Jean-Baptiste D. (BSB'12): commitment for horizon
Mozambique Channel, Lebanon, Sahel, Estonia, Poland, Romania, Sentinelle: Captain Jean-Baptiste's missions ring like a tricolor flag. Today commanding a hundred soldiers in the 48th regiment from Agen, Jean-Baptiste was deployed on a mission for half of the year. ”It is a lifestyle choice. That of 100% commitment. A reservist in the Chasseurs Alpins at 17, I built my professional project around the ambition to serve France.”
What place does the transition to BSB occupy in this trajectory? Jean-Baptiste sees it as a springboard and an enrichment. First, the springboard. ”My Master Grande Ecole allowed me to join the Saint-Cyr Coëtquidan Military Academy, from which I graduated as a second lieutenant. I then progressed in rank over the course of my missions.” Enrichment, then.
”My role is to place my company in the best operational conditions according to the assigned mission and the theater where it takes place. This involves three phases: rigorous preparation, unreserved commitment and post-operation rehabilitation. My training at BSB, and the few experiences in business, have developed my versatility and my ability to adapt outside the strictly military field. Not useless when you have to create from scratch a base in Romania or create a coherent interposition force in forty countries.”
But BSB is also for Captain Jean-Baptiste a human adventure and another form of commitment! ” I met my wife there and kept a few friends. Moreover, we met again with great pleasure for the ten years of our promotion.” BSB is finally management expertise that Jean-Baptiste takes advantage of in his leadership. ”My atypical background compared to that of other officers gives relevance in my relationship with my subordinates. Whose youngest are just 18.”
Boundaries are constantly being pushed
A look back at the reality of a commitment whose limits the young officer is constantly pushing. Stop on Reunion Island, at random. A commando course is both an extreme situation and a moment of truth. ”You have to be at 300% to pull your section of 30 soldiers up. We walk every night, with heavy bags and our fighter environment. The leader is the one who relies on all talents to create a collective dynamic and successfully face the challenges that mark our path. You learn humility and exemplarity, with the obligation to never give up without exhausting yourself unnecessarily or putting your group in danger. And of course, that goes without saying, succeed in the mission !”
Some missions can be challenging. ”I was part of the first wave deployed in Romania as part of NATO, following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. We experienced the first weeks of deployment in rustic living conditions (accommodation in unheated 100-person tents in March when floods overwhelmed part of the region). I also had to face extreme conditions in Estonia, with nights at -24° and palpable tension at the border. But what I remember is the warmth of the relationships with my men and the multinational liaison officers we work with.”
