The challenges of today and tomorrow

If certain major phenomena are destined to remain so, like the impact of technology, others more disruptive... the forefront, at least for the next decade.ir. Thus, the return of high-intensity combat raises questions about the available warrior capital among the younger generation, and more broadly on national resilience.

The course of high-intensity combat

The immediate challenge for the Army's moral forces lies in the preparation for a high-intensity confrontation.and operative levels that will require overcoming the two psychological milestones: intensity and repetition.

The resurgence of power politics on the international stage-and the Ukrainian conflict demonstrate the topicality of this issue. concern. The warlike capital described above provides certainly a base. Nevertheless, the testimony of the wounded from the Levantine theatre,caught under mortar fire, harassed by booby-trapped drones or assaulted by armouredvehicles, is a testimony to the fact that the wounded arestill alive and kicking.The testimony of the wounded in the Levantine theatre, caught under mortar fire, harassed by booby-trapped drones or assaulted by armoured vehicles,suggestsan initial psychological milestone to be overcome at a time when the balance of power is reversed and the loss of ascendancy is collectively materialised.This situation makes it necessary to integrateasymmetry into mental schemas from the very beginningof training, i.e. inconcrete terms, totrain until the end ofthe training.This situation requires the integration of asymmetry into mental patterns from the training stage, i.e. training up to theoperational level to befought and won without air superiority, with communications paralysed by electronic warfare or with more than 30% of the unit destroyed .The secondpsychologicalcoursewill undoubtedly be that of rehearsal. Addressinghis army of Egypt in 1801, Napoleon formulated it as follows:"If bravery is the first quality of the soldier, constancy isthesecond" [14]. 14] This bravery is indeed very often present at the first assault because it is a personaltest of truth. But how can it be assured at thesecond, tenth, fiftieth? According to Ardant du Picq, solidarity and trust have become the primary springs[15] for overcoming fear . Indeed, technology induces an increasing distance between soldiers of the same unit on thebattlefield . Theresult is a dilution of the physical bond that united the troop in ancient combat. This bond must therefore persist at least morally through trust and solidarity thatcan beanticipated in peacetime. Now this deconcentration ofthe combat is destined to continue[16]. 16] The reflection onthe SCORPION doctrine, which will become the model of high intensitycombat for the Army in the coming decade, is therefore inseparablefrom the reflectionon the link that unites the combatants .

The "SCORPIONsoldier material»

The response to such a tactical challenge requires taking into account... the sociological realities of the youth who provide the socialurce first fighter of the Nation, what Marshal Lyautey calls "the soldier matter»[17]. Some of its frailties call for counter-long-term measures, to which the conjoncture lends itself well.

In an army model army model, it's true that some trends in of the "Generation Y»[18]born between the 1980s and mid-1990s, consare real vulnerabilities.teesindividualism, dissociabilisation, need for immediacyté. The findings in countries with simisocietal differences with the France call for counter-long-term measures. At By 2018, 71% of Americans aged 17 to 24 would not be fit to serve in the armed forces[19]. It is thus permitted to ask how much of the shock would come from a conflict of high intensity. If the next generation, that of the 'millennials', is naturallypart of a certain continuity, it does not,however, seemalien to the warrior spirit. First of all, it grew up in a security context markedbyan inflection of the angelic illusions of "the end of history",especially after the attacks on national territory in 2015 [20]. 20] It is this generation, in search of meaning, that has fuelled the rise inpower of the land-based operational force.To go further, some sociological studiesundertaken in the wake of the terrorist attacks have pointed tothelack of a framework in society to respond to the absolute need[21] ofmarginalized and violentyouth ,which issignificant in theFrenchdemographic [22]. 22]This represents a fertile breeding ground for radicalization and inparticular jihadist terrorism, which is notcountered by moderating discourse . 23] The question of the recovery ofthe radicalizedappears to be unanswered for the time being . Onthe other hand, astrongcounter-model,such as the warrior spirit that is likely tooperate in mentalities before the changeover, seems appropriate. 24] In sum, these observations underlinetheimportance for the army to participate in forging already among the young thestate of mind that will allow them to be, if not at peace, at least victorious tomorrow .

The need for a global warrior

More broadly, issues related to cohesion and the national resilience show that the development of the spirit warrior in the army has a strategic dimension.strategic dimension.

Indeed, the paradox of the popularity of the unknown soldier [25]illustrates a grave danger. On the one hand, the image of armies benefitingcie of an unprecedented coastline[26]on the other, the warrior phenomenon appears to be much more alien to public opinion than in the XXecentury. The 1918 centenary celebrations rounded off a successful year.This opposition is illustrated by the following example. The celebration of peace, which he is in no way intended to call into question on such a date, a left little room for the honouring of victories and the Hairy courage. This distancing of the warrior fact inducesat least three risks. The first is that public opinion is no longer willing to support the outbreak of war... whose blood price it does not measure[27]. The second is the weakening of national immune defences[28] at the lack of confrontation with a clear threat for more than-several decades. As a share of gross domestic product, the effort of defence between 1980 and 2014 was almost halved. This risk is all the more serious at a time when the non-military are targeted by the comprehensive approach of the Russian power[29] or Chinese. Thirdly, this distanceciation contributes to the forgetting of the price paid by the previous generations.generations to build the nation, when its cohesion is already is already being put to the test[30]. In such a context, successes on battlefields may not materialize into victories[31]. The social dimension of the warrior spirit reveals itself... and therefore consubstantial to its tactical essence.

