Contenu du sommaire : Revenir du combat, revenir du terrain sensible

The Revenir du combat, revenir du terrain sensible (return from combat, return from sensitive areas) study day organised by the Irsem (the Institute for strategic research at the military school, in Paris) offered the opportunity to consider the challenges, to military personnel in particular, associated with the return from an operation. The various contributions put the spotlight on a range of issues which for the armed forces are far from trivial.

War changes the combatant and others who are confronted by it directly or indirectly. The psychological impact is far from negligible, is long lasting and provokes greatly differing individual reactions. It is still the case today that our soldiers' combat experiences can lead to troubles and post-combat tedium.

This account of a female member of the forces and researcher deployed on operations offers a number of lessons and underlines the relationship between accomplishing the mission and conducting sociological research—one that is not easily managed from day to day. The experience acquired in the field was of great value.

It has taken some time for feedback on experience, or lessons learned, to be recognised as essential. So it was that feedback from the army's sappers during the Gulf War was not exploited by the command. Indeed, it was not until the Balkans conflict that feedback became essential practice within the framework of operations.

The author, who was a journalist alongside the Taliban, gives a valuable account of the difficulty of her work in the field. War also involves the battle of perception, the stakes being very different depending on the players concerned. That in turn requires deep insight of the realities of the country involved.

Our combatants' opinions and thoughts have long been kept under wraps. Their communication has been strictly controlled and yet our soldiers who have experienced operations need to be able to express themselves—the more so given the need to open public opinion to reality and to the why and wherefore of military commitments.

Ethnographic research in the field is rendered particularly complex when that field is the scene of a civil war. The researcher has to get himself accepted by the protagonists yet be able to retain his distance in order for his work to be objective and not become a means of propaganda to the benefit of those with whom he works.

Returning from a zone of operations is never easy, since there is a before and an after. The latter is often the more difficult to understand and analyse, hence this report dedicated to the return from a mission. Little is self-evident : the field of operations leaves its mark to varying degrees and raises a number of issues in stark contrast with ‘normal' life.

With the end of the Cold War and German reunification, France needed to review its foreign policy. François Mitterrand, though failing to anticipate change, succeeded in adapting to fundamental geopolitical changes yet did not manage to build a European security structure independent of the United States.

The decisions made for the defence of France have not always been opportune. The events of 1870, 1914 and 1940 resulted from illusions and distractions. Current geopolitical developments should compel us to review our defence doctrine, one based on ageing concepts of deterrence, and not forget the importance of the home theatre.

Within the framework of Operation Barkhane stationing has become a particularly complex matter, given the environment and the logistic constraints imposed by the stresses and strains of the mission. Hence the need to anticipate requirements and timescales in order to respond to operational needs.

Military personnel are able to express themselves mainly through writing books, of which there are currently many, often focusing on military issues. Sales remain low, however, largely through lack of support from the major publishing houses, nervous of the risks involved in touching on such subject matter.

Strategic dialogue with Russia, though not easy, is necessary even if French and German approaches do not completely converge. For Europe to advance, Paris and Berlin must nevertheless pursue their efforts in discussions with Moscow.

French military action in Rwanda has been the subject of much debate. This detailed account of the various phases of the commitment demonstrates that our forces were not in the least responsible for the Tutsi genocide, and that they acted for the best in an extremely difficult environment.

The aircraft carrier is a complex warship : it launches aircraft and has to recover them at the end of their missions. These platforms have been developed over the past century, demonstrating the soundness of the concept yet also highlighting the constraints peculiar to the maritime and aeronautical environments.

The relationship between the United States and the Indo-Pacific region is now determined by the strategic competition between Washington and Beijing. Once the Covid-19 health crisis is over, the Americans will need to embark upon a pragmatic strategic approach through discussion with their regional partners.

Terrorism, jihadist in particular, would appear to have plateaued since the health pandemic began to dominate our thoughts. We nevertheless need to remain prudent and remember that the terrorist threat has not gone away : it is mutating and will continue to strike, and commits us to pursue thankless, complex and undercover combat.

The War in Indochina has left a considerable mark on our contemporary military history and yet has not attracted any significant interest of French public opinion, which remains indifferent to that far-flung conflict which only involved active military personnel. The fact is that the human, material and financial costs were too high for France.

The deleterious atmosphere following the generals' putsch had consequences for the armed forces and led to the departure of a great number of senior officers. The restructuring of the forces drew upon the return of units from Algeria and modified their functioning : thus began the renovation of an army that had been sorely tested since 1939.