Beyond the simple return on investment for Defence, there is a real interest in successfully completing the EMSST course for individuals, but also for the armed forces. Lessons can be drawn on the theme of the Armed Forces-Nation bond to understand what brings together and distances military and civilians, and to understand the usefulness of creating and maintaining a network between high-level higher education and the business world.

Can the young EMSST trainee (because the officer, once a trainee, is always young) continue to grow and learn, beyond new technical knowledge, in a civilian environment with comrades, or rather colleagues, even younger than him? In order to do so, he or she needs to show adaptation and tolerance, but also a certain firmness and a good sense of humour to prove that being young is a good thing.This is a state of mind despite an age difference that quickly limits the role of "delegate" or "minitel generation".

Beyond the simple return on investment for Defence, there is a real interest in succeeding in this schooling on a personal level, but also for the armies. Lessons can be drawn on the theme of the armed forces-nation link to understand what brings together and distances military and civilians, and to understand the usefulness of creating and maintaining a network between high-level higher education and the business world.

Indeed, an EMSST schooling resembles crisis management. Three stages make up this schooling, and each of them has an interest that the officer must grasp: the triggering of the disaster when he sets foot in a civilian school, rediscovers the pleasures of "pomp" [1] and integrates with his new comrades; the management of the crisis itself when he must understand his environment in order to evolve serenely between his military state and that of a soldier.the return to normal when he finds himself back "in business" after several months out of the game in a militarily degraded mode, trying to make the most of what he has learned so as not to fall back into the ease of military technicality alone.

The outbreak of the disaster: making a success of the armed-nation link

At less than 40 years of age, the senior officer still feels young, with more or less rich operational experience, but he does not imagine for a moment that he has already entered the category of the old, the "old". This, of course, is maintained by the regular reminders of this youth by his superiors: "my young friend", "you are still a young senior officer", "you are beginning your second half of your career", and other well-meaning expressions that we have all heard. Weary, the shock, a real earthquake, a tsunami, floods you when you discover your colleagues, because it is too "collegial" to say comrades, closer to young embryos [2] than peers you met at the School of War.

First of all, after spending the first moments of mutual mistrust with these young people who look at you in the corner and wonder if you are not an undercover teacher, the time for formal introductions comes. What can I say? How do you justify attending a prestigious engineering school? How can you be approachable while maintaining a certain height? It is a real confrontation with the youth of France and elsewhere [3], who discover that they are going to rub shoulders with two soldiers for several months. The success of the army-nation bond then becomes a real rating objective! Soberly, you explain your career path, without pretension so as not to appear haughty, but insisting on your operational experience so as not to risk being "overrated".be just considered as a military "geek" [4], a kind of cyber secret agent resembling the heroes of American soap operas tracking enemies with satellites and other drones.

Then, during these first weeks, many questions have to be answered frankly, but without revealing all the secrets of the orientations that only the DRHAT masters: "yes, I am here of my own free will, I chose this schooling and I perfectly master my professional project in the short term". Well-functioning, credible language elements to justify our presence. A real communication plan prepared in advance as when a crisis breaks out. In the end, today's young people need to clear up many grey areas and other clichés about the military, which reveal a lack of communication about the target and the content. However, these clichés most often lend themselves to smiles and are rarely hurtful or degrading to the institution. These young people pay attention to who we are and are curious. They understand our motivations, our difficulties, as long as they are explained patiently and honestly, without hiding our differences. But an effort must also be made to understand them in order to grasp their lack of interest in defence issues in the current economic context, despite their desire to follow international geopolitical events.

Cultivated, intelligent, nomadic, adept at NICTs[5]this generation Y[6] wants the immediate and does not always understand the inertia of armies, both in conflict resolution and in methods of acquisition: too slow! Not modern enough! We must therefore convince these future decision-makers on a daily basis of our ability to adapt and react. But there is a risk that with the withdrawal from Afghanistan, the convoluted and sometimes contradictory statements on the situation in West Africa, and the painful renewal of equipment when all the countries outside Europe rearm, the armed-nation bond among these future leaders will become strained.

