The École des applications militaires de l'énergie atomique (EAMEA), also known as the Atomic School, is a military higher education establishment located in Cherbourg-en-Cotentin, which trains officers of the French Army and National Gendarmerie in nuclear science, technology and safety. EAMEA trains atomic engineers in the fields of naval propulsion and nuclear weapons.
The EAMEA also trains non-commissioned officers who are involved in radiological protection for the Ministry of the Armed Forces, particularly for the French Navy, personnel working on nuclear-powered vessels (such as nuclear-powered submarines, SSNs, SSBNs, and the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier), as well as personnel at support bases where the home ports for these nuclear-powered vessels are located. They are responsible for managing radiological surveillance of personnel in facilities storing spare naval equipment containing radionuclides, and ensuring radiological protection for maintenance personnel in these logistics and maintenance facilities that may operate in regulated access areas.
The EAMEA also trains agents from the French Ministry of the Interior.
The school trains around 900 students a year and employs 50 teachers and researchers.
It is part of the Normandy nuclear cluster, which includes the Flamanville nuclear power plant, the La Hague reprocessing plant and the Cherbourg arsenal, where Naval Group builds nuclear submarines.