For 30 years now, selected German and French naval officer candidates have received full training in the partner country. The experience they gain serves as the basis for unique careers.
It all began in 1993, which feels like an eternity ago. 30 years earlier, the Elysée Treaty was signed between France and Germany, whereby cooperation between the two countries in many areas, including the armed forces, was agreed as a political goal. In the same year, this cooperation was further advanced with a new exchange programme between the two navies.
For 30 years now, the German Navy and Marine Nationale have entrusted their partner with young officer candidates for officer training every year. Every year, one or two officer candidates therefore take part in the entire training programme, including their studies, in the partner country. A considerable commitment and proof of the mutual trust between the two countries. After all, these officer candidates are trained abroad for five years and are strongly characterised by this extraordinary time.
The training programmes are very different. But the end product - a fully trained naval officer capable of leading complex systems and people in combat - is the same. That's what counts. After five years, every fully trained officer comes back with a deep knowledge of their partner, not only of their language, but also of their culture, leadership style and decision-making procedures, as well as an extensive network that can be a great advantage in later assignments.
One of the special features of this exchange is that it only exists between Germany and France. No other partner achieves such a high level of cooperation.
The French training programme from the perspective of a German graduate:
It was 27 August 2007, a warm summer's day in Brest in the west of France. I was excited - curious to see what would await me at the Lycée Naval? The Lycée, a brown sandstone building from the 1970s, dominated by many large windows with sea views, is the first French naval training centre I have been allowed to visit. That day, I walked up the wide staircase on the sea side with Lisa and Mario, my two German crew mates, to enter the building for the first time.
The Lycée Naval is a kind of preparatory school that prepares students for the Concours, the best comparative work, in mathematics, physics, chemistry, engineering sciences, French and a foreign language for at least two years in an extremely time-intensive and scholastic manner. During these years, my study-free time was limited to Saturday afternoons after the four-hour exam. I needed the rest of the time - just like the French - to work through the enormous amount of learning material and tasks. The Concours is all about selecting the best. The most outstanding graduates are allowed to go to Paris for the oral exams, where maths, physics and sport are tested again and a motivational interview with a French admiral staff officer takes place. After these two selection phases, I was admitted to the Crew École Navale 2010 (EN 10) with 90 mates.
I continued my training here from summer 2010. At the Ecole, everyone first has to complete the "tradition month", where you are familiarised with important traditions of the French officer corps in addition to basic military skills, sporting fitness and lack of sleep. There are always comrades who drop out during this probationary period and are then followed by the next person on the waiting list. Compared to Germany, the topic of tradition is viewed very differently and above all positively in France. This first month ends with the acceptance into a traditional family and the assignment of a sponsor from the previous year as well as the awarding of the officer's sabre.
The three years at the École Navale are less learning-intensive most of the time, except during the exam phases, which are always concentrated. However, there is always the opportunity to retake an exam. In the first year, the entire crew is together; in the second and third years, you work in groups on the respective specialisations, in my case shipbuilding and marine engineering. Training at the École Navale is based on three pillars: Science, Nautical, Military - this includes languages, leadership and military training, for example a compulsory week of training with the combat swimmers in the winter season. In the nautical field, a great deal of emphasis is placed on experience. In the first two years, students spend two weeks at sea with the school boats, the bâtiments-école, to learn everything they need to know. In the third year, after the diploma thesis in civilian companies, another student trip - the gants blancs - takes place, this time within Europe. Some of them manage to drive themselves free - comparable to the German Leistungsnachweis I. The French training culminates in the six-month deployment training unit, the Mission Jeanne d'Arc. For me, it was a tour to Vũng Tàu in Vietnam and back again. Here I honed my navigational skills on the Georges Leygues and the Tonnerre. The operational and geopolitical training was also carried out very efficiently here.
Parade at the Ecole Navale, photo: Hanna L. and Adrien R.
The French system is very meritocratic and at the end of the Jeanne d'Arc mission there is an overall ranking according to which you can choose the available posts within the Marine Nationale or these are awarded according to performance.
After so many years in the Marine Nationale, it was difficult for me to say goodbye to so many friends. I still keep in touch with some of them at irregular intervals. But what remains? Apart from the friends, of course, the understanding of the French Navy and the appreciation of the training on a post in France. This training is also valued in Germany with a commitment to become a career officer candidate. This network has been useful to me time and time again to get information quickly. Would I do it all again? Without the Lycée Naval, definitely, but these formative and exhausting first years in particular mean that you return home with a wealth of experiences and impressions.