Crisis management: understanding what is similar, what is different and what is different from us

Let's go back to the heart of the school and its daily life to try to better understand our environment, the logic of the business world (and therefore of our colleagues, future high-level executives) and to find out how to better communicate about Defence. As in crisis management, it is necessary to put on a good face, to always appear serene and forceful in the face of problems, by adapting to a mode of operation sometimes close to the military world - and therefore reassuring - but also often different and surprising. The challenge is then to reach agreement with these students and to get away from this technicality in which the military takes refuge when they do not have confidence and are confronted with the unknown.

But then, what could bring a senior officer with a hairless face and short hair closer to a bearded and badly coiffed student? A passion for video games and time spent on social networks? Maybe. (chuckles) Partying? I don't see why not. The way you reason with problems? Yeah, definitely. Several parallels can be drawn to illustrate this last point: methods of approaching business strategy similar to our DFO[7]; a "problemsolving" method to answer the famous "what'sit all about?"7]; a "logicalwriting" method forstructuring a business proposal similar to the way we write fact sheets; a vocabulary similar to ours in the decision-making and security processes. It then becomes easier to share our working methods, to share an art form that actually influences the business world. This aspect of the military often surprises these young students, and we are surprised that we are not surprised.

On theother hand, many situations reveal differences, sometimes amusing, but often annoying. It is a question of two opposing logics: the logic of honour versus the logic of the contract. These are defined by Philippe d'Iribarne in his book "The logic of honour versus the logic of contract".The logic of honour"» [8]. 8] This researcher explains the weight of national traditions in defining the relationship between values and power. Thus, values would be at the basis of social life in the company in France, and more generally in the way of behaving and carrying out activities. But, more and more, this logic of honour is being replaced by a more American logic of the contract, through the image of companies that are less hierarchical.rarchized companies where everyone is on an equal footing in their relations with others, where the use of the first-name basis is the rule, regardless of hierarchical rank. This can be annoying because it is specific to a culture and traditions that are not our own, and which generate excesses far from the logic of honour, which is at the basis of the French social model. Whether or not we adhere to this model, it is rooted in the behaviour of the oldest, and seems to be disappearing among the youngest in favour of a logic of contract, where only what is chosen, only what is contractualized, is done for an increasingly exclusively material gain.

Recognised and often copied, armies' methods of reasoning and expression continue to inspire the business world. For the time being, admired or misunderstood, armies do not leave this Generation Y indifferent. But logics are increasingly clashing and what still brings us together could quickly crumble. Action should be taken to make the armies better known in these top schools, targeting them to focus communication efforts. The Campus Saclay plan for 2015[9] represents a real opportunity that the armies must seize to remain known and understood by the country's future top executives: participation in forums, presentation of the Defence, thematic conferences and/or issues within the grandes écoles.

Back to normal: maintaining a second network for the benefit of the armed forces

Once the steps described above have been completed, the schooling offers the opportunity to create a second network within the business world and among these students, who will spend several months working alongside each other, future high-level executives at the cutting edge of the latest technological developments and their potential. For example, who better than these high-potential young people can apprehend, understand and explain cyberspace and its challenges? Olivier Kempf defines cyberspace not as "a simple technical space that would be the preserve of computer scientists alone, [but as] a social space where actors of all kinds act, dialogue, but also confront each other" [10]. 10] [10] Before defining a cyberstrategy, it is therefore necessary to understand this cyberspace. This will be made all the easier by involving the youngest members of society in Defence matters through exchanges and meetings made possible by a reliable and solid network.

