Interview with alex_french_sas - Part II

The continuation and end of our interview with Alex_French_SAS. Discover, among other things, the rules of a good French Special Forces operator and all his advice for joining an elite unit. 

Summary:

• His worst memory
• His best memory
• The rules of a good operator
• His advice for joining special forces
• Why did he leave special forces?
• The sports he practices
• His projects

At the operational level, we inevitably have bad memories but we have much more satisfaction than disappointment. What bothered me most was guard duty. I had one at Christmas one year when I had already spent several Christmases, New Year's Days in OPEX. I missed 5 times the end-of-year holidays with my family and friends during my career. In addition, I happened to get weekend duties when I was geographically single and needed my weekends to see my girlfriend who lived very far away and whom I didn't see much the rest of the year anyway. I tried to exchange but you had trouble finding someone who would agree to replace you on a weekend obviously, despite all the good will in the world. In addition to operations and not being there, but that you accept, you still had to miss weekends. The status of geographically single in the army is not really recognized. It's even worse for those in this situation who have children. 

There are many but I would say my participation in the July 14th parade in 2014. We conducted a hostage liberation demonstration at the Invalides. The helicopter flyover allowed me to do a cluster jump over Paris. My family was in the audience. They had always dreamed of seeing me do something but it had never been possible because it's very secret. You can't really explain it, you can't really do it and there aren't many reports about it. There, they could see me right in the middle of Paris. I arrived by helicopter like a knight of modern times. It's an incredible memory. I was able to do something that even a billionaire can't afford.  

Rule n°1 : Always look cool  

Rule n°2 : Always know where you are 

Rule n°3 : If you don't know where you are, just look cool 

The "Always look cool" is a real rule. A GOOD operator is someone relaxed, who knows how to make fun of himself, always ready to laugh, capable of putting even serious things in life into perspective and who, faced with an exceptional situation, will have all the energy and potential to ramp up pressure, to give the maximum of his professionalism. They are always guys who are really pleasant to live with, friendly, good-natured and not full of themselves. Someone who is a bit obsessive, stressed or under tension in their life, in a risky situation, will be more likely to explode and won't be able to shift into higher gear because they're already at full throttle.

The characteristic of an SF operator and especially French SF is to be versatile unlike Delta Force, Navy Seals or Green Berets who are more specialized. You have to be a Swiss army knife, which allows you to adapt to all missions (hostage liberation, operational support, close protection which is not in the domain of American SF but is rather requested from the Secret Service, CIA or military police). In France, we are fewer in number and budgets are smaller. We have richer experience and are skilled in everything, which allows us to turn around more easily when everything doesn't go according to plan but the level of excellence is potentially superior for a person who dedicates themselves to a single domain of expertise like in the USA. 

The best teams are not necessarily those with the best elements but those with the best group cohesion and the best ability to work together.  

"War is a team sport" 

You have to take everything that comes to you in life as a challenge and want to succeed at it. You may not necessarily be good at school but, if you give up completely, it means that somewhere you're not tenacious, you don't have a winner's mentality. Someone who has a winner's mentality doesn't accept not doing the maximum in everything they do. So even if you find yourself in a job you don't like, if you have a winner's mentality, you do it well and if you find yourself in studies you don't like, you do your best. You don't necessarily succeed but you do your best. It's important. It's the mindset you have and need to succeed in SF. You need a good mindset and the good test is that, already, if in life, before trying that, you tend to make excuses, be lazy or say I don't like it, I won't do it, you risk not succeeding. Whereas if you take everything that's offered to you as a challenge and you try to do your best, there's a good chance you're made for SF. 

If you really want to directly join SF, for the case of the 1st RPIMa and the 13th RDP, it's better to try the EVAT (Army Volunteer Enlistees) externally (from civilian life) when you're ready. Physically, of course, but also as I've already said, have the right mindset to be able to succeed. This avoids the randomness of rankings from NCO and officer schools. You also need to have a plan B in case of failure.
It's possible to transfer through the internal route from another unit (preferably from paratrooper infantry, but it's not closed to any unit) after a minimum of 3 years of service on file. It's an excellent option. However, it involves risks: having the misfortune of ending up in a team with motivation very far from ours, being pulled down or even disappointed with the army, being disliked by your immediate hierarchy who sometimes has trouble letting a good element go and that's understandable. 

