Jean-Baptiste D. (BSB'12) : Commitment on the horizon

Mozambique Channel, Lebanon, Sahel, Estonia, Poland, Romania, Sentinelle: Captain Jean-Baptiste's missions fly like a tricolor flag. Currently commanding around 100 soldiers within the 48^e régiment de transmissions in Agen, Jean-Baptiste is deployed on missions half the year round. "It's a life choice. It's 100% commitment. As a reservist in the Chasseurs Alpins at 17, I built my career around the ambition to serve France."

What role does the BSB experience play in this trajectory? Jean-Baptiste sees it as both a springboard and an enrichment. First, the springboard. "My Master Grande Ecole enabled me to enter the Saint-Cyr Coëtquidan military academy, from which I graduated as a second lieutenant. I progressed in rank as my missions progressed". Then there's the enrichment. "My role is to place my company in the best possible operational conditions, depending on the mission assigned and the theater where it takes place. This involves three phases: rigorous preparation, unreserved commitment and post-operation readjustment. My training at BSB, and the few experiences I've had in the corporate world, have developed my versatility and ability to adapt outside the strictly military field. Not a bad thing when you have to set up a base in Romania from scratch, or put together a coherent intervention force for forty countries".   

But for Captain Jean-Baptiste, BSB is also a human adventure and another form of commitment! "I met my wife and kept a few friends. It was a great pleasure to meet up again for our tenth anniversary. At BSB, Jean-Baptiste also benefits from a wealth of management expertise. "My atypical background compared with that of other officers makes my relationship with my subordinates all the more relevant. The youngest of them are just 18 years old. 

A look back at the reality of a commitment whose limits the young officer is constantly pushing. Random stopover on Reunion Island. A commando course is both an extreme situation and a moment of truth. "You have to give 300% to pull your platoon of 30 soldiers to the top. We march every night, with heavy packs and our combat environment. The leader is the one who draws on all talents to create a collective dynamic and successfully face up to the trials and tribulations along the way. We learn humility and exemplarity, with the obligation to never give up without exhausting ourselves or putting our group at risk. And of course, it goes without saying, to succeed in the mission!     

Some missions can prove trying. "I was part of the first wave deployed to Romania as part of NATO, following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The first few weeks of our deployment were spent in rustic living conditions, with 100 people living in unheated tents in March, while floods submerged 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 most is the warmth of the relationships with my men and the multinational liaison officers with whom we work".