Benoît Puga
Benoît Puga | |
---|---|
Born |
January 30 1953 France |
Allegiance | France |
Service/branch |
French Army French Foreign Legion |
Years of service | 1973 - 2016 |
Rank | Général d'armée |
Commands held |
2nd Foreign Parachute Regiment 2e REP Special Operation Command Direction du renseignement militaire President Military Cabinet Chief Grand Chancelier de la Légion d'honneur |
Benoît Puga (born in Saint-Mandé, 30 January 1953) is a French général d'armée of the French Army and Grand Chancellor of the Légion d'honneur.[1]
Military career
He integrated the École spéciale militaire de Saint-Cyr in September 1973, following which he joined the school of infantry application in 1975 with a rank of sous-lieutenant.
In September 1976, he joined the 1st Chasseur Group at Reims in quality of an infantry section chief (French: chef de section) then platoon missile section chief.
From August to October, he conducted a tour at the corps of reconnaissance helicopter unit of the 2e ACR belonging to the VIIth U.S. Army Corps stationed at Nuremberg in Germany.
He was promoted to the rank of lieutenant on August 1 1976.
On April 1 1978, he was assigned to the 2nd Foreign Parachute Regiment 2e REP where he successively occupied the function of section chief, assistant officer, and commanding a company in a unit combat capacity. Accordingly, he was promoted to the rank of captain.He participated to several operations and exterior deployment: at Kolwezy in Zaire in 1978, at Gabon in 1979, at Djibouti in 1980 and 1981, at Beirut in 1982, at Bangi in Central African Republic in 1983 and Tchad in 1984.
In August 1984, he joined the general staff headquarters of the French Army and occupied the function of quarter officer at the operational center of the French Army, a post which he left on August 1986 to occupy during a year the functions of chargé. He was promoted to the ranks of chef de bataillon in 1985.
Candidate at the superior war school and the superior inter-arm course (CSI) from September 1987 to June 1989, he received the commandment of an officer promotion class at Saint-Cyr from 1989 to 1992 where, a lieutenant-colonel, he successively commanded the 3rd 2nd and 1st battalions.
In August 1992, he rejoined again, the general staff headquarters at Paris at the corps of the study bureau and participated to the reorganization of the operational commandment in the armed forces.
From February 1994 to June 1996, he was detached as a military assistant to the commandant of FORPRONU in ex-Yugoslavia from March 1994 to April 1995, then as military counselor of the co-president of the international conference for ex-Yugoslavia and European negotiator for the peace accords of Dayton, from May to December 1995, a personality which was the High representative of the international community in Bosnia.
He was promoted to the rank of colonel in 1994.
On August 9 1996, he received the regimental colors of the 2nd Foreign Parachute Regiment 2e REP and participated at the head of that unit to operations in « Malabo » at Brazaville in 1996, « Almandin II & III » at Bangui in RCA in 1996 and 1997, then Pelican I, II, III at Brazaville in the Congo in 1997. He assumed particularly the commandment of operation Pelican III.
From September 1998 to August 1999, he was designated as cadre professor of the inter-arm defense college (CID). During this period, he was detached from May to August 1999 near the special envoy for the Balkans of the Secretary General of the United Nations, as military counselor, and participated at this foreign title to the negotiations on the deployment of UNMIK in Kosovo and the stability pact in the Balkans.
From September 1999 to July 2000, he was an auditor for the 52nd session of IHEDN and the 49th session of the CHEMM, then he occupied successively the functions of assistant « terre » then inter-arms assistant to the chief admiral at the inter-arms operational center (COIA) of the État-Major des Armées.
On September 1 2004, he was designated as the head commandant of the Special Operation Command (COS).
On July 1 2007, he assumed the functions of deputy chief (French: sous-chef) of operations at the general staff headquarters of the Armed Forces and was elevated to the rank designation of Général de corps d'armée. Director of the Direction du renseignement militaire in September 2008, he was designated as Chief of the Military Staff of the President of the Republic of Presidents of France Nicolas Sarkozy then Francois Hollande.
On January 16 2014, Général d'armée Benoît Puga, Chief of the Military Staff of the President of the Republic was maintained in the 1st section of officers generals of the French Army until August 30 2015.
On August 23 2016, Général d'armée Benoît Puga was designated by decree nomination as Grand Chancellor of the Legion of Honor (French: Grand Chancelier de la Légion d'honneur) succeeding général Jean-Louis Georgelin.
Recognitions and Honors
- Grand Croix of the Legion of Honour
- Commandeur of the Légion d'Honneur (2006)
- Officier of the Légion d'Honneur (1998)
- Chevalier of the Légion d'Honneur (1991)
- Grand officier de l'ordre national du Mérite
- Croix de la Valeur militaire (7 citations)
- Croix du combattant
- Overseas Medal ( 5 agrafes - claps )
- Médaille de la Défense nationale (National Defence Medal) (bronze)
- Médaille de reconnaissance de la Nation
- Médaille commémorative française
- Croix de la bravoure militaire de Zaire (Cross of Military Bravery of Zaire)
- United Nations Medal for former Yugoslavia
- NATO Medal for former Yugoslavia
- Inter-African Medal for the Protection of the Bangui Agreements
- Other Diverse French and Foreign Decorations
See also
- Bernard Goupil, 2e REP (1972)
- Jean-Claude Coullon
- Jean Brette, 2e REP (1974)
- Philippe Erulin, 2e REP (1976)
- Jean Louis Roué, 2e REP (1978)
- Bernard Janvier, 2e REP (1982)
- Bruno Dary, 2e REP (1994)
- Édouard Guillaud
Notes
- ↑ Mesures d'ordre individuel du conseil des ministres du 2 juillet 2008.
- (in French) Biography at the Ministry of Defence