From March 6 to 9, 2023, legionnaires of the 1st Foreign Engineer Regiment (1er REG) and the 13th Foreign Legion Demi-Brigade (13e DBLE) participated in a joint military exercise in Trivandrum, India.

The men of the 2nd Company, 1er REG and the Support Company, 13e DBLE were part of the Landing Task Force (GTE), Mission Jeanne D’Arc 2023. This mission, which began in early February, lasts five months and comprises two French ships, the Landing Helicopter Dock Dixmude and the frigate La Fayette, sailing around the world through Djibouti in the Horn of Africa, India, Singapore, Indonesia, Australia, French Polynesia, Mexico, and the Caribbean before crossing the Atlantic Ocean back to France.

The mission is carried out, first of all, for fresh cadets of the French Navy, while the legionnaires and other soldiers of the 6th Light Armored Brigade serve as the mission’s landing infantry element.

After having spent some time in Djibouti in late February, where the GTE trained alongside local and U.S. soldiers, the two ships sailed to India. There, in Trivandrum (Kerala Region), the legionnaires and their French colleagues took part in exercise FRINJEX 2023, as part of India’s 91st Infantry Brigade. For four days, the Indian and French soldiers shared their know-how and developed their interoperability during joint military activities. They included setting up a refugee camp, minefield intervention, jungle survival, urban combat and combat first aid. In addition, the Indian and French soldiers carried out short and long range shooting exercises, a march in the equatorial zone and a collective training course. In return, the 13e DBLE legionnaires demonstrated some of their urban warfare skills for their Indian counterparts.

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Related posts:
1er REC, 13e DBLE: Exercise Orion 2023
13e DBLE: 2023 Exercise Tallinn Dawn
1er REG: 2022 Exercise Rubicon
1er REG: A platoon returned from Africa