{{French military The Service de l'énergie opérationnelle (SEO), formerly known as ''Service des essences des armées (SEA)'', which translates as the Operational Energy Service is an inter-service branch of the

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (french: Armée de Terre, ), is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces. It is responsible to the Government of France, along with the other components of the Armed For ...

subordinate to the head of the defence staff. Recruits are taken both from the French military as a whole and from civilian life. Ranks are based on training.

History

During the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, facing the increased use of

mechanized warfare Armoured warfare or armored warfare (mechanized forces, armoured forces or armored forces) (American English; see spelling differences), is the use of armored fighting vehicles in modern warfare. It is a major component of modern methods of ...

, the

French armed forces The French Armed Forces (french: Forces armées françaises) encompass the Army, the Navy, the Air and Space Force and the Gendarmerie of the French Republic. The President of France heads the armed forces as Chief of the Armed Forces. Franc ...

needed to set up a new network for fuel supply. It was then composed of a service to stock and supply the fuel, and a transport service automobile to deliver it to the end users. At the same time, a wider service to provide petrol, oils and lubricants was created. After the war, from July 12 1920 the

munitions Ammunition (informally ammo) is the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. Ammunition is both expendable weapons (e.g., bombs, missiles, grenades, land mines) and the component parts of other weap ...

service resumed the sourcing and stockpiling role, and the

artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...

the distribution role. Then on November 25 1940 - during the

Vichy regime Vichy France (french: Régime de Vichy; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was the fascist French state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II. Officially independent, but with half of its terr ...

, these functions were combined into one unified service arm: it received the name ''Military fuel service'' (SEA), which it still bears. The order of March 17 1945 defines the SEA as a central service in charge of refueling the whole of the armed forces. A 1991 decree further defined this mission.Décret n°91-686 du 14 juillet 1991 fixant les attributions du service des essences des armées
/ref> The service has "to assure at all times, in all places and in all circumstances the fuel support of the armed forces, while also acting as fuel advisor to the

General Staff A military staff or general staff (also referred to as army staff, navy staff, or air staff within the individual services) is a group of officers, enlisted and civilian staff who serve the commander of a division or other large military un ...

". It therefore supervises the supply of fuels and lubricants for the vehicles of the

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...

(outside of naval fuels of hold),

Air Force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an a ...

National Gendarmerie The National Gendarmerie (french: Gendarmerie nationale, ) is one of two national law enforcement forces of France, along with the National Police. The Gendarmerie is a branch of the French Armed Forces placed under the jurisdiction of the Minis ...

and the

National Guard National Guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards. Nat ...

, as well as providing fuel advice.

Unique Ranks in the SEA

The ''Ingénieurs Militaires des Essences'' ("Military Fuel Engineers") are engineer officers occupying posts involving scientific fuel research, technical fuel expertise, and administrative control of fuels. They hold the following grades: *''Ingénieur principal'' (equivalent to a "Commandant" in the French Air Force and Army and "Major" in the United States Armed Forces) *''Ingénieur en chef de deuxième classe'' (equivalent to a Lieutenant-Colonel) *''Ingénieur en chef de première classe'' (equivalent to a Colonel) *''Ingénieur général de deuxième classe'' (equivalent to a Général de brigade). *''Ingénieur général de première classe'' (equivalent to a Général de division). Director of the SEA. The ''officiers'' of the ''Corps Technique et Administratif ("Technical and Administrative Corps")'' occupy supervisory posts and manage the SEA. The ''Corps des Agents Techniques (Corps of Technical Agents)'' provides fuel and lubricant experts, specialists, and advisers to the SEA. Its ''sous-officers'' are in three grades: *''Agent Technique'' ("Technical Agent", equivalent to an ''Adjudant'') *''Agent Technique en Chef'' ("Chief Technical Agent", equivalent to an ''Adjudant-Chef'') *''Agent Technique Major'' ("Major Technical Agent", equivalent to a ''Major'')

References

External links

SEA websiteSection on joining SEA
Defence agencies of France