Sophie is the production line manager and number two in the pecking order at the Arquus factory in Limoges which manufactures armoured vehicles for the French army and for export. “Every month we have production targets to meet and it's my responsibility to make sure that happens,” she says. It's a factory floor job and she likes it that way…
A chance encounter with a French Air Force officer at a career's workshop, a chat with a fireman friend and a car accident were pivotal moments in Wing Commander Caroline's life. “I was doing a physics degree but I also wanted to be a professional violinist. The car accident made me realise that life is short and worth living to the full and the chat with my friend about values and public service together with the encounter at the career's workshop all contributed to my decision to join the military,” she explains…
Camille Baysse (pronounce Baïs) is yet another young woman who is doing a job she'd never even heard of when she was still at school... and for good reason. It didn't exist back in 2003! She's a data scientist with Thales, developing systems that help the military predict when their equipment needs maintenance before it breaks down…
Sihame is a young woman whose experience with top-ranking women's rugby is serving her well in her professional life. “This sport taught me to alternate moments of calm with moments of action when you have to be determined to advance, regardless of the obstacles.” She's had to push “sometimes a little hard perhaps! But if I didn't I wouldn't be where I am today…”
Mélanie wanted to be a doctor-nutritionist. Instead, this articulate 25-year old is revolutionising the way commandos snack. You may think snacking is trivial but the “don't eat between meals” recommendation doesn't hold for people undertaking strenuous physical jobs in harsh conditions: they need those extra calories…
Sharon Nesmith is the only female Major General in the British army and the second woman to hold that rank.* She is also the first woman to command an Operational Brigade and to be on the Army's Executive Board. Her success may not have been something that she imagined for herself at the start of her career in 1992 …
