1st Foreign Engineer Regiment

1er REG insignia1er Régiment Étranger de Génie, 1er REG. One of the two combat engineer regiments of the French Foreign Legion. The 1er REG has been stationed in the Quartier Général Rollet, located at Laudun, Southern France. It provides combat engineering support for Legion units and French Army regular units.

The 1st Foreign Engineer Regiment draws its lineage, attributes, and traditions from the 6th Foreign Infantry Regiment, a unit organized in Syria in 1939 and disbanded in Tunisia in 1955.

The regiment was created in July 1984, as the 6th Foreign Engineer Regiment (6e REG). The 6e REG served in the Central African Republic, Chad, the Gulf War, the former Yugoslavia. In 1999, the 6e REG was redesignated and became the 1er REG. The latter took part in operations in Kosovo, Afghanistan (it was the first Legion unit to be deployed there), Mali, the Central African Republic, and other military operations.

 
1st Foreign Engineer Regiment promotion

 

Current structure of the 1st Foreign Engineer Regiment

The regiment is divided (in 2025) into 6 companies. It comprises around 1,000 officers and legionnaires. A reserve company consisting of non-Legion reservists is also assigned to the regiment.

The 1st Foreign Engineer Regiment carries out a variety of construction and demolition missions under combat or non-combat conditions (demining, opening passages, humanitarian and public construction projects, etc.), while still maintaining a role in fighting as infantry, with a military specialty in amphibious warfare. The regiment also operates a platoon of Engineer Combat Divers (PCG, formerly DINOPS) and the Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team, comprising EOD specialists trained and experienced in dealing with the disarmament and disposal of highly explosive munitions. They are part of the Combat Support Company, which includes other specialists and commando-like elements.

The 1er REG serves as an engineering regiment of the 6th Light Armored Brigade (6e BLB). Other regiments of the Legion also comprise this brigade: the 2e REI, 1er REC, and 13e DBLE.

In 2025, the 1er REG is composed of:

  • HQ & Logistics Company (Compagnie de Commandement et de Logistique, CCL)
  • 1st Company (1re Compagnie, 1re CIE)
  • 2nd Company (2e Compagnie, 2e CIE)
  • 3rd Company (3e Compagnie, 3e CIE)
  • 4th Company (4e Compagnie, 4e CIE)
  • Combat Support Company (Compagnie d’Appui, CA)
  • 5th Reserve Company (5e Compagnie de Réserve, 5e CIE)

 

1st FOREIGN ENGINEER REGIMENT
NICKNAME:
ACTIVATION: 1984
MOTTO: Fier de son passé, confiant dans l’avenir (Proud of its past, self-confident in the future)
REGIM. MARCH: Le fanion claque et s’élève
OFFIC. FB PAGE: 1er Régiment Étranger de Génie
FFL INFO POSTS: 1er REG’s category

 

Location of the 1st Foreign Engineer Regiment

 

 

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