Between the ages of 16 and 17, young people who want to make a career in the French Navy can do so through the "Ecole des Mousses". This Navy school was reopened in 2009, within the Naval Training Center of Brest in Finistère.
Open to both boys and girls
The "Ecole des Mousses" is a school for young men and women who wish to quickly acquire a skill and a profession in the French Navy. The institution requires that they adhere to the essential values of the army and the maritime world: sense of honor, availability, commitment to the nation, team spirit and adventure, sense of effort, resistance to adversity. They are thus, obviously, future soldiers that the structure trains.
General education and community life as learning
The teaching, however, is not only aimed at the creation of soldiers. The basic teachings (mathematics, French, civic instruction...) are not forgotten. The days in boarding school (compulsory) start every day at 6:30 a.m. and include collective tasks (maintenance of the premises, repairs...) as well as individual training and academic support. Thus, each student who has passed through this school, whether or not he/she is a candidate to join the French Navy later on, has had the opportunity to approach military life, to acquire an academic level and to receive a salary.
During their training in Brest, students will have the opportunity to take part in activities that will be useful for their future, both civilian and military. The program includes discovery embarkations on sailing ships, outings on naval action force vessels, cohesion and hardening courses, first aid and security intervention training, and continuous sports training. They will have the opportunity to embark on Atout Chance, a 495 UFO used as a cohesion tool at sea by the mousses school.
10 months training towards a trade
At the end of the 10 months of training, those who are certified sign a 4-year contract and join the operational units at sea or on land as petty officers and sailors of the fleet. During the training, at the end of the second term, each student adopts an orientation according to his aptitudes, his aspirations and the needs of the French Navy (combat, mechanics, naval operations...).
The training started at the "Ecole des Mousses" is continued at the "Ecole de Spécialité", where they can follow a 3 to 4 week training course that will teach them the basics of their future jobs before they join the units to which they are assigned. After four years of service, these former mousses can obtain the Brevet d'Aptitude Technique de Spécialité (BAT), which opens the doors to the naval officer corps and the possibility of signing up for a new commitment within the institution.
