Higher military education (EMS) is a model that is changing to meet the operational needs of the armed forces. The need to develop a high-quality senior military staff and the imperative to train our officers in the preparation and conduct of war have led to the development of a new EMS policy. Validated by the Armed Forces Chief of Staff on 1er As of 1 July 2020, this renewed policy is based on major areas of development that outline the EMS's future prospects.
Born after the French military defeat of 1870, the EMS went through several periods. The first focused on joint manoeuvres by large land forces. The second, which began after the Second World War, established the importance of joint and combined operations. Developments in the strategic environment and in the forms of warfare are now ushering in a third period for the EMS, which must now train officers in multiple fields and foreshadow the emergence of a European strategic culture. At the same time, the EMS is a structuring element of the new human resources model for the armed forces and is fully integrated into the social landscape.
The EMS prepares military leaders for current and future forms of conflict and its new fields. By increasing the number of partnerships, both at international and interdepartmental level, and with a wide variety of players (civil society, private sector, governmental, non-governmental and international organisations), the EMS gives substance to a global approach that enables war to be considered in all its dimensions.
As part of the European strategic autonomy project, the EMS extends the scope of cooperation across Europe, deepening existing synergies such as exchange programmes with foreign war colleges and joint training initiatives with allied and partner countries. More than ever, the EMS provides the human capital needed to meet these new challenges, helping to build a benchmark army that is interoperable and intercultural, and trained in the latest technological tools.
The EMS thus renews and perpetuates the original model of French military management: after a demanding selection process, officers, who benefit from a high level of academic education right from their initial training, are continuously trained to be military leaders in combat as well as staff officers. By integrating operational, technological and societal developments, the EMS becomes the place where officers enhance their skills and potential. This continuous professional training also contributes to the diversity and openness of the armed forces by taking into account the aspirations of new generations, enhancing the status of military personnel and promoting gender equality.
In addition, access to EMS 2 (École de guerre) level courses for auditors from civilian society, the dual curriculum that brings together officers from the Centre des hautes études militaires (CHEM) and the "Defence Policy" session of the Institut des hautes études de défense nationale (IHEDN) at EMS 3 level, as well as the affirmation of qualification levels and equivalences in the civilian world, ensure greater recognition of the place of officers among the senior executives of the State and further consolidate the link between the armed forces and the nation.
In its revamped form, the EMS meets the challenges of training and preparing senior military officers to anticipate changes in warfare. Its implementation is the result of an ambitious, innovative and sustainable policy, a lever of influence and recognition for the officer corps.
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