When a Swiss citizen reaches his twentieth year he must present himself at the levy of troops of the Canton of his domicile and be enrolled. This must be done before an application for exemption can be made. The raw recruits are sent direct to one of the _Écoles des Recrues_, for which the Confederation is divided into eight territorial departments, for infantry, for cavalry and artillery, three each, and two for engineers. The federal military forces, or _Bundesauszug_, are divided into three distinct classes: 1. The _Élite_ or active army, in which all citizens are liable to serve from the age of twenty to thirty-two. 2. The _Landwehr_ or first reserve, composed of men from the age of thirty-two to forty-four. 3. The _Landsturm_, consisting of men from seventeen to fifty, not incorporated in the _Élite_ or _Landwehr_. This last reserve cannot, as a rule, be called upon for service beyond the frontier. Men are not discharged from the _Élite_ until their successors have been enrolled, and in case of war the Federal Council is authorized to suspend discharges both from the _Élite_ and the _Landwehr_. The recruits at the _Écoles des Recrues_ undergo a course of instruction for periods ranging from forty-five to eighty days, after which they are drafted into the different arms of the service, and (with the exception of the cavalry, who turn out annually) are called out on alternate years for a course of training (_cours de répétition_), continuing from sixteen to twenty days. Periodically, once or twice a year, the troops of a number of Cantons assemble for a general muster. The infantry soldier has five periods of training during the ten years he remains in the _Élite_ or active service: First year, forty-five days as a recruit. Third year, sixteen days as a trained soldier. Fifth year, sixteen days as a trained soldier. Seventh year, sixteen days as a trained soldier. Ninth year, sixteen days as a trained soldier. Total, one hundred and nine days. The cavalry is called out annually instead of biennially, and as a compensation for this additional drill service, the men are discharged from the _Élite_ two years sooner than the infantry, or at the age of thirty.