In June 2016, the 13th Demi-Brigade of the Foreign Legion (13e DBLE) of the French Foreign Legion left officially Zayed Military City near Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). It had been stationed there for 5 years, since the summer of 2011. In late June 2016, the 13e DBLE was placed at Camp Larzac, southern France.
On June 2, 2016, a leaving ceremony took place at Zayed Military City. During the ceremony, the 13e DBLE said goodbye to the UAE and handed its base over to the 5th Cuirassier Regiment (5e RC), a French armored cavalry unit disbanded in 1992 and re-established during the 13e DBLE’s leaving ceremony at Zayed Military City.
Since June 29, 2016, the 13e DBLE has been officially based in mainland France. That day, its regimental colors arrived at Camp Larzac, Aveyron department, southern France. During a ceremony, Lieutenant colonel Guillaume Percie du Sert, the new commanding officer of the 13e DBLE, received the regimental colors from the hands of Army general Jean-Pierre Bosser (the head of the French Army Command).
Composed of some 450 personnel now, the 13e DBLE would expand to a full-strength regiment in 2018.
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