2nd Foreign Parachute Regiment

2nd Foreign Parachute Regiment (2e Régiment étranger de parachutistes)
Badge of the 2nd Foreign Parachute Regiment
Active	9 October 1948 – present
Country	France
Allegiance	French Foreign Legion
Branch	French Army
Type	Airborne Light Infantry
Role	Primary Tasks: • Air Assault Other Roles: • Urban Warfare (1 CIE) • Mountain warfare (2 CIE) • Amphibious warfare (3 CIE) • Sniping and Demolitions (4 CIE)
Size	1,190 men
Part of	11th Parachute Brigade
Garrison/HQ	Calvi, Corsica France
Nickname(s)	The REP
Motto(s)	More Majorum (after the custom (or manner) of our ancestors)
Colors	Green & Red
March	La Legion Marche (vers le front)
Anniversaries	Camerone Day (30 April), Saint-Michel Day (29 September)
Engagements	First Indochina War *Battle of Route Coloniale 4 *Battle of Hoa Binh *Battle of Na San *Battle of Dien Bien Phu Algerian War Shaba II *Battle of Kolwezi
Commanders
Current commander	Colonel Benoît Desmeulles
Notable commanders	Rémy Raffalli, Paul Arnaud de Foïard Philippe Erulin Alain Bouquin
Insignia
Badge of the 2nd Foreign Parachute Regiment worn on Green Berets. This badge is also worn by French Army Paratroopers on Red Berets.	File:Insigne de béret Parachutiste métro et légion.jpg
Abbreviation	2 REP

The 2nd Foreign Parachute Regiment (French) is an airborne regiment of the French Foreign Legion, stationed at Camp Raffalli near the town of Calvi on the island of Corsica, just south of mainland France. It is part of the 11th Parachute Brigade and the spearhead of the French Rapid reaction force.

History

As a consequence of the successes of the Parachute Company of 3e REI (French), the Legions' first parachute unit, serving in the First Indochina War it was decided to raise two battalions of Legion paratroops. The 2nd Foreign Parachute Battalion (French) was formed on October 1, 1948, and based at Setif, Algeria.

Indochina

Main article: Indochina War

The 2e BEP was sent to Indochina on January 13, 1949 and arrived at Saigon on February 8. From then until November they served as 'sector troops'.

In 1950, the battalion became a part of the General Reserve in Indochina. Following the French defeat on Route coloniale 4 in October 1950, the battalion was transported by ship to North Vietnam. The battalion took part in several battles, including the first battle of Nghia Lo (October 1951), the Black River (November–December 1951), and the fight for Route coloniale 6 (January–February 1952) during the Battle of Hoa Binh.

The battalion made a parachute drop on Dien Bien Phu as reinforcement during the Battle of Dien Bien Phu (March–May 1954). Fighting without reinforcements, remnants of the 1er and 2e BEP were overwhelmed after a final assault by Viet Minh forces; fewer than 100 legionnaires of the 2e BEP were taken prisoner. On 1 December 1954, after the surviving members of the battalion had returned from captivity after the Armistice, the 2e BEP was later reconstituted with replacements, and returned by ship to French Algeria.

Algeria

Main article: Algerian War

On December 1, 1955, the 2e BEP was enlarged to a full regiment, and was redesignated as the 2nd Foreign Parachute Regiment (French). The regiment served throughout the war and suffered a total of 741 casualties.

After the armistice on March 19, 1962 the regiment was to moved to Telergma and in September to Mers-el-Kebir. In June 1963 Lt. Col. Caillaud took command with a plan to transformed the now demoralized regiment into an elite para-commnado force. In June 1967 the regiment was moved to its current base at Camp Raffalli, Calvi on the island of Corsica. It was assigned to the 11th Division and became part of France's rapid intervention forces.

Chad

Elements of the regiment were deployed to Chad in April 1969 as part of a French force to support the government against two rebel forces. Returning at the end of 1970. Individual companies were deployed again in 1978-79 to protect French lives and again in 1984.

Zaire

Main article: Battle of Kolwezi

In May 1978, a force of gendarmes katangais entered the Katanga province of Zaire from Angola and occupied the mining town of Kolwezi. They began to loot the town and kill government soldiers and civilians (including several Belgian and French employees of a mining company). At the request of the government of Zaire, 2 REP was airlifted to Kinshasa and dropped on Kolwezi. The operation was a success and the town was quickly recaptured with minor casualties in the ranks of the paratroopers. Some 120 civilian hostages died in the occupation.

Afghanistan

Main article: Brigade La Fayette

2e REP deployed to Afghanistan from January to July 2010, as part of Task Force "Altor". Two Legionnaires, Pole Konrad Rygiel from 2e REP GCP, Slovakian Robert Hutnik from the regiment were killed in action.

Selection

Main article: Promo Parachutiste

Selection for 2e REP takes 4 weeks. The first 2 weeks are physical tests across terrain. Parachute training takes place at Camp Raffalli and runs for 2 weeks with a total of 6 jumps.

2e REP is the only regiment of the 11th Parachute Brigade which trains its own paratroopers. The Legionnaires spend their parachute training in Calvi TAP within the walls of the regiment. All other Army units are trained at the École des troupes aéroportées (ETAP) in Pau.

Organization

Insignias of the 2nd Foreign Parachute Regiment.

The regiment is composed of around 1140 men organized into 8 companies and a reserve unit of 60 men.

