In the face of potential threats and combat conditions, the development of soldiers' physical and mental strength relies in particular on an appropriate military sports policy.

Military and sports physical training

The first aim of military physical training is to optimise the physical and mental capacities of military personnel to prepare their deployments. Secondary objectives include physical and mental balance, as well as the preservation of the health capital by limiting the effects of a sedentary lifestyle through its preventive action against cardiovascular and metabolic diseases and musculoskeletal disorders.

In the training schools, the primary objective is to give soldiers a taste for effort and to establish the required fundamental and specific physical basis, which will have to be developed or maintained in the units depending on operational imperatives. The mission, the environment in which it takes place and the equipment needed to carry it out induce constraints that can reduce the physical capacity of the combatants. This increase in power must make them aware that developing their physical and mental capacities enables them to commit themselves confidently in their resources and with lucidity over the long term in order to achieve the mission objective. Depending on the expected intensity of the commitment, particular attention is paid to the development of certain skills: cardiovascular endurance, the ability to act confidently in a given environment, the ability to take and deliver blows, the culture of gaining the upper hand over the opponent and the will to win.

This requirement in terms of physical fitness is assessed every year during a compulsory test: the Military Physical Fitness Test. It is used to check the overall level of fitness in each service and specific to each operational function.

Optimising physical and mental capacities

The Armed Forces Ministry’s sports policy is based on operational physical training methods, which are still geared towards hardening and the desire to systematically integrate armed forces resource optimisation methods into operational missions. These methods are a set of mental means and strategies to mobilise physical and psychological resources as effectively as possible, depending on the demands of the encountered situations, using breathing, relaxation and mental imagery. They help develop a capacity for psychological resilience and moral strength, while fighting more efficiently against psychological injuries and helping to maintain the operational capability.

While the resilience of soldiers on a mission is acquired before a deployment, it must also be maintained during the mission in order to constantly optimise it. The physical and mental potential of the soldier is an essential factor in this resilience, and it must therefore be regularly maintained.

The key role of military physical training instructors, a dedicated speciality in the armed forces

In an increasingly demanding operational environment, military physical training specialists play a key role in the preparation of soldiers, their engagement and their recovery after action.

Their training, provided at the National Defence Sports Centre (CNSD), is unique and demanding. It enables them to acquire a wide range of technical qualifications in the field of sport, as well as theoretical qualifications in educational methods, the biological and human sciences, as well as legislation and regulations applied to military physical activities and sport. It is based on the already existing fundamentals of physical and sports training and on a military component dedicated to hardening, always taking into account the three physical and psychological consequences of operational commitment, before, during and after the action.

Thanks to their skills, the instructors are able to provide training in their respective units aimed at improving and maintaining the soldiers' general physical condition. They also assist commanders with combat training, even in the toughest areas of major current and future operations. In order to maintain the operational capability and effectiveness of soldiers in operations, military physical training instructors are also deployed to theatres outside the national territory to maintain their physical and mental potential, and limit injuries and stress, in particular through the optimisation of armed forces resources method before and after each mission.

Military competitions, a dynamic factor that cannot be dissociated from military physical training

In the same way as the yearly physical tests, military competitions are an additional means of sequencing the sports training through the periodic milestones they create and the physical preparation they require. Not only do they help maintain a level of emulation, motivation and cohesion within the units, they also provide an opportunity to open up to the civilian environment during the training phases by competing against the best local players before embarking on the military championship. They enable everyone to assess their level of performance and stimulate their individual or collective desire to progress. They develop a taste for effort and encourage people to surpass themselves. The respect for the rules and for one's opponent that is inherent in all competitions also helps reinforce the soldiers' interpersonal skills.