The origins of the New Combat Shooting Technique (NGST) in the Swiss Army
The so-called New Combat Shooting Technique (German: Neue Gefechtsschiesstechnik, NGST) was introduced into the Swiss Army as part of the Army 95 reform. Its origins, however, can be traced back many years earlier.
Even as a teenager in the 1970s, I was deeply involved in what was then known as combat shooting. Accordingly, when I began my basic training as an infantryman in 1983, I did so with high expectations. Disillusionment, however, set in quickly. Firearms training consisted almost exclusively of static shooting at 300 metres, while realistic combat scenarios, movement, and safe weapon handling received little attention. I encountered much the same situation during officer training in 1984, particularly with pistol instruction. Unintentional discharges—especially during unloading—were by no means uncommon.
In the late 1980s, I discovered the books of Chuck Taylor, founder of the American Small Arms Academy (ASAA) and a former instructor at Gunsite Academy. Drawing on his experience with the U.S. Army Rangers in Vietnam, Taylor had developed a modern, practical, and safety-oriented approach to the use of rifles, submachine guns, shotguns, and pistols. It immediately became clear to me that firearms training in Switzerland needed to evolve in precisely this direction.
In my search for like-minded people, I came into contact with Roger Swaelens, a former Belgian Para-Commando who was then the ASAA representative in Europe. Through him, I met Alain Baeriswyl, a young career infantry officer who shared a similar background and many of the same experiences and frustrations with Army training. This marked the beginning of a shared endeavour that would ultimately have a decisive influence on the development of the NGST.
What is the NGST?
From the outset, one of the central principles of the NGST was the safe and responsible handling of the individual weapon. Training was therefore built around the now-established four fundamental safety rules, which form the basis of all weapon-handling and shooting activities. The objective was to teach soldiers to handle a loaded weapon safely at all times and to assume personal responsibility for its condition and handling. Accordingly, weapons remained loaded on the firing range between individual exercises, while shooters managed their magazines independently and continuously applied the four safety rules throughout practical training. This approach was intended to develop safe, responsible, and practical weapon handling under realistic conditions.
Weapon-handling procedures were adapted so that, wherever possible, they could be performed with the support hand, allowing the firing hand to remain on the weapon as consistently as possible. This increased operational readiness and facilitated weapon handling under realistic conditions.
The procedures were also standardised around common principles applicable to the Army’s principal service weapons of the period: the 9 mm Pistol 75 (SIG P220), the 5.6 mm Assault Rifle 90 (SIG SG 550), and the 9 mm MP5 submachine gun. This standardisation reduced the training burden, made transitions between different weapon systems easier, and helped minimise errors under stress and time pressure.
The same philosophy was applied to the handling of weapon malfunctions. When the NGST programme was first introduced, soldiers were taught procedures for resolving four different categories of malfunction. The system was subsequently refined and simplified, with training eventually focusing primarily on two standardised malfunction-resolution procedures designed to address the most commonly encountered stoppages.
The most significant innovation, however, concerned marksmanship training. Whereas instruction had previously focused largely on firing from the prone position with the rifle supported on its bipod at longer ranges, the NGST considerably broadened the scope of training. It introduced close-quarters shooting, different firing positions and stances, and greater emphasis on movement and dynamic situations.
Particular attention was also paid to actions following a shot or engagement, as well as to the systematic handling of weapon malfunctions. Skills such as firing while moving or immediately after pivoting were progressively incorporated into the programme.
As a result, marksmanship training became considerably more realistic, operationally relevant, and varied. Soldiers were prepared for a much broader range of situations and learned to handle their weapons safely and effectively under increasingly dynamic and demanding conditions.
How did the NGST come about in the Army?
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, we began organising courses on our own initiative, experimenting with new training methods and working to convince the military authorities of the merits of a modern approach to combat shooting. In 1990, Alain, together with Roger Swaelens, attended a course with Chuck Taylor in Phoenix, Arizona, and returned to Switzerland with valuable new experience and ideas.
From 1991 onwards, we were able to conduct the first NGST courses under the auspices of the Swiss Non-Commissioned Officers’ Association (German: Schweizerischer Unteroffiziersverband, SUOV), with the approval of the then Chief of Army Training. That same year, the SUOV also published the training manual Pistol Training for Self-Defence.
