ADAPTABILITY... WHAT?

Adaptability is defined as the ability to modify one's behaviour to respond to unforeseen situations, linked to the hazards of combat or those of military life in general. For any leader in a command situation, it is a matter of facing the unexpected, when assimilated procedures or usual reflexes are no longer sufficient.

This is the part left to individual intelligence to find the courage to "face differently", to go beyond habits if necessary, while keeping in mind the goal to be achieved and a pragmatic vision of the situation. Change and the unexpected are the military leader's daily horizon; they become a raw material to be tamed.

Adaptability is synonymous with flexibility of mind; it allows the leader to react more quickly and effectively when an obstacle arises. By accepting change, the leader also encourages subordinates to be proactive. In this sense, the adaptability of the leader strengthens the group's capacity for innovation. Adaptability is therefore a key element of collective strength.

ADAPTABILITY... WHY?

• It is essential to preserve one's freedom of action.
• It fosters the ability to innovate in an environment dominated by permanent change and uncertainty.
• It reverses instability in the face of an adversary who skillfully uses surprise.
• It offers the means to overcome the constraints of rationalisation of means by adapting structures in order to gain in efficiency.
• It also makes it possible to follow the evolution of civil society and of the French nation, particularly at a time when the Army is more present on the national territory.

NO ADAPTABILITY ... WITHOUT :

• pragmatism;
• a keen sense of reality and therefore the ability to give feasible orders;
• decisiveness to seize opportunities;
• intellectual courage to "dare to do otherwise";
• open-mindedness to accept change;
• risk-taking;
• imagination and intellectual daring. Rejection of conformism and intellectual laziness.

ADAPTABILITY ... IN TEXTS :

"If it is not appropriate to rush everything for the pleasure of changing something, it is not appropriate either to rely on what has always been done for fear of innovation. This is where a narrow functionalism risks sterilizing young people who had substance and have become rags (...) A leader expects difficulties, but does not allow himself to be hypnotized by them. Planned or unplanned, they are part of the program.

Gaston Courtois - L'art d'être chef (1958).

"The territory of possibilities is an elastic surface; it depends on the chief's decision to extend or restrict it. »

André Maurois (French essayist and novelist - 1885-1967)

"The true leader, whether civilian or military, spiritual or temporal, knows how to do the possible with the impossible; indeed, he will be recognized as such. »

General Clément-Grandcourt

ADAPTABILITY ... "IN CONTACT":

Testimony of a colonel head of GTIA - operation SERVAL - Mali - 2013:

"February 2013: the GTIA is engaged in northern Mali and must set up on its outlet line to begin Operation Panther 3, whose objective is to search and destroy the enemy entrenched in the valley of Amettettaï. At the Tessalit departure base, there are no GAVs or transport trucks to facilitate deployment. It is then decided to use the only vehicles available. These are material transport trucks (TRM 10,000 plateau), belonging to the artillery, waiting to reach Gao. These vehicles are absolutely not intended for troop transport, so wooden pallets are adapted to make makeshift benches and straps are attached to act as sideboards. This ingenious docking system makes it possible to embark one section per platform. The companies are thus set up in the desert in unprecedented conditions, after an 8-hour journey before reaching the outlet on foot in the heart of the massif. This adaptation was decisive: it allowed the mission to be completed on time and to surprise the enemy on his own ground."

Testimony of a TIGER helicopter captain pilot - operation PAMIR - AFGHANISTAN - 2011:

"During a fire support to Afghan Army units, the OMLT (Operationnal mentoring and liaison team: OMLT (Operational Mentoring and Liaison Team) element leader in charge of 3D co-ordination tries to describe the position of identified insurgents to me, without succeeding. I can't locate them, I'm told that I'm under attack. It becomes impossible to understand each other, one of the companies is now fixed by the enemy and some Afghan soldiers are very exposed, in the open. We are wasting precious time. I decide to cut short the usual procedure that cannot work. I open fire in a small deserted field, in the area that I believe is what the LTO is trying to describe to me. This gives us a common point of reference when the shells explode on the ground. The OMLT takes over the link and locates the insurgents precisely a few dozen meters from the point of impact, which serves as a reference. I can finally effectively apply fire on the enemy and allow the Afghan unit to manoeuvre. The fire support procedure was not followed, but the desired end state was achieved much more quickly than if I had followed the usual procedure. Given the situation, it was necessary to go beyond the usual and adapt without delay, innovating with common sense ...".