On September 29, 2020, Lieutenant Colonel Zlatko Sabljic, director of the Home of Legionnaire (a veteran retirement home in Auriol, southern France) has passed away. A famous figure, he spent 38 years in the French Foreign Legion and 8 years with legionnaires-veterans.
2e REP: Airbus A400M assault landing
In mid-September 2020, for the very first time, the legionnaires from the 2nd Foreign Parachute Regiment (2e REP) conducted an experimental assault landing exercise with the new European modern four-engine military transport aircraft, Airbus A400M. See photos + video.
3e REI: 2020 Fourragere Day
In French Guiana (South America) in mid-September 2020, the French Foreign Legion’s 3rd Foreign Infantry Regiment (3e REI) celebrated the regimental holiday, called Fourragere Day. See the nice images of this important event.
1er REC: Complete again after 11 months
At Camp Carpiagne in early September 2020, the officers and legionnaires of the 1st Foreign Cavalry Regiment (1er REC), the French Foreign Legion’s only cavalry unit, attended a regimental gathering to celebrate their regained unity, after 11 months of deployments.
2e REP: 2020 Exrecise Vent d’Automne
In the second week of September, a large military exercise Vent d’Automne (Autumn Wind) was conducted by the 2nd Foreign Parachute Regiment (2e REP) in Corsica, their homeland. Three companies participated.
2020 Operation Amitie in Lebanon
In early August 2020, Beirut, the capital of Lebanon, was affected by devastating explosions. The center of the capital was heavily damaged; over 200 people died, more than 6,000 were wounded. In response to the disaster, France sent an important aid and military assistance to Lebanon in mid-August, boarded on a French ship Tonnerre and several aircraft, as part of Operation Amitie (Operation Friendship).
3e REI: Another rotation to arrive in 2020
To replace legionnaires leaving the 3rd Foreign Infantry Regiment (3e REI), the French Foreign Legion’s unit based in French Guiana of South America, another rotation of this year arrived in August.
2e REI: 2020 Change of Command
At the Caserne colonel Chabrières, the military headquarters of the 2nd Foreign Infantry Regiment (2e REI) in southern France’s Nîmes, a Change of Command ceremony occurred in early August 2020.
Foreign Legion: Old documentaries – 1er RE, 13e DBLE, 1er REC, 2e REI
If you are interested in the French Foreign Legion, you can watch some rare and interesting French documentaries from the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, recently posted on YT, showing the then Legion and legionnaires.
Read moreForeign Legion: Old documentaries – 1er RE, 13e DBLE, 1er REC, 2e REI
1er REG + 2e REG: Mission in Beirut
To reply to the disaster in Beirut, the legionnaires from the 1st Foreign Engineer Regiment (1er REG) and 2nd Foreign Engineer Regiment (2e REG) were alerted and sent to the capital of Lebanon. They arrived there on August 13.
20 years ago: Five legionnaires died in basic training
On August 7, 2000, an enlisted volunteer platoon from the 4th Foreign Regiment (4e RE), the training unit of the French Foreign Legion, had achieved their first month of instruction at a remote farm and were going back to the regimental military base. Nevertheless, one of two military trucks transporting the fresh legionnaires left the road and crashed into a tree.
Read more20 years ago: Five legionnaires died in basic training