Actualités
In 2015, US Army officer, Colonel Devon Blake was selected to attend le Centre des Hautes Etudes Militaires, known as CHEM, the highest level of joint military schooling within the French Armies. . It’s an interesting step in a brilliant career that has been punctuated with numerous operational missions and high responsibility positions.
US President Barack Obama recently announced that he wanted to nominate a woman as head of his country’s forces. He can count on female officers who have significant experience in command and operations in addition to a strong academic background. Colonel Devon Blake, today CHEM member in Paris, perfectly embodies this type of office.
She began her military career in 1991 at age 18, upon selection to the well-known West Point Military Academy in the state of New York. She keeps in mind vivid memories of the four years she spent studying there:
“The cadets’ training syllabus is very demanding, and discipline is well enforced.”
After graduating, Second Lieutenant Blake chose to branch into military intelligenceShe knew that she wanted a challenging assignment, and therefore asked to be assigned to the 1st Brigade Combat Team, a combined arms combat unit. She was sent close to the north Korean border in South Korea where she served as an intelligence officer for a year before becoming the platoon leader of 32 American and Korean soldiers.
“The tense atmosphere on the border demands good intelligence. It was an honor to command a unit in these conditions and was very instructive both morally and tactically as a young officer.”
From peacekeeping in Bosnia to warfighting in Afghanistan, operations continued. The withdrawal of US forces from Iraq was one of the most memorable. For this mission she served as an intelligence officer stationed in Kuwait focused on securing withdrawal routes from Iraq. She recalls that “The US forces and equipment had to return through Kuwait, a demanding mission due to imminent danger”.
As a captain, Colonel Blake continued to train. In August 2000, she joined the Fort Leonard Wood engineering school, in Missouri.
In addition to acquiring skills in military engineering, she obtained at the same time a master’s degree in engineering.
Her intellectual skills were noticed by her chain-of-command which selected her to earn an additional graduate degree in order to become an instructor at West Point in 2005.
“I wanted to contribute to the operational training of the students. Based on feedback from Afghanistan and Iraq, we implemented an educative syllabus in order to enable young platoon leaders to make better decisions in the field”.
Colonel Devon Blake works to balance both her professional and personal life. She is married and the mother of four young children, spontaneously recognizing her husband’s importance in her career:
“He is extraordinary! Nothing would have been possible without him. He takes great care of the family when I am home and while away”.
In 2015, her assignment to the US Embassy in Paris and student at l’Institut des Hautes Etudes de Défense Nationale (IHEDN) was supposed to be the opportunity to spend quality time with her family. This all changed after a meeting on the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier between General Pierre de Villiers, Chairman of the French Joints Chiefs of Staff and General Martin Dempsey, his American counterpart.
The two military leaders agreed that it would be interesting for an American officer to attend CHEM.
Colonel Blake who was at that time working in the French capital, would instantly be elected to attend.
“This year in CHEM has been an incredible opportunity for me to learn immensely about pol-mil affairs”.
However, the end of her stay in Paris doesn’t mean she is going back to her country. In July she will take command of an intelligence brigade in Wiesbaden, Germany.
“It’s a great honor to command our servicemen and women during an important time for Europe’s security. But a woman in charge within the US army is common; mentalities have evolved a lot during these past years.”
It is certain that this new assignment isn’t the final outcome of this officer’s career but a simple step towards higher responsibilities.
Six important dates about Colonel Devon Blake
2004: Master’s Degree in Pedagogy
2008: Command and General Staff College, American equivalent of Ecole de Guerre in France
2009: A year in Bagram, Afghanistan with the 16th Military Police Brigade
2011: Second tour in Afghanistan and in Kuwait
2012: Commanding Officer of the 344th Military Intelligence Battalion, Goodfellow Air Force Base, San Angelo, Texas
2014: Deputy Executive Officer to the US Army Chief of Staff
Sources : Ministère des Armées