Moreover, to take full advantage of this network and the potential it offers, we must avoid falling back into the technicality that characterizes the officer, even if he is patented, as soon as he returns to "business". Yes, operations are a priority! But they give the impression of turning in on ourselves. Afghanistan has made the French aware again that the army is at war [11]. 11] This theatre has helped to reduce the nation's indifference to its defence. 12] But this operation will soon be over and it would be a mistake not to value the capital acquired in recent years from our fellow citizens. A solution to maintain this strengthened link and to radiate more would be to get out of the military technique and show our capacities of reflection, as during these post-war schooling courses, by favouring external mobility.

Finally, maintaining a network in the business world and among these future alumni can facilitate a return to civilian life. There is no need to hide the fact: at a time when there is talk of "depyramidating" the armed forces, voluntary departures should not be stigmatised. On the contrary, it may be worth encouraging them by going beyond simplistic visions of a solution for the reclassification of general officers or easy retraining. Indeed, relaunching a career by setting up a company or accepting positions of responsibility requires courage and a strong personal investment in which support can be indispensable. The status of military personnel, even if they have been retrained, will continue to stick to the skin, and it is in the interest of those who have made this choice to represent the institution with dignity and efficiency. It is also another way of serving the military.

Maintaining close ties with a world that is discovered during the year of study at institutions of higher learning is essential for the commissioned officer or technical graduate. In addition to the personal benefit of a second, predominantly civilian network, which will continue to be useful in the future, the officer can find a way to reach beyond purely military technicalities and bring the armies out of the shadows. But the effort cannot be purely personal. Thus, the management of these officers must of course take into account their new skills, but also exploit their ability to evolve in a civilian environment with external mobility, drawing on their experience of this world that is sometimes different from ours.

Often perceived as a painful step, imposed or categorizing in a single expert path, the EMSST schooling offers many opportunities to the commissioned or graduated officer as well as to the armies: reinforcement of the army-nation link, better understanding of the concerns of young French people, networks in the business world, the possibility of making the Defence sector stand out from purely military and often sclerotic technicalities, knowledge of the civilian world. The armed forces have much to gain by making better use of the potential of this education. The development of partnerships or participation in the forums of high-level higher education institutions, combined with a better distribution of posts in external mobility would undoubtedly offer undeniable added value.

1] Traditional name for academic studies in the language of the Saint-Cyrians.

2] First-year student at the École spéciale militaire de Saint-Cyr.

3] About 50% of the students of the MS MSI at Centrale Paris are foreigners, mainly from the Maghreb.

[4 ] A person who is passionate about computer science, science fiction, fantasy, and who invests a lot of time in it at the expense of his or her social life.

5] New information and communication technologies.

6] Generation Y is a commonly used name for people born approximately between 1980 and 1995.

7 ] Operational planning method.

8] "Lalogique de l'honneur, gestion des entreprises et traditions nationales", Philippe d'Iribarne, Ed. Seuil, 1989.

9] In addition to the École Polytechnique and the HEC school already on site, several higher education establishments are to be relocated9] In addition to the École Polytechnique and HEC already on site, several higher education institutions are to be relocated to the Plateau de Saclay campus, such as (see on the Internet) the École normale supérieure de Cachan, ENSTA ParisTech,Agro Paris Tech, École centrale Paris, ENSAE ParisTech,Télécom ParisTech and all or part of Université Paris-sud 11.

10] "Introduction à la cyberstratégie", Olivier Kempf , Ed. Economica, November 2012.

11] See on this subject the study by Bénédicte Chéron, L'image des militaires français à la télévision 2001-2011, IRSEM Studies n°21, 2012.

12] A Harris Interactive poll revealed in November 2011 that 65% of the French believed that the Defence budget should be reduced. According to an Ipsos poll, this figure will fall to 37% in November 2012.

Saint-Cyrien of the "General Lalande" promotion (1996-1999), Battalion Chief Christophe LIBERT comes from the engineering, security branch. He graduated from the École de guerre in 2012, and is currently studying for the specialised master's degree in "information systems management" at École Centrale de Paris.