The first major breakthrough came in 1991. With the support of a particularly motivated shooting instructor, the Swiss Border Guard Corps (German: Grenzwachtkorps, GWK) decided to introduce NGST training for the pistol and submachine gun. We subsequently conducted six introductory instructor courses for the GWK in Liestal, marking the first significant institutional adoption of the new training concept.
In 1992, we founded DEFENDA, an association dedicated to the development and teaching of close-quarters combat techniques. Its purpose was to provide a professional framework for organising courses and publishing training manuals, while also helping to shield us personally from the increasing pressure we were facing from within the military hierarchy.
Under the DEFENDA banner, we organised a number of courses in Switzerland with Chuck Taylor and presented our methods to military authorities and other specialists. During this period, Alain and I also qualified as ASAA Four-Weapons Instructors, covering the pistol, rifle, submachine gun, and shotgun.
The breakthrough
The Army 95 reform led to the creation of new Territorial Infantry and Territorial Grenadier formations, tasked with protecting key national and regional installations and, when necessary, intervening at occupied facilities. However, the Army did not yet possess the necessary tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) for these missions.
As a result, Alain and I were commissioned by the then Federal Office for Infantry (German: Bundesamt für Infanterie, BAINF) to develop the required TTPs and organise pilot courses for the new formations. These courses were conducted at the Infantry Training Centre (German: nfanterie-Ausbildungszentrum, IAZ) in late 1993.
NGST training with the assault rifle and pistol formed a central component of the new training concept. For the Territorial Infantry, the programme also covered tasks such as guarding, vehicle checkpoints, patrolling, arrest and restraint techniques, and hand-to-hand combat. Training for the Territorial Grenadiers focused on more specialised capabilities, including close-quarters battle (CQB), building clearing, breaching, sniping, and helicopter operations.
In 1994, we conducted introductory courses in Walenstadt for the professional cadre of the newly established Territorial Infantry and Territorial Grenadier training organisations. From 1995 onwards, the NGST was officially introduced within these units. Over the following years, professional cadre from across the Swiss Army attending courses at the Infantry Training Centre (IAZ) in Walenstadt were progressively trained in the NGST according to their respective roles and responsibilities.
A further major step followed in 1997, when the NGST was introduced throughout the entire infantry. The other branches of the Swiss Armed Forces gradually followed, marking the transition of the NGST from a specialised training concept to an increasingly standardised approach to combat shooting across the Army.
For the Swiss Army, the NGST was structured into four progressive training levels:
Level 1 - General Training: Basic weapon-handling and shooting skills for all personnel required to carry the relevant service weapon.
Level 2 - Combat Troops: Advanced training intended primarily for fusiliers, grenadiers, and mechanized grenadiers.
Level 3 - Protection: Mission-specific training intended primarily for Territorial Fusiliers.
Level 4 - Special Operations: The most advanced level, intended primarily for Territorial Grenadiers.
In parallel with the introduction of the NGST, weapon-specific regulations and training manuals were developed for the principal weapon systems concerned. These covered the 5.6 mm Assault Rifle 90 (Stgw 90), the 9 mm Pistol 75 (Pist 75), the 9 mm MP5A3 submachine gun (Mp MP5A3), and the Multi-purpose Rifle 91 (Mzgw 91), the Army’s designation for its combat shotgun.
Conclusion
With the introduction of the NGST in the mid-1990s, Switzerland positioned itself among the European pioneers of modern combat shooting training. The system has continued to evolve ever since, bringing lasting improvements not only to operational effectiveness but, above all, to the safe and responsible handling of weapons by soldiers.
Developments in Swiss marksmanship training did not go unnoticed abroad. Other armed forces subsequently adopted comparable approaches to combat shooting. The French Armed Forces, for example, introduced the Instruction sur le Tir de Combat (ISTC) from 2006 onwards, a programme whose development also benefited from Swiss experience and support. The German Bundeswehr later introduced its own more operationally oriented approach with the neues Schiessausbildungskonzept (nSAK).
The broader adoption of comparable concepts across European armed forces underlines the pioneering role Switzerland played in the development of modern, practical, and safety-oriented combat shooting training. Or, to borrow—with a touch of humour—a well-known Swiss advertising slogan: “Who invented it?”
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