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Portugal Conditions of Service
The armed forces had entered a period of transition in
the
early 1990s that was the source of considerable
uncertainty and
turmoil among professional personnel. The severe cutbacks
in the
size of the military establishment, particularly the army,
and
the unsettled status of the military role and missions had
a
demoralizing effect. Career prospects seemed increasingly
circumscribed, and the government's budgetary measures
made the
armed services seem unattractive in comparison with the
opportunities in civilian life. The promotion
possibilities were
limited by the excessive number of officer personnel. As
of 1988,
the army's personnel strength had been reduced to only 20
percent
of its strength in 1974. Yet during the same period, the
officer
complement had fallen by little more than half. The air
force and
the navy experienced more moderate reductions in staffing
between
1974 and l988. Naval officer strength had declined
slightly, but
the number of air force officers had actually increased.
The armed forces had formerly been admired as the
defenders
of democracy for their role in the toppling of the
SalazarCaetano regime in 1974. Military officers sensed that
their
profession had since suffered a decline in social status
and
prestige and that they were regarded by the public as
superfluous. The historic left-wing and right-wing
factions from
the 1974-76 period were still distinguishable in the
officer
corps, although younger officers who had entered the
service
since the end of the colonial wars represented a separate
and
growing category. The upsurge of discontent against the
government's perceived indifference to career military
personnel
was common to all elements, however.
The armed services were forbidden by law from forming
unions
to express their demands. This prohibition had been
skirted by
the formation of sergeants' "movements" and periodic large
dinner
gatherings among the officers. NCOs had also staged mild
demonstrations to draw attention to their grievances. NCO
advisory commissions had been established by the
government but
these had proven to be ineffective because the officers
representing the military establishment had no authority
to
negotiate over the issues raised. The NCOs sought the
elimination
of promotions outside the normal sequence, reduction in
the
maximum time served at each grade, greater access to
officer
training courses, improvement in salary scales, and
earlier
retirement. Although sergeants could attain officer rank
after
attending the Higher Military Institute, few could hope to
be
promoted beyond captain because of insufficient vacancies
at the
major level. Naval NCOs sought more training opportunities
and
the establishment of new specialties. The sergeants called
for an
updating of the Code of Military Justice and Military
Disciplinary Regulations, including the right of assembly
and
association.
In addition to the general feeling that salary levels
did not
correspond to the demands and risks associated with the
military
profession, officers felt that special benefits they had
previously enjoyed were being curtailed, including extra
tax
exemptions, subsidized gasoline, and overtime pay. Prices
for
food at military commissaries were no longer significantly
below
prices in civilian outlets. The officers sought a lowering
of age
limits on active duty at the upper ranks as a means of
increasing
opportunities for advancement.
The length of compulsory military service was a subject
of
contention in the early 1990s, and the outcome was likely
to have
a pronounced effect on the future status of the career
service
and on the effectiveness of the armed forces. The army
service
obligation, which had been twenty-four months at the end
of the
colonial wars in 1974, had been reduced to sixteen months
by 1984
and to twelve months in 1990. Conscripts in the air force
and
navy served for sixteen months. In 1989, of 80,000 young
men
eligible for military service, 60,000 were deemed
physically fit,
although only 45,000 were actually inducted. In 1990 the
number
of inductees was lowered to 35,000. Those considered first
for
exemptions from service, in order of priority, were
married men,
heads of households, and only sons.
Conscientious objector status was recognized, although
under
the law, those granted exemption from active service were
required to perform civil defense duties. Over 4 percent
of those
on enrollment lists filed applications as conscientious
objectors. Few young people acknowledged the need for
military
service, viewing it as a waste of time during a prime
period of
their lives. The youth branches of the main political
parties
were among those groups advocating a shorter period of
military
service.
One plan for reducing the period of conscription to
four
months was under discussion in the early 1990s. Under the
plan,
20,000 conscripts would be in the service at any single
time;
10,000 would be undergoing a two-month period of
accelerated
training, and 10,000 would be serving in their units. A
safety
clause would permit the minister of defense to extend the
period
of service to eight months for the army and twelve months
for the
navy and air force if the needs of the services were not
being
adequately met. The government plan called for the
introduction
of two new recruitment systems: one for volunteers, who
would
serve a minimum of eight months, and another for contract
enlistments, which might be as long as eight years, to
attract
specialists in such fields as telecommunications,
electronics,
and computer technology. It was foreseen that the
eight-month
volunteers would be attracted by a higher wage (about
US$200 a
month) than conscripts and incentives in the form of
preferences
for academic study and careers in the police services.
This much discussed service plan was a further source
of
dissatisfaction for many in the officer corps who felt
that the
four-month term of service, the shortest of any country in
Europe, would lead to a military establishment that was
more
costly to maintain and only marginally effective. Although
the
total number inducted each year would increase, the time
allowed
for training was regarded as insufficient to teach more
than
basic infantry skills and would seriously degrade unit
performance. Doubts were expressed over the adequacy of
the wages
and incentives offered to retain a permanent cadre of
skilled
NCOs and specialists.
Although women had the legal right to volunteer for
military
duty and the armed forces were under obligation to accept
them,
it was only in the late 1980s that a few women with
special
qualifications, such as doctors, lawyers, and engineers,
were
taken into the officer corps. Several women were also
enrolled at
the Air Force Academy to train as pilots. No women were
serving
in the enlisted ranks. As of 1991, fewer than 100 women
served in
the armed services, fewer than any other country of NATO.
Data as of January 1993
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