Contenu du sommaire : Les hommes et les femmes de la défense

Preparing for defence of the future requires forecasting human resources (HR) needs over the long term whilst responding to operational requirements and to the aspirations of personnel and their families. Societal developments must also be taken into account, whilst remaining firm on military principles.

The army has a fundamental need for its soldiers, hence the importance of human resources management which must permit planning for combat of the future. The many requirements call upon appropriate recruitment and training (moral and ethical in particular), and a focus on new trade specialisations. At the same time retention has to be improved.

The third dimension is demanding because of its time constraints (rapid decisions are necessary) and of the need for accuracy and rigour. That means we must prepare our aviators with agility, boldness and passion by application of success-oriented teaching entirely suited to the new generations joining the Air and Space Force.

The aviator has long been identified as the pilot, the hero of the air. Today's conditions of employment have evolved and offer perspectives, trades and specialisations, far removed from the aces of the early days. The Air and space force will nevertheless continue to be able to rely on its aviators, proud both of themselves and of their missions.

The Navy's strength lies in its sailors who form the crews. The importance of the human factor is clear—in recruitment, in training and in operational commitment. A competent, experienced sailor must be able to do his duty free of worry, especially in his personal and family environment.

The École navale's task is to train the naval officers of the future. That requires the development of individual talents within a spirit of teamwork. Training needs to be toughened through sharpening moral strength in order to weather all forms of storm, including high-intensity combat.

The Gendarmerie has continued to preserve its military identity in its day-to-day security mission. That comes from innovative preparation of its human resources—in particular with the emergence of generation Z—to respond to future challenges in the field of protection of our citizens.

Artificial intelligence (AI) can offer pertinent tools for better management of the Gendarmerie's personnel. AI is already contributing to improving the HR process but needs to be kept under control for the benefit of our citizens.

The armed forces need military engineers to prepare tomorrow's forces. Planning for this must cover a person's entire career and allow for diversification of skills and experience. That in turn calls for high-quality training and performance to the benefit of the individual in the service of the nation.

Innovation in human resources within our armed forces is a necessity in a turbulent world. The grouping together in Tours of the different services' directorates of human resources should allow new tools and dynamic methods to be developed for a networked organisation more appropriate to managing an HR system currently seeing major changes.

Supporting families in all their diversity is essential if we are to improve our operational capability. This means adopting a number of genuine measures where they matter most—in the garrisons—in order to respond to the societal expectations of defence personnel. Ambition and close support are the key elements that guide this family support plan.

Because Naval Group conducts programmes with life cycles up to half a century it is important to anticipate and to master all the technical and industrial skills involved in design and manufacture. HR strategy needs to use all available levers, among which on-the-ground training and apprenticeship.

The naval-air group based around the aircraft carrier Charles-de-Gaulle, then having just entered service, was assigned to Operation Héraclès. This operation represented a major step forward in quality and progress for our forces. Lessons learned from it remain pertinent with the arrival of new systems such as the FREMM and the Suffren class SSN.

Contemporary societal developments have banished the spectre of war, and yet conflict remains with us in ever more diverse forms. This calls for thought on the need to boost the warrior spirit, and with it the overall resilience of the nation.

Even with Ariane 6 beginning its career in 2022, the pressure of competition, notably from Space
X, means Europe is already preparing its future launch vehicles with the new Prometheus motor. A re-usable first stage demonstrator, Themis, will complement the project to guarantee European strategic independence.

Conscious of the cost of access to space, France has not developed a manned flight sector but has nevertheless participated in manned flight with the launch of astronauts from Jean-Loup Chrétien in 1982, to Thomas Pesquet, whose second flight is planned for the end of April 2021.

In the mid nineteen-fifties, and in the Cold War environment, Japan had to reconstruct its security forces by calling upon former officers of the Imperial Army that had been disbanded in 1945. This historical essay deals with a little-known period in post-war Japan steeped in pacifism.

Sixty years ago, the putsch by the generals sent tremors through the Fifth Republic, established by General de Gaulle following the inability of the Fourth to find a political solution to the Algerian conflict. The consummate rupture of the link between the nation and its forces was unavoidable; its reconstruction required decades of effort.