From fighter to specialist: how a changing security environment shapes our armed forces

By Emmanuel Jacob, President

One cannot deny that European armed forces went through fundamental changes in the past decades. After the Cold War, several governments reformed their armed forces, justified by the change of the geopolitical situation. Although this was a correct reaction, one also has to admit that most of these governments saw, at that point, an opportunity to reduce their armed forces in numbers and especially to decrease their defence budgets. The ongoing reforms of most of the European armed forces were then, in recent years, confronted with the consequences of the economic and financial crisis, which did not make things easier.

It is however interesting to see that, in that same period, the call on European armed forces to participate in missions – of different types – abroad was never so high. Military actions during the Gulf War and the Balkan Crisis, in the early ’90s, were the starting point of drastic changes. In this context, it is important to recognise that the soldier is no longer a “fighter” in the traditional sense, but rather a mediator and conveyor of certain, often humanitarian, value and notions – a “social diplomatic war-fighter”. Besides training in traditional fighting skills, modern soldiers receive training and education to function in their specialist role, as mediator and even social and development aid workers with the highest moral integrity and sensibility.

Dealing with crisis: a need for a comprehensive approach
In the past year the world went from one crisis into another. The crises in Syria, Israel and the Gaza strip, Nigeria, South Sudan, the Central African Republic, Iraq, Ukraine and Russia were high on the agenda. Very often we bring them all together under the umbrella of “humanitarian crises” and we consider that it is the moral duty of the international community to offer humanitarian support to save those who are in danger or live under inhuman and difficult conditions. Bringing humanitarian support is one thing but it must be accompanied by political action which can be diplomatic, economic or even military.

If the latter is required, we also have to recognise that European armed forces are limited in their possibilities. However, governments and the international community look in their direction every time a crisis occurs. In this field governments must make choices and look for the right balance between providing their armed forces with the necessary tools to act both as “military” and as “humanitarian”. Such a choice will cost money and it is probably the biggest obstacle. Therefore a broad public debate is needed. What does the international community expect from its armed forces and which resources – financial, material and human – is it willing to give to them to execute their tasks?

Looking at, for example, the Ebola crisis, several armed forces delivered their specialised logistical and medical support. If needed, and when possible, armed forces should, and will, contribute to this kind of humanitarian action. Everything is possible, but everything has a price!

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