2e REG: 2025 Summer High Mountain Team Leader Course | French Foreign Legion Information

In August 2025, approximately a dozen legionnaires from the Foreign Legion’s 2nd Foreign Engineer Regiment (2e REG) undertook the Summer High Mountain Team Leader Course in the French Alps, southeastern France. From the cliffs of Mont Aiguille in the Vercors Massif to the iconic ridgelines of La Meije in the Écrins range, the legionnaires were trained to take responsibility for their rope teams and to progress safely through complex alpine terrain.

Under the guidance of a warrant officer, Adjudant Michaël, each participant completed the two-week course and earned the Summer High Mountain Team Leader brevet, despite physical exhaustion and challenging conditions.

The Summer High Mountain Team Leader Course (Chef d’Équipe de Haute Montagne Été, CEHM Été) is a demanding 15-day qualification designed to train soldiers to lead two- to three-person rope teams in summer alpine conditions. The course serves as an advanced step in a soldier’s mountain warfare progression.

Candidates must already hold the Military Mountaineering Certificate (Brevet d’alpiniste militaire, BAM) qualification and have at least one year of mountain experience. The summer CEHM course covers a range of practical skills such as leading rock climbs, setting up anchors and fixed ropes, crevasse rescue, and improvised casualty evacuation. Soldiers also learn key ropework, including belay systems, self-rescue techniques, and various knots used in alpine environments.

On the theoretical side, instruction focuses on identifying objective mountain hazards (such as rockfall, weather, and terrain dangers) and managing mountain-specific medical risks. Upon successful completion, graduates are certified not only to lead rope teams but also to assist instructors in training others, making them a valuable asset for future operations in high-altitude or rugged terrain.

For winter conditions, there exists a special Winter High Mountain Team Leader Course (CEHM Hiver) in the French Army, lasting also two weeks.

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