DÉFENSE ZONE
Défense Zone met the platoon leader of the commando paratroopers group (GCP) of the 2nd Foreign Parachute Regiment (2e REP). This seasoned officer enlisted 25 years ago as an ordinary legionnaire and rose through every rank to lead one of the most prestigious units of the French Army, and of the French Foreign Legion in particular.
His career in the French Foreign Legion
Romanian by birth, he joined the French Foreign Legion 25 years ago. Already a soldier in his home country, he dreamt only of joining the prestigious French Army unit. “Since I was 14, I always told my friends that one day I would join the Legion.” In the end, the childhood dream came true. Although he did not speak a word of French, he decided to leave his country and take the selection tests. He passed them without too much difficulty and began initial training for several months in Castelnaudary. “During basic training I heard about the 2e REP and its parachute speciality. In Romania my unit was stationed next to a para unit and I knew that this was what I wanted to do. I did everything I could to finish near the top of the rankings so that I could choose my posting, and I did ”.
Posted to the 1st company, which specialises in urban combat, he was promoted to corporal after just two years of service. A year later he decided to apply to join the prestigious commando paratroopers group. The selection lasts two weeks and spares none of the candidates. Christian held on and was finally selected to follow commando training at the end of 2002.
He would stay 8 years in the group, first as a team member and then as cell leader. With his officer and level 3 commando qualifications now in hand, he was posted to French Guiana in 2010 as an instructor at the CEFE (Equatorial Forest Training Centre). Back at the REP, he rejoined the GCP and gradually rose through all its ranks. In 2017, after passing the competitive exam for majors, he decided to become an officer from the ranks. Currently, 10% of French Foreign Legion officers have followed this type of career path. It was with his new rank of lieutenant that Christian was posted to French Guiana a second time. In the first year he held the post of course officer before becoming forest officer for two years. On his return to Calvi he took command of a platoon in the 3rd company, a unit specialising in amphibious combat. Less than two years later he was finally back with the commando group, but this time to lead it, a post he still holds today.
The REP’s GCP
To join the GCP, candidates must already be corporals. Once the two weeks of pre-selection have been passed, it takes almost two years to complete the full training cycle, which includes the courses common to the GCP (military freefall, fast-roping and rappelling, Jetburg, etc.) but also the speciality courses (sniper, medical, radio, JTAC…).
As the only commando unit in the French Foreign Legion, the men of the REP form an elite group that works either for the regiment or for the 11th Parachute Brigade. “We are of course legionnaires, but there is no problem integrating with the other GCPs of the 11e BP. We are regularly together on courses and exercises, and sometimes on overseas operations. We are there to accomplish a mission all together; that is the only thing that matters.”
The experience of overseas operations
Captain Christian has had the opportunity to deploy on overseas operations several times. In Afghanistan he experienced high-intensity combat missions: “In some firefights we were pinned down by the enemy. That is when the ‘Legion spirit’ takes on its full meaning. We all agreed that we would never abandon our position and that if we had to ‘do a Camerone’, each of us was ready to sacrifice himself.”
To find out more: French military parachutist badges.
The legionnaire would deploy to Mali twice. In 2014 for Operation Barkhane, but his greatest memory remains his first tour, at the launch of Operation SERVAL in 2013. “With the regiment we jumped on Timbuktu. It was the first time since Kolwezi in ’78 (a mission entrusted to the 2e REP) that a parachute unit had been dropped onto a combat zone. Parachuting onto an unknown and potentially hostile area will remain a memory engraved in my mind for ever.”
French Guiana and hardening
His tours in French Guiana and the posts he held at the CEFE have given Captain Christian extensive experience of the equatorial jungle. Moreover, like many commando instructors posted to this unit, the captain had the opportunity to take a commando course lasting several weeks in South America. “When you first arrive in the jungle you think: ‘this is hell’. But once you apply the safety rules, you realise that it is an incredible and fascinating environment. You have to respect simple principles: be in very good physical shape, follow hygiene rules, particularly foot care, know how to choose the right equipment for a mission and use it correctly. Many accidents come from mishandling a machete, for example.”
Commanding in the French Foreign Legion
“Command in the French Foreign Legion is special. Legionnaires are men apart. Most of them come from other countries and enlist in an army they do not know, to serve under a flag that is not that of their country of birth, and yet they are ready to sacrifice themselves for it. To command there, you must be fully aware of the men under your orders. My career path has helped me a great deal with that. I know exactly what they feel because I have been through it too. We form a real family, a word that has a very deep meaning for us. Every legionnaire, from basic training to operations, knows he can count on his comrade. We are brothers in arms. Now, as an officer, I must also take a broader view. I command men and I take full responsibility for them, but my decisions are always for the good of the Legion and for accomplishing the mission entrusted to me. ”
Advice for young people
“If you want to come to the French Foreign Legion, and to the REP in particular, you must be motivated and determined, but serving in this regiment is something special. The third dimension is a world apart, but an extraordinary one. With us, a young person can fully realise their potential. The only limits they will have are the ones they set themselves. With willpower you can do anything.”
Find out more
You can find the full interview on the podcasts page of our website or directly on our YouTube channel.
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