At this stage, three decisive factors for capitalion the deposits of warrior spirit maintained by the army. army:

• preparing the military for a hardening of conflicts... at the tactical and operational levels;
• adapting to the strengths and weaknesses of the generation to coming generation;
• fit into an overall perspective of cohesion, and of national resilience.

Beyond this observation, the question of the implementation of the work.

[14] Napoleon BONAPARTE, "Proclamation at the last ar-mée d'Orient, Paris, 1er ventôse year IX (February 20, 1801)"in Jacques-Olivier BOUDON presentsWar speech, Napoleon-Leon BonaparteParis, Editions Pierre de Taillac, 2011, p. 81.

15] Charles ARDANT DU PICQ, op. cit., p. 53-54.

16] Guy HUBIN provides a radical vision of this.: «The systems [Tactics] future will relegate the one-to-one relationship to the no-calf from the execution cell. The one-This will have to withstand the insulation-in a perfectly organized and well-known ensemble, but whose speakers will remain at time "t" in a total anonymity ". in Guy HUBIN, Tactical PerspectivesParis, Editions Economica, 2003, p. 75.

17] Marshal LYAUTEY, The Social Role of the OfficerParis, Editions Bartillat, 2003, p. 54.

18] For an in-depth analysis, in particular of the impact of the digital, see Monique DAGNAUD, Generation Y. The youth and social networks from derision to subversion., Pa.ris, Editions Les Presses de Sciences Po, coll. "New Dicebats"», 2011.

19] For reasons of overweight, level of education, and lack of education, it is not possible to have a child who is overweight.criminal record or drug use, in the past, in the present or in the future. Report «Unhealthy and unprepared - National security depends on promoting healthy lifestyles from an early age» from Council for a Strong America, MissionReadiness, October 2018, p. 4.

[20] «In the space of three years, the vision of the French "youth"... (15-24 years old) interviewed by the European Commission in France has made significant progress on the threat of terrorism. So that in 2013, young people considered unemployment and the situation economic as the "most important problems ...] in 2016, terrorism will be a major threat to France.... is now cited by almost half of the young people (43%, compared to 0% citations in 2013), just behind unemployment (46% of the population). %)."in Defense Statistical Yearbook. Analysis & referencereferencesEdition 2017, p. 12.

[21] «The violence of IA... could be characterized by this that Edmund Burke called "the sublime"...a passionate questborn for the "delicious terror", the sense of power, of thea destiborn, the search for the absolute, the inexpressible..."in Scott ATRAN, The Islamic State is a revolutionParis, Editions Les Liens qui Libèrent, 2016, p. 26.

22] A statistical study conducted by two CNRS on nearly 7,000 high school students in the second year of secondary school, from all over the world. social and cultural backgrounds, and of all faiths related to theshows that 34% of them find "acceptable in some cases to take part in violent action to deto defend one's ideas"in Olivier GALLAND and Anne MUXEL, The tenradical change. Survey of high school studentsParis, Editions Puf, 2018, p.428.

[23] «To combat IA, [Western powers] are advancingone hundred so of the wobbly solutions[...][such as] the promotion of a moderate Islam so appealing to thirsty young people... of adventure, glory, ideals and importance as the the eternal promise of shopping malls.", in Scott ATRAN, op.cit. p. 38.

[24] «History teaches us that most societies cultivate-of the sacred values for which their peoples are held sacred. ...ready to fight... Our research suggestshe's underfor those who join EI and for many of the people who are Kurds [...], the search for comfort and safety does not seem to be enough to fill their lives."Scott ATRAN, op.cit. p. 90-91.

25] Bénédicte CHERON, The unsung soldier. The French and their armies: state of playParis, Editions Armand Colin, 2018.26] 84% of the French people surveyed stated that they have a good image of their armies in 2017, in DICOD, key figures of the Defence 2018. 27] After the attacks in Paris in 2015, a survey among the American population showed that 60% supported an intheir country on the ground in Syria, while 62% replied that they had been that she was not prepared to participate personally, in David Barno and Nora Bensahel, The Deepest Obligation of Citizenship: Looking Beyond the Warrior Caste, 2018, War on the rocks.[28] Defence and National Security Strategic Review 2017about areas of vital importance, "part of them remains inadequately protected and sensitive to the risks.sée», op. cit.art. 176, p. 57.

29] These two countries are directly cited in J.-B. Jeangène Vilmer, A. Escorcia, M. Guillaume, J. Herrera, The Manipulations information: a challenge for our democracies, report of the Centre for Analysis, Forecasting and Strategy (CAPS) of the department-of Europe and Foreign Affairs and the Institute of strategic research at the Department's Military School (IRSEM) des Armées, Paris, August 2018.

[30] «National cohesion and resilience ... constitute the the basis of our freedom of action", in Strategic Review of defence and national security2017, p. 56.

31] In the context of an overall strategy, the link is not im-mediating between tactical successes and strategic victories. This general truth is more relevant than ever, as in tee-moans Major General Bruno GUIBERT, "In the light Barkhane"in Le CasoarNo. 231, October 2018, p. 41.