“Military Identity in French Air Force: A Paradoxical Trend to the Militarization”

Résumé En

This paper presents results of an on-going 10-years-project based on several researches: Commitment by the French Air Force Cadets (2008), Airmen and Overseas Operations (2009), French Air Force and Jointness (2013), Women by the French Air Force (2015), Airmen by Special Forces (2015), Militarization of the training at the French Air Force Academy (2018), etc. All these inquiries (and average 100 semi-structured interviews) have contributed to one major topic: The airmen identity as a Professional Identity. Within transformation context (organizational reforms, missions transformation, Manpower decrease, new technologies), this question became even strategic in 2013 according the Official Strategic Review of the French Air Force « United Against ». Beyond the communication campaign on « Proud to be an Airmen », its reveals an old, deep and non-resolved identity crisis. To use the concept of « militarization » or militarizing, generally reserved to description of civil-military relations, tends to qualify a process which leads to a reinforcement of the military (« militarism ») as part of French Air Force members.