Reflection On The Army Profession

After four years passed at the Royal Military Academy, the so expected day came. Finally, I received the letter for my first assignment; it was the 4th Transportation Group in Dakhla, a city in the extreme South of Morocco. I still remember the feeling of disappointment that has invaded me at that moment. I was 23 years old, and I do not want to waste my youth in a desert city, far from home by more than 2400 km. However, after twelve years spent in, I realize that that was the premise for a rich experience. This assignment allowed me to build my leadership on very solid bases. At 4th Transportation Group, I learned that the mission is a collective task, that trust is at the heart of the Army Profession, and the ability to take

initiative makes often the difference between leaders.
The mission is a collective task that needs a sincere collaboration from all unit’s components.

In this regard, the key word is the esprit de corps. My first function of that unit was a platoon commander who has the main mission to conduct supply convoys of twenty trucks to support units on the line of defense. The distance was sometimes more than 700 km in the open desert. I do not hide the difficulties that I was encountering me during the first missions. Nevertheless, with time, I started to correct problems that occurred during the missions. I start from the simple principle "one for all and all for one." I scheduled stops to allow all elements taking meals together. The mechanical malfunctions and trucks bogged down in the sand were never an individual problem. The humorous spirit was the breaks’ pastime around the glasses of Moroccan tea. This experience allowed me to detach myself, for the first time, of theoretical definitions of "Esprit de Corps”, I realized that solidarity and common experience are at the heart of cohesion generating brotherhood and weld concentric circles in the members of the same unit. The alternation between extreme rigor moments and relaxation moments during missions helped me to understand how to promote esprit de corps. Cohesion is gotten through the rigorous professionalism and sincere emotional ties nurtured by a strong collective identity, camaraderie, care of others, and good humor. It doubles by the relationship that ties soldiers to their seniors through unit traditions and respect for

seniority.
Initiative is essential to lead the unit to success. Theoretical knowledge is insufficient to accomplish the mission; the most important is to adapt what was learned in classrooms to what the reality offers. I remember a day when I received the order to transport ammunition in emergency to a border position. Although the standard procedures limited the logistic movement to daytime, I was obliged to continue the displacement for four hours after sunset. For security reasons, I could not pass the night in the desert with 20 trucks of ammunition. I have spent the whole night thinking of the consequences of this decision, and what will be the punishment. However, the next morning, the General sector commander received me. He did not ask me if I arrived at daytime or nighttime. He only congratulated me and my unit for having executed the mission in time. Thus, a responsible leader should sometimes bypass standard procedures in order to accomplish his task.
Besides initiative, a good rapport with subordinates is a guarantee of success. The confidence between a commander and his soldiers is crucial and can augment the capacity of unit to execute the mission with more efficiency. Before my arrival to the 4th Transportation Group, the previous squadron commander had a very strict rapport with soldiers. The ambience in the unit was tense and every week he had to manage fights and quarrels between soldiers. After my arrival, I organized a football tournament and other sporting activities. Consequently, my subordinates began working as a team and focusing on performing their duty rather than fighting. In other words, being close to subordinates sows enthusiasm and eagerness within the troop. The subordinate is particularly sensitive vis-à-vis his commander, he does not willingly allow him to mind his private affairs; that is the "father complex" which plays against the leader, as it plays against the father. It is therefore not possible to help subordinates by giving them advice "top to bottom". These tips hurt them; they cannot follow them. The only way, is that the commander comes next to them and report his own experiences, without a spirit of judgment; so he avoids interference with their privacy, but a gift of personal experiences available to them. Knowing deeply his subordinates is a sine qua none condition to interact with them, is one of the surest ways to gain their trust, to arouse in them the certainty that in case of danger, their interests will be safeguarded.
Nothing is more dangerous for a leader than the inability to decide. Certainly, before making a decision, a leader must go through a sincere and conscientious examination of the solutions available. But finding the perfect and fully adequate solution is a chimera. In that case, decision is better than precision; the military profession is not an exact science. Worse still, the indecision of leader causes concern of peers, confusion among subordinates, and could be sometimes fatal with further complications. A leader should never remain passive or inactive, if he does not try to dominate events, they would dominate him.
In conclusion, after 12 years of service in 4th Transportation Group, I can evaluate my experience in this unit as very beneficial. The pace of activities allowed me to develop my leadership, on one hand by developing how to influence subordinates, and on the other hand, by learning how to make a decision through a well measured initiative