The German training programme from the perspective of a French graduate:
It was a warm day in July 2003 when I, then just 17 years old, was picked up at Hamburg airport together with my French comrade Thibault and taken to Plön Naval NCO School. I hoped to get by there with my school German. The first night in Germany followed and the first night alarm for the basic training exercise. I hardly understood anything, but my German comrades helped me. A first feeling of comradeship, which I later learnt more about in legal lessons when I read Section 12 of the Soldiers' Act. First exercises with the G 36 and the P 8 as well as the question that every participant in such exchange programmes asks themselves: "Why am I even learning this? I'll never use it again!" The immediate answer: My intention is to receive the same training as my German comrades. In hindsight, I actually really needed it! And that was 13 years later. So ne jamais dire jamais (never say never).
Training on board the Tonnnerre, photo: Hanna L. and Adrien R.
Then it was off to the "Red Castle by the Sea" for the officer training course. It was hard to learn the collision prevention rules after only two months in Germany. Good thing they are also available in French! However, the exam is in German and it's a restricted subject, so it's better to learn in the foreign language straight away. Failing is not an option. The areas of leadership theory, military history and politics are also important. Innere Führung, citizens in uniform, parliamentary army, all concepts that are difficult for the French military to grasp. But I'm here to understand these fundamental differences and to be able to explain them back home.
The voyage on the Gorch Fock was a highlight of the training programme. First experiences at sea, first stays in harbour, a first watch on deck, the first singing "Everything is clear on the forecastle, the lanterns are burning!" Twenty years later, I still remember the sleeping deck and the work in the rigging, but also the cold, the wet and the impressive heeling or the hours spent on board before entering the harbour. But what a great time! Pure navy, but also aguerrissement, i.e. toughening up. That was sometimes a bit neglected.
As a Frenchman, I am only allowed to choose a technical degree programme at university after the officer training course. Why is that? All career officer candidates in the Marine Nationale must be engineers. And this also applies to the exchange programme. Does it make sense? The question remains unanswered, because it is not an issue in France to change that.
EFENA meeting at the MSM, photo: Hanna L. and Adrien R.
So he goes to Munich to study aerospace engineering. A completely different world. Here, too, the difference to the French school system is immense. Independence, freedom, civilian clothes: although it is similar to a French university, it remains very far removed from the French elite and officer university system, which I was able to "enjoy" for a year between my baccalauréat and my entry into the Marine Nationale. At the Bundeswehr University, I first had to adjust to this very free system. The challenge also lay in the individual examinations at the end of the term. It makes the degree programme particularly demanding. The failure rate is correspondingly high, especially in comparison to French officer training, where the difficulty lies in the concours, i.e. the selection process. Unfortunately, French officer candidates also sometimes fail at university. The training is tough for everyone, there are no special rules for the French.
After five years in Germany, returning home is sometimes difficult. Not only because you leave friends and comrades behind, but above all because you now have to integrate into a tight-knit crew in France.
Military training during university, photo: Hanna L. and Adrien R.
But are you well equipped for the tasks ahead after your German officer training? I can definitely answer this question in the affirmative. It's often difficult for officers working in operations, because the nautical courses in Germany only come after graduation, whereas French officers leave the École Navale as fully trained watch officers. So we have a lot of catching up to do first. Would I do it again and recommend the training to others? I definitely would. It was a unique experience abroad that has shaped my whole life.
Today, the Marine Natonale has five admiral staff officers from this exchange programme, two of whom are also graduates of the German General Staff/Admiral Staff National Course (LGAN) at the Bundeswehr Command and Staff College. Six French graduates were transferred back to Germany in the course of their careers. Three German graduates were also transferred back to France.
Conclusion
Exchange and liaison officers have long been deployed in both navies, including officers such as the current inspector of the navy, Vice Admiral Jan C. Kaack, who worked as an instructor on the French helicopter carrier Jeanne D'Arc back in 1991.
But the EFENA (Elève Français en formation à l'École Navale Allemande) exchange programme is a long-term vision of the two countries to cooperate even better with their partner at sea, on deployment or in an international staff. Of course, it would be much easier if each country trained its own officer candidates. The real fruits of this cooperation will only be realised years later, when the officer candidates are staff officers and decision-makers. Accordingly, this exchange programme is considered a success today and should be continued. The German Army and the Armée de Terre have recognised this and adopted this success story. For 15 years now, they have also been training a number of officer candidates in the respective partner country every year.
Hanna L. and Adrien R.
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