Army, farewell to the dress uniform, and decommissioned uniforms are burned

Context

In brief

• Since 2025, Tenuta A has been assigned only for representational duties.
• Recoverable uniforms are inspected, repaired and redistributed.
• Those that can no longer be used end up in incineration plants.
• The projected savings are around 55 million francs.

Key facts

• Where → Bern
• Uniform → Tenuta A, traditional gray uniform
• Since 2025 → assigned only to military personnel with representational duties
• Savings → around 55 million francs
• 1993 purchase → 180,000 uniforms for 114 million francs
• Assessment by the Swiss Federal Audit Office → up to 100 million francs in savings

On September 26, 2026, from Bern, the Swiss Army confirmed that the traditional gray uniform is being phased out and that discarded garments, when they can no longer be salvaged, are taken to a waste incineration plant. The news was reported by Schweiz Heute, the national news portal of CH Media.

Since 2025, the so-called Tenuta A has no longer been issued on a large scale. Distribution has continued for military personnel engaged in representational duties, including members of the military band. The Army links ending general distribution to overall savings of around 55 million francs.

The handling of the garments follows a precise distinction. Uniforms that are still usable are inspected, repaired and, if necessary, redistributed. Those that can no longer be salvaged instead go to the incinerator. The phase-out thus leads to the accumulation of thousands of uniforms, but the Army does not record the total number of gray uniforms intended for disposal.

Why there is no second-hand market

Sale is ruled out because the uniform is still in use and the Army wants to avoid the risk of improper use. Recycling is also not considered a sensible alternative: first, both the uniforms and the insignia would have to be made unrecognizable, with the associated costs and work deemed excessive.

Tenuta A had already sparked discussion. Many soldiers considered the jacket and trousers uncomfortable and outdated. In 2021, Centre Council of States member Marianne Binder-Keller had called for a more modern uniform, but the request does not appear likely to materialize.

The financial precedent dates back to 1993. That year, Parliament approved the purchase of 180,000 uniforms for 114 million francs. Subsequently, the Swiss Federal Audit Office criticized the planning and argued that a better procurement procedure would have made it possible to save up to 100 million francs. These precedents accompany the current management and show that the debate over military supplies also has roots in Parliament's decisions and subsequent audits.

Operational details

The meaning of the figures

The most concrete fact for understanding the decision is the shift from large-scale distribution to targeted allocation. The source dates this choice from 2025 and links it to total savings of 55 million. To understand the scope of the decision, it is useful to keep three levels separate: the date of the distribution, the price of the historical purchase, and the handling of withdrawn garments.

Three levels to keep separate

The 55 million francs are the total savings the army intends to achieve by abandoning large-scale distribution. The text does not present them as an annual figure or link them to another item. The 114 million, on the other hand, concern the purchase approved by Parliament in 1993: they are the value of that decision, referring to 180,000 uniforms. The source assigns this amount to the historical purchase and does not describe it as the cost of current disposal.

The reference to 100 million is different again. The Federal Audit Office argued that a better procurement procedure would have made it possible to save up to that amount. The wording describes possible savings linked to planning, not an amount presented as already recovered.

This distinction prevents adding figures that belong to different periods. It also prevents turning the Federal Audit Office's estimate into a reimbursement or into savings already accounted for. The text does not quantify the cost of recycling, indicate how much incineration costs, or provide the number of garments sent to the facilities.

For a reader in Switzerland, the observable point is the handling of an army supply and the transparency of the available data. The connection with one's personal budget remains indirect. Anyone who wants to keep army expenditure separate from their own outlays can use the costo della vita in Svizzera as a comparison tool, without attributing to the military figure effects that the text does not indicate.

Recommended tools

For an updated estimate, use the net salary calculator and the CHF-EUR exchange comparator.

Key points

The sequence to follow to verify the data

The source makes it possible to reconstruct a simple procedure for understanding the phase-out without confusing garments, costs and timing. It is also a useful framework for anyone who has to comment on the news or check data reported elsewhere.

Four steps

1. Identify the period. The only explicit timeline is 2025: from that year onward, Tenuta A is assigned only to military personnel with representational duties. The article is dated 26 settembre 2026. The source does not indicate a final date for the elimination of the gray uniform.

2. Separate use from the condition of the garment. The uniform remains in use for representational duties. For withdrawn uniforms, the operational criterion is the possibility of recovery: garments that can still be used are inspected, repaired and, if necessary, redistributed.

3. Verify the destination. Only uniforms that can no longer be recovered are taken to a waste incineration facility. Saying that all gray uniforms are burned would go beyond what the source reports.

4. Check the figures without conflating them. The 55 milioni di franchi are the overall savings the army intends to achieve by forgoing large-scale distribution. The 114 milioni relate to the 1993 purchase; the 100 milioni are the savings that the Federal Audit Office identified as possible with a better procedure. None of these figures indicates the number of uniforms destined for incineration.

This verification also leads to a practical rule: do not attribute an overall figure to disposal and do not present sale as an available solution. The army rules it out because the uniform is still in use and to avoid the risk of improper use. Recycling, on the other hand, would require making uniforms and insignia unrecognizable and is deemed unreasonable given the costs and work required.

To keep information about the army's spending separate from one's own tax situation, one can consult dichiarazione delle imposte. To complete the comparison with one's own income, use calcolatore stipendio.

Source: tio.ch