It was at the beginning of the
16 th century that François I created commissioners
of war. These were civilians who were in charge of the administration
of the armed forces, a function hitherto discharged by captains,
and which, due to the authority of these officers and the
lack of external control, used to be characterized by all
sorts of abuses.
Towards the middle of the 18 th century, during the reign
of Louis XIV, commissioners of war became soldiers with the
rank of captain.
At the beginning of the 19 th century, Napoleon I created,
in addition to the already existing commissioners of war,
a body of inspectors with the more specific function of checking
the army strength and staff. But as from 1817, the corps
of military administrators regained its uniqueness and authority.
Their excessive administrative rigour and zeal rather turned
out to hamper the flow of supplies to soldiers in operations
and consequently undermined their efficiency.
Cuisine mobile -
Source: SIRPA
During the various conflicts, the administrative service
continued with its function of the general administration
of the army, committed to meet her material needs like food
supplies, clothing, bedding, furniture, heating and lighting,
excluding armament and transportation.
Since 1983, the administrative service has taken on the
name it had at the beginning, and has become the commission
of the army.
The commission of the army is made up of four logistic
groups based at Bretigny sur Orge near Paris , at Rennes
, Marseille and Toulouse . These units meet the material
needs of the army, including units deployed outside the national
territory within the framework of overseas operations (OPEX).