MARS meets MERCURIUS 11 Apr 2013 Lieutenant General F. HENDRICKX, Ir Aide-de-Camp to the King Director General Education 1

The point of view of MARS…! 1.Why do we need good education for officers ? 2.How does Defence try to face this challenge ? 3.Opportunities for outplacement after a an officer’s (shortened) career? 2

We live in a “Globalization” context! For as for becomes 3

Need appropriate response 4

Friend Foe BE 400 Km 20 years ago! 5

BE 4000 Km Now! 6

What about the future??? 7

Technical & economical challenges Mobility Payload Protection PRICE 8

Environmental & Ecological challenges Management of « waste » and obsolete stock 9

Cultural challenges The enemy provides always new challenges! >>> Permanent necessity to review our way of working! “It’s not the strongest of the species that survives, or the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.” Charles DARWIN ( ) 10

Budget challenges “Gentlemen, We have no money, now is the time to think!” Admiral Lord FISHER ( ) 11

Challenge ~ Procedures “ Yes, we have ‘All You Need To Know About The Belgian Public Procurement and Well- being Legislation’ but it is part of a twelve volume set” 12

Manpower challenges – Ageing – Need for technicians – Evolution of the society and the family – Ethics – Facebook, Twitter generation – …. 13

Conclusion leader It is essential for an officer to be a good tactical leader, but he also has to be a performant manager...! 14

Is an officer a super(wo)man ? ? OSMEAL(Q), PDCA, Ack, Wilco… 15

No of course, “Super(wo)man “doesn’t exist! but..a modern officer has to... Learn from the past to prepare the future Learn how to manage the complete panel of decision factors in real time ! Learn how to delegate tasks Learn team working Learn how to stimulate initiative and creativity! Learn how to plan and make good strategic choices (Including investments – “more often is only one tentative possible”) 16

How does Defence try to face the new challenges? A. By a strong (and legal) selection (open to all social classes) regarding 1.Physical and mental fitness 2.Intellectual capacity: the access to the Royal Military Academy is the result of a competition not only an examination… 3.Psycho-technical selection regarding team working & potential leadership skills 17

B. By a strong education 1.Professional Education (Incl Military initiation, self protection skills, team working …) (y>y+5) – Univ. level + other specialized or shorter educations  18

« Mens sana in corpore sano » EXEMPLO COURAGE EFFORT RESPECT DISCIPLINE PRIDE PROGRESSIVE ACDEMICACDEMIC CHARACTERCHARACTER PHYSICALPHYSICAL MILITARYMILITARY RIGHT to ERROR 19

(...) Strong education 2.Continued education Technical Staff Course (y+8), Higher Officer Course (y+15), High Staff Course (y+>19), Mil Administration Course (y+>19) …. 3.Complementary education » Language(s) » Drivers » Certificates » Specialties » …. 20

C. Training & experience on the job Oriented to the optimization of the system Working without financial goals Management of people, means and risks within strong budget constraints and legal restrictions Military culture (loyalty, confidence in the organization, discipline and obedience, yearly individual evaluation) Responsibilities in foreign and international operations Career with real opportunities for all officers 21

What can an officer offer in case of outplacement? Some capacities below can be offered as they are also valuable in a civilian environment Individual skills as result of education (discipline, loyalty, altruism, punctuality, sense of hierarchy, resistance to stress, sense of responsibility, code of ethics…) Operational or technical experience Sense of organization (command principles, management of processes, scientific work organization, audits, restructuration, …) 22

Knowledge of international organizations Mix of military principles and academic education Experience in human resources and behaviour Structured analysis oriented to defined goals Sense of clear command and communication to a soldier’s level Skills to adapt to a changing environment Experience of crisis management and security Management of material resources (if experience in integrated material management), budget, logistics reality, … … 23

CONCLUSIONS The challenges for MARS and MERCURIUS in the XXIst century are similar but their goals remain fundamentally different. Defence is a non-profit organization. Motivation and efficiency have to be achieved by other means than money. Outplacement is possible but a priori not desirable. A successful outplacement will in any case be influenced by The individual potential of the candidate (selection) The timing of the career change The reason for change The suitability between the new job and the acquired skills of the candidate 24

Questions ? 25