2nd Foreign Parachute Regiment

2nd Foreign Parachute Regiment (2e Régiment étranger de parachutistes)
Badge of the 2nd Foreign Parachute Regiment
Active	9 October 1948 – present
Country	France
Branch	French Army
Type	Airborne Light Infantry
Role	Primary Tasks: • Air Assault Other Roles: • Urban Warfare (1 CIE) • Mountain warfare (2 CIE) • Amphibious warfare (3 CIE) • Sniping and Demolitions (4 CIE)
Size	1,190 men
Part of	11th Parachute Brigade
Garrison/HQ	Calvi, Corsica France
Nickname	The REP
Motto	More Majorum (after the custom (or manner) of our ancestors)
Colors	Green & Red
March	La Legion Marche (vers le front)
Anniversaries	Camerone Day (30 April), Saint-Michel Day (29 September)
Engagements	First Indochina War Battle of Route Coloniale 4 Battle of Hoa Binh Battle of Na San Battle of Dien Bien Phu Algerian War Shaba II Battle of Kolwezi Lebanese Civil War 1975-1990 Multinational Force in Lebanon 1982-1984 Koweït 1990–1991 Kosovo Ivory Coast Global War on Terrorism (2001-present) War in Afghanistan (1978–present) Operation Enduring Freedom Afghanistan Mali
Commanders
Current commander	Colonel Benoît Desmeulles
Notable commanders	Rémy Raffalli, Paul Arnaud de Foïard Philippe Erulin Alain Bouquin
Insignia
Badge of the 2nd Foreign Parachute Regiment worn on Green Berets. This badge is also worn by French Army Paratroopers on Red Berets.
Abbreviation	2 REP

The 2nd Foreign Parachute Regiment (French: 2e Régiment étranger de parachutistes, 2e REP) is an airborne regiment of the French Foreign Legion, stationed at Camp Raffalli near the town of Calvi on the island of Corsica, just south of mainland France. It is part of the 11th Parachute Brigade^[1] and the spearhead of the French Rapid reaction force.^[1][2]

History

As a consequence of the successes of the Parachute Company of 3e REI, the Legions' first parachute unit, serving in the First Indochina War it was decided to raise two battalions of Legion paratroops. The 2nd Foreign Parachute Battalion (French: 2e Bataillon étranger de parachutistes, 2e BEP) was formed on October 1, 1948, and based at Setif, Algeria.^[3]

Indochina

The 2e BEP was sent to Indochina on January 13, 1949 and arrived at Saigon on February 8. From then until November they served as 'sector troops'.^[4]

In 1950, the battalion became a part of the General Reserve in Indochina. Following the French defeat on Route coloniale 4 in October 1950, the battalion was transported by ship to North Vietnam. The battalion took part in several battles, including the first battle of Nghia Lo (October 1951), the Black River (November–December 1951), and the fight for Route coloniale 6 (January–February 1952) during the Battle of Hoa Binh.

The battalion made a parachute drop on Dien Bien Phu as reinforcement during the Battle of Dien Bien Phu (March–May 1954). Fighting without reinforcements, remnants of the 1er and 2e BEP were overwhelmed after a final assault by Viet Minh forces; fewer than 100 legionnaires of the 2e BEP were taken prisoner. On 1 December 1954, after the surviving members of the battalion had returned from captivity after the Armistice, the 2e BEP was later reconstituted with replacements, and returned by ship to French Algeria.

Algeria

On December 1, 1955, the 2e BEP was enlarged to a full regiment, and was redesignated as the 2nd Foreign Parachute Regiment (French: 2e Régiment étranger de parachutistes, 2e REP).^[5] The regiment served throughout the war and suffered a total of 741 casualties.^[6]

After the armistice on March 19, 1962 the regiment was to moved to Telergma and in September to Mers-el-Kebir.^[7] In June 1963 Lt. Col. Caillaud took command with a plan to transformed the now demoralized regiment into an elite para-commando force.^[7] In June 1967 the regiment was moved to its current base at Camp Raffalli, Calvi on the island of Corsica.^[7] It was assigned to the 11th Division and became part of France's rapid intervention forces.^[7]

