13e DBLE: 2021 Exercise at Lozere | French Foreign Legion Information

This week, between 22 and 25 February 2021, an important exercise to maintain operational readiness of the 13th Foreign Legion Half Brigade (13e DBLE) in open terrain took place in Lozère, a department in the Occitanie region in southern France.

The exercise occurred on the plateau of the Mende Forest, bordering the city of Mende, the prefecture of Lozère. Several platoons of the 13e DBLE were involved in the exercise (150 men all together), as well as four helicopters of the 5th Combat Helicopter Regiment (5e RHC). This cooperation is a result of the new reorganization and modernization of the French Army. That’s why, in 2019, the 13e DBLE was selected as a regiment to be adapted to air assault operations within joint tactical task forces. The legionnaires were trained, day and night, in high intensity combat, reconnaissance and infiltration, to test their tactical know-how.

On Tuesday, February 23, the men were visited by Valérie Hatsch, the prefect of the Lozère department. She met with Captain Gauthier (first name, military surnames are currently forbidden to publish in France), the company commander of the legionnaires taking part in the exercise.

13e DBLE: 2021 Exercise at Lozere

Images credit (non-defined): Préfète de la Lozère

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