• Compagnie de commandement et de logistique (CCL) - Command and Logistics Company
• Compagnie d'administration et de soutien (CAS) - Administrative and Support Company
• Compagnie d'éclairage et d'appui (CEA) - Reconnaissance & Support Company (recce, anti-tank, sniper & pathfinder sections)
• 1er CIE - 1st Company (specialises in Urban warfare) (a command section and 4 combat sections)
• 2e CIE - 2nd Company (specialises in Mountain warfare) (a command section and 4 combat sections)
• 3e CIE - 3rd Company (specialises in Amphibious warfare) (a command section and 4 combat sections)
• 4e CIE - 4th Company (specialises in sniping and demolitions) (a command section and 4 combat sections)
• 5e Compagnie de maintenance (5e CM) - 5th Maintenance Company (formed August 1994)
• 6e Compagnie (6e CIE) - Reserve Unit (founded July 2001 upon the dissolution of the 173rd Infantry Regiment of Corsica)

Some members of the 2e REP belong to the Commando Parachute Group - Groupement Commando Parachutiste which is a special forces unit of the 11th Parachute Brigade of the French army. While GCP members of other units wear the parachutist's red beret, the 2e REP GCP members conserves the green beret of the French Foreign Legion.

Deployments

Operational deployments of 2e REP

• Chad (in 1969, Operations Pout, Manta, Sparrowhawk)
• Djibouti (1976 Loyada, 1992 Operation Iskoutir)
• Zaire (1978, Kolwezi)
• Lebanon (1982, Operation Orca)
• Rwanda (1990, 1992, Operation Noroit)
• Gabon (1990, Operation Shark)
• Iraq (1991, GCP, Operation Daguet)
• Somalia (1992, Operation Oryx)
• Central (1996, Operation Almandine)
• Congo - Brazzaville (1997, Operation Pelican)
• Former Yugoslavia (1993 Sarajevo, 1995 RIF 1996 and 1999 KFOR, Kosovo 2001 and 2003)
• Côte d'Ivoire (2002, 2004, 2006, 2010 Licorne)
• Afghanistan (OMLT 2008, GTIA Altor 2010, Red SGTIA 2011, Operation PAMIR).
• Mali (2013, Operation Serval)

Commanding Officers

Captain Jean Solnon (1948–1950) Captain Léon Dussert (1950) Major Rémy Raffalli (1950–1951) Major René Bloch (1952–1953) Major Albert Merglen Major Hubert Liesenfelt (1953–1954) Captain Claudius Vial (1954) Major Georges Masselot (1954–1955) Lieutenant Colonel Devismes (1955–1958) Major Georges Masselot (February–April 1958) Colonel Jacques Lefort (1958–1960) Lieutenant Colonel Darmuzai (1960–1961) Lieutenant Colonel Maurice Chenel (1961–1963) Lieutenant Colonel Robert Caillaud (1963–1965) Lieutenant Colonel Paul Arnaud de Foïard (1965–1967) Lieutenant Colonel Jeannou Lacaze (1967–1970) Lieutenant Colonel Dupoux (1970–1972) Lieutenant Colonel Goupil (1972–1974)

Lieutenant Colonel Brette (1974–1976) Colonel Philippe Erulin (1976–1978) Lieutenant Colonel Roue (1978–1980) Colonel Michel Guignon (1980–1982) Lieutenant Colonel Janvier (1982–1984) Colonel Raymond Germanos (1984–1986) Colonel Wabinski (1986–1988) Colonel Coevoet (1988–1990) Colonel Gausseres (1990–1992) Colonel Poulet (1992–1994) Colonel Bruno Dary (1994–1996) Colonel Benoît Puga (1996–1998) Lieutenant Colonel Prevost (1998–2000) Colonel Alain Bouquin (2000–2002) Colonel Emmanuel Maurin (2002–2004) Colonel Paulet (2004–2006) Colonel Brice Houdet (2006–2008) Colonel Eric Bellot des Minières (2008–2010)

Colonel Francois Plessy (2010–2012) Colonel Benoît Desmeulles (2012- )

Notable Officers and Legionnaires

Erwan Bergot Ante Gotovina Georges Hamacek

Simon Murray Hélie de Saint Marc Dominique Vandenberg

Akihiko Saito

Gallery

2ème REP mortar team in action during the Battle of Kolwezi, 1978.

2ème REP paratroopers roping from a Puma over Calvi.

2ème REP paratroopers jumping over Calvi Drop Zone.

2ème REP paratroopers landing on Calvi Drop Zone during a training course.

2ème REP paratroopers jumping from a C-160.

Camp Raffalli, home to the 2ème REP, as viewed from the water tower.

Battle honours

• Camerone 1863
• Indochine 1949-1954

See also

• The Parachute Regiment, the closest U.K. equivalent
• U.S. Army Rangers, closest U.S. equivalent
• The 35th "Tzanhanim" Brigade, closest Israeli equivalent
• Rhodesian Light Infantry, a Parachute/Commando regiment informally known as "Rhodesia's Foreign Legion."

References

• Official website of the French Foreign Legion
• Porch, Douglas. The French Foreign Legion. New York: Harper Collins, 1991. ISBN 978-0-06-092308-2
• Braby, Wayne & Windrow, Martin. French Foreign Legion Paratroops. Oxford: Osprey Publishing, 1985. ISBN 978-0-85045-629-5
• Lochrie, Alex. Fighting for the French Foreign Legion. London: Pen & Sword, 2009. ISBN 978-1-84884-085-0
• The 2e Rep: French Foreign Legion Paratroopers, Yves Debay, Histoire & Collections, 2003, ISBN 2-913903-06-1, ISBN 978-2-913903-06-7

External links

• Official website - 2e Régiment étranger de parachutistes
• 2eREP veterans forum