DÉFENSE ZONE
Welcome to Djibouti, a small country in the Horn of Africa with just under a million inhabitants, where the French military presence has remained significant since this former colony’s independence. Located between Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia and Yemen, this state, smaller in area than Belgium, plays a strategic role on the international stage. The French forces, made up of some 2,000 soldiers, sailors and airmen, live alongside some unusual neighbours: Djibouti is also a forward base for the German, Japanese, American, Spanish, Italian and even Chinese armed forces.
Portfolio
In its issue 2, Défense Zone devotes its portfolio to the French units deployed there since 1977.
Desert school
For the French, Djibouti is also a desert school, the perfect place to be trained in survival and combat in hostile environments. Every year, lieutenants at their specialisation schools, future platoon leaders, come in particular to complete a course at the much-feared CECAD, the Djibouti Combat and Hardening Training Centre.
Prepositioned forces
Djibouti is also the largest base of French prepositioned forces in Africa. Detachments are regularly deployed to reinforce other operations, notably Barkhane in the Sahel.
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