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WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
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Mauritania
Index
Although the government introduced conscription for a twoyear period of service in 1962, by 1987 the number of volunteers
surpassed the needs of the armed forces. Volunteers had to be
sixteen years of age, unmarried, and of Mauritanian nationality.
Periods of enlistment ranged from two to five years. With
military pay well above the national average income and with
educational opportunities available, young Mauritanian males--
women did not serve in the armed forces--of all ethnic groups
volunteered for military service. After service all veterans
were, in effect, reservists, subject to recall in the event of a
national emergency.
The armed forces, from their inception, mirrored the ethnic
cleavages of the larger society. Thus, in 1987 officers still
came primarily from the north, whereas enlisted men came from the
black populations in the south. This practice, which gave the
appearance of racism, did little to foster unity among the armed
forces and further lowered morale.
With aid from France, the government established the Combined
Arms School of Atar (Ecole Militaire Interarmes d'Atar--EMIA) in
1976 to train officers and NCOs. The future officers followed a
two-year program, and NCOs followed a one-year program. Twenty
French military advisers, twelve of whom were officers, served as
technical military assistants. Working with Mauritanian
counterparts, they coordinated training and supervised students.
Courses included firearms, military weapons and tactics,
engineering, signals, topography, and vehicle maintenance. Since
1985 France had sponsored trips for second-year graduates to
various military installations and schools in St. Cyr,
Coötquidan, Fontainbleau, and Paris.
Approximately 100 members of the armed forces trained in
French military academies each year. The Military Academy of St.
Cyr had a comprehensive two-year course for francophone Africans.
The National Training Center at Montlouis in the Pyrenees
Mountains in southwestern France conducted commando training, and
the Montpellier Infantry Instruction School offered training for
motorized infantry troops. The Coëtquidan Military School trained
officers.
Although the Mauritanian Naval College at Nouadhibou trained
some Mauritanians, for the most part the navy trained abroad.
Libya and the United States each trained some Mauritanians, but
the majority of navy personnel trained in France at the Toulon
Navy School, which accepted four non-French students a year for
an eighteen-month course. Students worked in administrative
positions in military headquarters or in port services, or they
worked outside the navy as administrators. Training included food
services, finance, military pay, cooperative systems, personnel
management, social protection, civil service, and government.
Other Mauritanians trained at navy mechanics schools, where
instruction included naval mechanics and refresher courses on
seamanship. A two-month specialized course taught propulsion
systems, and a five-month course trained naval technicians.
Some Mauritanians also attended Zaire's armor training school
at Mbanza-Ngungu. Before the start of the Western Sahara
conflict, Mauritanian pilots had trained at Alger's Combined
Services Military Academy at Cherchell, which by 1977 had trained
ten of Mauritania's twelve pilots.
Data as of June 1988
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