DÉFENSE ZONE
Défense Zone takes you to the French Ministry of the Armed Forces to meet one of its senior civil servants with an unusual career. Before arriving at Balard to become a senior-grade civil administrator, Camille Lanet originally joined the French Army as an officer, serving in particular in a combat company.
Military career
He has been “committed to serving the State” for 27 years. A soldier for 19 years, Camille began his career at Saint-Cyr, from which he graduated in 1994, then continued as an infantryman in the 1st Infantry Regiment. He then became an instructor at the academy (which we presented in Issue 7 of the magazine). He ended his military career as aide-de-camp to the Minister of Defence, Hervé Morin at the time. Camille then left the armed forces in 2010 with the rank of lieutenant colonel.
Becoming a senior civil servant
The bridge from officer to senior civil servant is gained through a competitive exam, but few posts are available each year. They are open to all service personnel, whatever their rank. However, senior civil service posts are awarded first and foremost to senior officers. While there are more and more junior officers, it remains difficult for an NCO. Each six-monthly session offers a few places to service personnel, between four and five according to Camille Lanet, for various civil administrator posts (Court of Audit, General Inspectorate of Finance, prefectoral corps, etc.).
Find out more
Together with some fifty classmates from the Saint-Cyr military academy, the “Chef de bataillon de Cointet” class (1991-1994), Camille wrote the book “Le choix de l’engagement” (The choice to serve). This collection of testimonies offers a unique plunge into an often little-known military world, where we discover the close, genuine bond between a leader and the men and women under their command. Committed to serving the nation but also, more simply, others, the officers of the “de Cointet” class share, in a very accessible way, their experiences and their motivations for serving in a world in turmoil.
You can order this book on our website defense-zone.com/librairie
Listen to Camille Lanet on our podcast
You can find the full article in Défense Zone Issue 9
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