Sergeant Myriam

Myriam in front of one of her firefighting trucks. Photo credit: Lt Lydie/French Army

Even though she'd dreamt of enlisting in the army since childhood, Myriam, who clearly likes planning ahead, decided to first train as a cook “for after the army.” Aware that a soldier can retire and have plenty of time left for a second career, she thought that with a professional diploma in catering she would always find work (except during a pandemic, but let's hope that this is a once a century event). Today she's an army firefighter team leader, and did not say whether she cooks nice meals for her colleagues ! 

““We firefighters are deployed just like other soldiers””

Following a work-study programme to acquire a professional diploma in cooking, Myriam went to the U.K. as an au pair. Modest, she doesn't consider herself to be bilingual but is willing to admit to a "very good” level of English. And then, because her spouse at the time was Brazilian, she went with him to spend a year in the northeast of Brazil and so also has a “good” level of Portuguese. But on her return from South America Myriam had still not decided to join the army and so spent two years working in traditional catering. But her family’s roots lie in the army. "My father, my uncles, and a good part of my family are in the military, so I was raised in a military environment!" Her younger sister, who had herself signed up a number of years before, encouraged her to try her luck. “That's why I finally got involved,” Myriam admits cheerfully. 

With her professional diploma, this serious young woman could normally have hoped to enter the school for non-commissioned officers at Saint-Maixent, but by then she was over 25, so beyond the upper age limit. So instead she enlisted as a rank and file soldier in the 3rd combat helicopter regiment (3e RHC) because what she wanted to do was become an aeronautical firefighter. Following the three months of mandatory military classes, Myriam undertook the training course for this very specific profession within the armed forces. "You have to know the specifics of helicopters" to know what type of fire you are likely to be confronted with, she explains. 

In response to my remark that, fortunately, aircraft fires are few and far between and as a result she must be a little bored, she replies that apart from being on the runway when there are flights, the 40 or so firefighters (including six girls) on the base spend a lot of time training, maintaining their equipment and supplying first-aid training to all the other soldiers. This helps to upkeep their own medical expertise because “unlike our civilian colleagues, we are not much called upon for first aid incidents because there are doctors and nurses on the base,” she remarks.

Myriam stresses that “apart from our uniform, because we are in blue just like our civilian colleagues, we firefighters are deployed just like other soldiers". She has been to Mali and Côte d'Ivoire where the firefighting team was responsible for fire safety for the entire camp. Myriam has also been deployed in Metropolitan France, notably for the Sentinel Operation launched the day after the January 2015 terrorist attacks to counter the terrorist threat and protect sensitive points in the country.

To climb up the ranks and have more responsibilities Myriam wanted to become a non-commissioned officer. This is entirely possible when you have been a rank and file soldier for a number of years. You just have to pass the tests. Myriam was therefore admitted to the Saint-Maixent school, but, unlike the young recruits who spend eight months there, those admitted "internally" by the army spend only four months there "and we do not share classes with the young non-commissioned officers.” 

Myriam commanding her team. Photo credit: Lt Lydie/French Army

Today she is responsible for the smooth running of the 24-hour on-call team. “Our duties begin half an hour before the first flight takes off and end a quarter of an hour after the last one has landed,” she explains. There are six people in her team: one on the phone; a driver and the chief of emergency services in a fast vehicle equipped with the first bits of essential equipment; two people in a vehicle equipped with a water cannon on its roof; and then the driver of a third vehicle with the big equipment.

“When you start you're on the phone,” she smiles, “then the army makes you pass your heavy goods vehicle licence so you can become the driver of one of the trucks. Then you become a team leader.”

Myriam, who has been in the army for 11 years, would now like to move on to the next level: become a confirmed manoeuvre leader after three weeks of training. One has the impression that Sergeant Myriam will be commanding trucks for a few more years rather than commanding a kitchen brigade!