Military in Vatican City Since the early twentieth century the Guard has returned to its original practice of recruiting only Swiss nationals. As of 2005, the Guard had 134 members. All recruits complete basic military training with the Swiss Army before transferring to the Vatican, and must be at least 174 cm (5 ft 8.5 in) in height. Members are armed with small arms for practical purposes, and for cerimomial functions the ranks carry the traditional Halberd (also called the Swiss voulge), the Corporals and Vice-corporals either Patisans polearms or Flammenschwert two-handed swords, while officers do not carry weapons, but command batons only. Although
Bill of quantities As the rates for materials and labour change due to inflation, these books are frequently republished.. The practice historically of estimating building costs in this way arose from non-contractual measurements, taken off drawings to assist tenderers in quoting lump sum prices. There are different styles of bills of quantities, mainly the Elemental BOQ and Trade Bills. A Contingency sum is an item found within a Bill of quantities (BoQ). The item refers to unforeseeable cost likely to be incurred during the contract. There are two types of contingency sum. The first refers to a specific item, e.g., 'additional alterations to