On Wednesday, 07 OCT, the History Department hosted a screening of the French movie Capitaine Conan for interested cadets, faculty, and guests. Based on the eponymous book by World War I veteran Roger Vercel, the movie examines the struggles French soldiers faced following the end of the Great War, as they transition to a garrison environment while waiting to be demobilized following an extended campaign on the Salonikan Front, located in northern Greece. Capitaine Conan is particularly valuable as a case study in leadership, presenting a wide spectrum of command styles, from the weary dedication to duty and earnest morality of the main protagonist, Lieutenant Norbert, to the ruthless ferocity and uncompromising loyalty of his best friend—the title character, Conan.
Following the screening, the audience had the opportunity to ask questions of a diverse panel of faculty and cadets. MAJ (P) Andrew Visser and CDT Joshua Johnstone (Class of 2016), from the Department of History’s International History Division, provided context for this little-known theater of operations in World War I. LTC Andrew Hagemaster, head of the Center for Professional Development, examined the French soldiers’ adaptation to a peacetime environment, focusing particularly on combat stress and PTSD. CPT Ky Fehlbaum and CDT Kevin Fidler ‘16, from the Department of Foreign Languages, analyzed the discrepancies between the English subtitles and the French script to shed additional light on key plot points. CDT Emily Speziale ’16, from the Department of Behavioral Sciences and Leadership, illuminated the difficulty of identifying ideal leadership characteristics, pointing out that different situations emphasized the need for radically different attributes. CDT Alex Duffy ’16, from the Department of Strategic Studies, studied the challenges posed by special operations, as evidenced by the violent and even criminal behavior of Conan and his “free corps” of battle-hardened veterans following the armistice. Finally, CDT Bryan-Matthew McKeen ‘15, of the Department of English and Philosophy, addressed the conflict between loyalty, morality and professional ethics, admitting that Conan’s commitment to his troops resonated with him before acknowledging the slippery slope of covering for one’s subordinates no matter the infractions they committed.