnt see that one the news, i was off duty at that time :C only have time to read about such news here on Reddit at other times. permalink

[ ]NotSafeForEarth 1 point 2 hours ago Well, fighter jets are of course the best way to deal with an asylum-seeking hij acker competently piloting a plane full of passengers, so yeah, that sure sounds bad. But not as bad as being too little, too late in scrambling US aircraft at crisis point one day in September because said forces were too preoccupied practising and exercising for an actual, you know, crisis. permalink [ ]bigusdikus 1 point 1 hour ago Wow, that is an insane lack of shits being given. permalink [ ]donquexada 1 point 1 hour ago An hour and a half for lunch? Fuck. Brb, joining Swiss Air Force. permalink [ ]lessleading 1 point 1 hour ago That's neutral as fuck. permalink [ ]iEatWoofers 1 point 1 hour ago ...And because we have contracts with France and Germany (I think), so when this happens, they help. Worked out quite well if you ask me! permalink [ ]TalkingBackAgain 1 point 1 hour ago Where is the enemy's etiquette doing something unexpected outside of business ho urs. Imagine if it had happened over the weekend. Such bad form! permalink [ ]sandos 1 point 58 minutes ago This is likely true for Sweden, too. Much press about Swedens crappy defense lat ely, such as letting Russia play around our border, and not even sending figther s up because its a holiday. permalink [ ]nbaagain 1 point 58 minutes ago That's awesome. I want to live in a place that laid back. permalink

[ ]toodrunktofuck 1 point 50 minutes ago Putting their F/A-18 Hornets to good use. permalink [ ]Ahf66 1 point 5 hours ago Swiss airspace is under constant electronic surveillance, he pointed out, adding that the wealthy Alpine nation is also studying the possibility of expanding it s airforce coverage to a round-the-clock operation. Wealthy nation but unable to support 24/7 Air Force coverage ? Huh?!?! permalink [ ]thebutcherswife 5 points 5 hours ago Or, wealthy nation because it doesn't waste money on military resources it rarel y if ever needz permalink parent [ ]avataRJ 1 point 3 hours ago Half of the Swiss Air Force figter squadrons are still flying F-5s. Probably mod ernised, but still, those birds haven't been manufactured since 1987. (The other half are flying F-18s.) Probably helps that they can use Alps for terrain cover , but still takes some balls. (Similarly, Austria was banned from using missiles by post-WWII treaties, so lon g to the missile age Austrian Air Force practiced sneaking up close to intercept targets and then swooping in with guns.) permalink parent load more comments (1 reply) load more comments (7 replies) about blog about team source code advertise jobs help wiki FAQ reddiquette rules contact us tools mobile

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