Chad

Elements of the regiment were deployed to Chad in April 1969 as part of a French force to support the government against two rebel forces. Returning at the end of 1970. Individual companies were deployed again in 1978-79 to protect French lives and again in 1984.^[7]

Zaire

In May 1978, a force of gendarmes katangais entered the Katanga province of Zaire from Angola and occupied the mining town of Kolwezi. They began to loot the town and kill government soldiers and civilians (including several Belgian and French employees of a mining company). At the request of the government of Zaire, 2 REP was airlifted to Kinshasa and dropped on Kolwezi. The operation was a success and the town was quickly recaptured with minor casualties in the ranks of the paratroopers. Some 120 civilian hostages died in the occupation.

Afghanistan

2e REP deployed to Afghanistan from January to July 2010, as part of Task Force "Altor". Two Legionnaires, Pole Konrad Rygiel from 2e REP GCP, Slovakian Robert Hutnik from the regiment were killed in action.

Mali

A reinforced company of the 2nd REP was parachuted north of Timbuktu on January the 28th, 2013.^[8]

Selection

This is the most prestigious and most professional of all the elite regiments, probably because the 2nd REP is in most cases the first unit to be sent into a combat zone. The relatively high pay, the prestige and the emphasis on honor make the regiment a popular choice for Legionnaires leaving Castelnaudary. However, since it is considered to be the elite unit of the Legion, only the best recruits are accepted there, where recruits get another four months of parachute training before being accepted into the unit.

The initial four months at Camp Rafalli in Corsica are spent on specialized and parachute training. Enhanced training and combat experience will be gained during the first year. Only after that has a Legionnaire earned his right properly in the 2nd REP. Once in the REP, there is much emphasis on physical training on camp. Known as the hardest and most intensive training in the world, "sharping up" for 2nd REP takes 12 months of physical and psychological tests across all terrain and weather conditions including special operations training.

There are many traditions in the regiment; for example, there are three roll calls a day. The first is the first thing in the morning, the second after lunch and the last at 21:00 in the evening. Another tradition is that a Legionnaire is confined to the island for the first year of the first posting there. It is also traditional for the whole regiment to march across the island from one side to the other once a year. This is a distance of about 200 kilometres (120 mi), which is performed in four days (carrying backpacks weighing at least 50 kilograms (110 lb)).

2nd REP is the only regiment of the 11th Parachute Brigade which trains its own paratroopers. The Legionnaires spend their parachute training in Calvi TAP within the walls of the regiment. All other Army units are trained at the École des troupes aéroportées (ETAP) in Pau.

Organization

Insignias of the 2nd Foreign Parachute Regiment.

The regiment is composed of around 1140 men organized into 8 companies and a reserve unit of 60 men.^[1]

• Compagnie de commandement et de logistique (CCL) - Command and Logistics Company^[9]
• Compagnie d'administration et de soutien (CAS) - Administrative and Support Company^[10]
• Compagnie d'éclairage et d'appui (CEA) - Reconnaissance & Support Company (recce, anti-tank, sniper & pathfinder sections)^[11]
• 1er CIE - 1st Company (specialises in Urban warfare^[12])^[13] (a command section and 4 combat sections)
• 2e CIE - 2nd Company (specialises in Mountain warfare^[14]) (a command section and 4 combat sections)
• 3e CIE - 3rd Company (specialises in Amphibious warfare^[15]) (a command section and 4 combat sections)
• 4e CIE - 4th Company (specialises in sniping and demolitions^[16]) (a command section and 4 combat sections)
• 5e Compagnie de maintenance (5e CM) - 5th Maintenance Company (formed August 1994)^[17]
• 6e Compagnie (6e CIE) - Reserve Unit (founded July 2001 upon the dissolution of the 173rd Infantry Regiment of Corsica)^[18]

Some members of the 2e REP belong to the Commando Parachute Group - Groupement Commando Parachutiste which is a special forces unit of the 11th Parachute Brigade of the French army. While GCP members of other units wear the parachutist's red beret, the 2e REP GCP members conserves the green beret of the French Foreign Legion.^[19]