It is imperative to have a stable personal life when you want to do this job and succeed in training. You must have the courage to separate from a complicated relationship, resolve your family problems and, if for example, you have a sick parent, find someone close who can take care of them or pay for a nurse who will come to the home. It won't be possible to handle later because it would be adding an additional mental burden.    

My first dream was to become an operator in SF but, after 11 years in service, I also wanted to become my own boss, head of my own company, decide my schedule and earn money. I hesitated to move into the officer track to gain responsibility but the call of civilian business won out.

When I left the army, I had a Pole Dance themed bar that offered after-work classes. I had even taken training to make cocktails. It was in this bar that I forged my professional network of today. Then I sold it to invest everything in the shooting complex. In between, I went through an extremely difficult personal situation that led me to create my Instagram account to sell myself, find clients and get back on my feet. The risks of always being lurking in business due to overconfidence... I am the first 1st RPIMA operator to have an Instagram profile. It should be noted that another former operator had written a book about his missions (Task Force 32 - SAS in Afghanistan) but I am the first on this social network. Some found it great, others judged that I was harming the secret side. I had to justify myself but since I kept good contact with all my former colleagues, they understood my approach and today some do the same. It's ultimately very similar to publishing your CV on a network like LinkedIn. It's just more modern and dynamic. I only tell trivial things such as how to join the 1st RPIMA, how to prepare for it but I don't reveal operational details about missions or work procedures, other than what could be totally public and findable in open source. Thus, I don't endanger the people who still work there and their missions. The souvenir photos I publish are all between 5 and 15 years old. I don't reveal any sensitive know-how on social networks because that would violate the law but especially ethics. 

Since I continue to be in a branch of activity that requires me to have the same versatility as before (private security and military consulting business), I need to continue performing in running, in weight training, in swimming, in combat sports, in climbing, in obstacle courses so I practice a bit of everything. However, I can no longer dedicate myself to sport like before so my physical level has decreased a little. I train efficiently, which compensates for the lower volume. Too much is often the enemy of better. I manage to maintain myself at a physical level that I consider correct. 

Alex_French_SAS with benoitst_denis

Starting in September, if possible with Covid 19, my team will offer, within Subtac in particular, advanced training in shooting, in CQB (close quarters combat), in hand-to-hand combat, in first aid, in physical preparation, ... Other developments are to follow including survival courses, close protection, piloting and everything that is in the skill spectrum of an SF operator. Teaching for shooting and CQB will be reserved for professionals (police officers, military, reservists, customs officers, ...). Hand-to-hand combat in the form of self-defense, physical preparation and first aid will be open to everyone including civilians. In the French market, this kind of training is today often offered by companies and associations that are not completely legally sound, which mainly poses problems of leakage of sensitive know-how to unauthorized persons and insurance issues. Our training will not benefit from legal gray areas. They will be legal and ethical. I'm fortunate to be able to verify the CVs of people I employ thanks to the connections I've maintained with the Army. And I can also have them take shooting tests to verify their level. First, we will be present in the French market but, in the future, we are also looking at foreign markets.  

And for 2021, I am setting up a private security company. Just before lockdown, I was preparing for the mandatory CNAPS exam to run a company of this type in France. I will be able to provide agents in France and abroad for close protection missions initially then armed surveillance agents, maritime surveillance, private investigation, etc. I plan to hire former military and police officers, primarily from special forces and elite units, but I'm not closed to other units. This will provide interesting career transitions to veterans because, today, possibilities are limited for them, especially when they don't have a degree. The headquarters will be in France simply because I am patriotic.    

Moreover, we are setting up a Youtube channel that will be called TAC FRANCE with lalou_croft, benoitst_denis, mechanicalwarriors (who works in military equipment) as well as 3 military personnel from the 1st RPIMA (who will show their faces soon and give courses with me) and a manager of a shooting range in Paris. We will make videos about military equipment. We will give our opinion on the gear. There will be interviews, humorous videos. There will also be more instructional formats on how to orient yourself well in nature, how to prepare your bag... Benoit will make videos on combat sports, Lalou videos dedicated to police officers, dog handlers, ... 

A big thank you to Alex_French_SAS for his availability.