Pierre SCHILL
Chief of the French Army
A graduate of Saint-Cyr Military Academy, class Lieutenant Tom Morel (1987–1990), General Pierre Schill chose to serve in the Troupes de Marine at the end of his training. Assigned to the 3rd Marine Infantry Regiment (3e RIMa) in Vannes, he deployed as a platoon commander in Operation Épervier in Chad, Operation Oryx in Somalia, and in the former Yugoslavia in Sarajevo.
Promoted to captain, he then served with the Pacific Marine Infantry Regiment in Polynesia (RIMaP-P) before commanding the 2nd company of the 2nd Marine Infantry Regiment (2e RIMa) in Le Mans, with deployments to Albania and the Central African Republic.
From 1999 to 2002, he served at Saint-Cyr Military Academy as an instructor for officer cadets. He then attended the French Staff Course (CSEM) and the Joint Defence College (Collège interarmées de défense – now the War College). After graduating in 2004, he returned to the 3e RIMa as Chief of Operations and Training, and deployed to Côte d’Ivoire as part of Operation Licorne.
He was subsequently assigned to the French Armed Forces Headquarters, contributing notably to the 2008 Defence White Paper and the 2009–2014 Military Programming Law.
Appointed Commanding Officer of the 3e RIMa in 2009, he later joined the Military Staff of the President of the French Republic as Deputy Chief of Staff. Promoted to Brigadier General in 2017, he commanded the 9th Marine Infantry Brigade (9e BIMa) before becoming Head of the Force Employment Division at the Armed Forces Headquarters in 2019.
On 22 July 2021, he was appointed Chief of Staff of the French Army.
He is an Officer of the Legion of Honour, a Commander of the National Order of Merit, and holds the Cross for Military Valour with two citations. He is married and has three children.