Deployments

Operational deployments of 2e REP^[20]

• Chad (in 1969, Operations Pout, Manta, Sparrowhawk)
• Djibouti (1976 Loyada, 1992 Operation Iskoutir)
• Zaire (1978, Kolwezi)
• Lebanon (1982, Operation Orca,1987)
• Rwanda (1990, 1992, Operation Noroit)
• Gabon (1990, Operation Shark)
• Iraq (1991, GCP, Operation Daguet)
• Somalia (1992, Operation Oryx)
• Central (1996, Operation Almandine)
• Congo - Brazzaville (1997, Operation Pelican)
• Former Yugoslavia (1993 Sarajevo, 1995 RIF 1996 and 1999 KFOR, Kosovo 2001 and 2003)
• Koweit 1991, Operation Desert storm
• Côte d'Ivoire (2002, 2004, 2006, 2010 Licorne)
• Afghanistan (Various operations from 1960 to 1980, OMLT 2008, GTIA Altor 2010, Red SGTIA 2011, Operation PAMIR).
• Mali (2013, Operation Serval)

Many other "classified" operations all over the globe.

Commanding Officers

Notable Officers and Legionnaires

Gallery

• 

  2ème REP mortar team in action during the Battle of Kolwezi, 1978.

• 

  2ème REP paratroopers roping from a Puma over Calvi.

• 

  2ème REP paratroopers jumping over Calvi Drop Zone.

• 

  2ème REP paratroopers landing on Calvi Drop Zone during a training course.

• 

  2ème REP paratroopers jumping from a C-160.

• 

  Camp Raffalli, home to the 2ème REP, as viewed from the water tower.

Battle honours

• Camerone 1863^[21]
• Indochine 1949-1954
• Koweït 1990–1991

Notes

References

• Official website of the French Foreign Legion
• Porch, Douglas. The French Foreign Legion. New York: Harper Collins, 1991. ISBN 978-0-06-092308-2
• Braby, Wayne & Windrow, Martin. French Foreign Legion Paratroops. Oxford: Osprey Publishing, 1985. ISBN 978-0-85045-629-5
• Lochrie, Alex. Fighting for the French Foreign Legion. London: Pen & Sword, 2009. ISBN 978-1-84884-085-0
• The 2e Rep: French Foreign Legion Paratroopers, Yves Debay, Histoire & Collections, 2003, ISBN 2-913903-06-1, ISBN 978-2-913903-06-7

External links

• Official website - 2e Régiment étranger de parachutistes
• 2eREP veterans forum
• History + images - 2e REP History

French Foreign Legion History of the French Foreign Legion Képi Blanc (publication) Current Foreign Legion Units Administrative 1st Foreign Regiment Foreign Legion Command Foreign Legion Recruiting Group Infantry 2nd Foreign Infantry Regiment 2nd Foreign Parachute Regiment 3rd Foreign Infantry Regiment 13th Foreign Legion Demi-Brigade Foreign Legion Detachment in Mayotte Cavalry 1st Foreign Cavalry Regiment Engineering 1st Foreign Engineer Regiment 2nd Foreign Engineer Regiment Training 4th Foreign Regiment Jungle Training Center Combat Training Center at Arta Beach Defunct Foreign Legion Units Administrative and Training Communal Depot of the Foreign Regiments Airborne 1st Foreign Parachute Regiment 3rd Foreign Parachute Regiment 1st Foreign Parachute Heavy Mortar Company Infantry 4e régiment de marche du 1er étranger 5th Foreign Infantry Regiment 6th Foreign Infantry Regiment 11th Foreign Infantry Regiment 12th Foreign Infantry Regiment 21st Marching Regiment of Foreign Volunteers 22nd Marching Regiment of Foreign Volunteers 23rd Marching Regiment of Foreign Volunteers Cavalry 2nd Foreign Cavalry Regiment 97th Reconnaissance Group of the Infantry Division Miscellaneous Armored Train of the Foreign Legion Disciplinary Company of the Foreign Regiments in the Far East

Coordinates: 42°33′13″N 8°48′02″E / 42.5536°N 8.8006°E / 42.5536; 8.8006