2nd Foreign Engineer Regiment

2nd Foreign Engineer Regiment (2e Régiment étranger de génie)
Regimental badge of 2e REG
Active	1 Jul. 1999 – present
Country	France
Allegiance	French Foreign Legion
Branch	French Army
Type	Engineer
Role	Foreign Combat Engineer Foreign Airborne Combat Engineer Foreign Mountain Commando
Size	900-925 men
Part of	27th Mountain Infantry Brigade
Garrison/HQ	Saint Christol, France
Motto(s)	Rien n'empêche (Nothing Prevents)
Colors	Green & Red
March	Rien n'empêche
Anniversaries	Camerone Day (30 April) Saint Barbara (4 December)
Engagements	Opération Baliste Global War on Terrorism (2001-present) War in Afghanistan (1978–present) Operation Enduring Freedom Afghanistan Afghanistan-ISAF (Task Force LaFayette)
Battle honours	Camerone 1863[1]
Commanders
Current commander	Lieutenant-colonel Guillaume de SERCEY
Insignia
Insignia of the 2nd Foreign Engineer Regiment
Abbreviation	2e REG

Each year, the French Foreign Legion commemorates and celebrates Camarón in its headquarters in Aubagne and Bastille Day military parade in Paris; featuring the Pionniers leading and opening the way.

The 2nd Foreign Engineer Regiment (French: 2e Régiment étranger de génie, 2^e REG) is one of two combat engineer regiments in the French Foreign Legion. The regiment provides the combat engineering component of the 27th Mountain Infantry Brigade.^[2] Stationed, since its creation in 1999, on the former site of the French strategic nuclear missiles at Saint Christol, Vaucluse, southern France.

History

The 2nd Foreign Engineer Regiment (French: 2er régiment étranger de génie, 2^e REG) is the combat engineer regiment of the 27th Mountain Infantry Brigade.^[3] The regiment was created in 1999 and is an heir to one of the 18 combat engineer formations of the French Foreign Legion in Indochina. The regiment participated to the conservation of the indochinese patrimony of the 5th Foreign Infantry Regiment (French: 5e régiment étranger d'infanterie, 5^e REI) "the Tonkin Regiment". The regiment is a unit component of the military engineers of the French Army.

The regiment like all Legion regiments is composed of foreign legionnaires.^[3] The younger legionnaires are issued from the 4th Foreign Regiment while the older legionnaires are selected from other legion regiments.^[3]

Since creation, the regiment is stationed in garrison Maréchal Koenig, based on plateau Albion, on the commune of Saint-Christol, Vaucluse, the previous housed 1st strategic nuclear missile group, (1e GMS) French Air Force base, Aerial Base 200 of Saint Christol Albion.^[3]

The missions of the regiment at the corps of the 27th Mountain Brigade (27^e BIM) are intelligence gathering, direct combat, mobile support (demining, clearing paths, etc.) to any counter mobilities and the deployment amongst combat units.^[3][4] The particularity of the mountain brigade imposes adaptation to techniques that are demanding and specific in either relieving infantry units or replacing their combat role in operations of area control.^[3][4]

The regiment has been present on most exterior theatres of operations since creation.^[3] Projecting each year a number of legionnaires in various fields of operations, the regiment was engaged in Djibouti at the corps of the 13th Demi-Brigade of the Foreign Legion and in Afghanistan, Ivory Coast, French Guiana; similarly, at the corps of the 3rd Foreign Infantry Regiment, in the Balkans, in Martinique and metropole France during interior operations.^[3]

Campaigns ( 1999 - present)

Engineer Combat Missions

Since creation in 1999, the 2nd Foreign Engineer Regiment (French: 2er régiment étranger de génie, 2^e REG) has been present in the following theatres of exterior operations:

• Djibouti with the 13th Demi-Brigade of the Foreign Legion
• Afghanistan
• Ivory Coast
• French Guiana at the corps of the 3rd Foreign Infantry Regiment
• Balkans, Kosovo
• Martinique
• Lebanon in Opération Baliste launched by French President Jacques Chirac, during the month of July 2006. Following the Israeli bombardments of the bridges in Southern Lebanon, the world needed a combat engineer regiment to intervene quickly and efficiently in the reconstruction of bridges based on the old Bailey bridge system whose concept dates back to World War II. This intervention while very little publicized due to the estival period, allowed to consolidate the operational character in material of intervention of the military capability of combat engineers (French: génie de combat) in the Legion and more particularly at the 2^e REG.
• The regiment intervenese regularly in internal security operations: SATER Plan (French: Sauvetage Aéro-Terrestre, SATER, aero-terrestrial specialized French rescue put into motion at the departmental level with objectif of terrestrial search and precise localization of airborne capable civilian or military in distress) supported by elements of the French Air Force. Elements of SATER Plan was used to support protective operations around all the depots before the use of the euro, in 2001.
• The regiment intervenes regularly in internal security operations: Vigipirate, a mission shared and contributed by all Legion Regiments.

Humanitarian Missions

• The regiment also served in metropole France, while barely being created, within operations of the Orsec Disposition (French: Organisation de la Réponse de SÉcurité Civile, ORSEC - Response Organization for Civil Security; the response rescue organization responsible to manage natural disasters and catastrophes beyond level of normal emergencies), at the end of 1999, following the storming thundering path of Cyclone Lothar and Martin which caused the devastation and destruction of a part of Europe.

Organization

The regiment is composed of around 900 to 925 men organized into 6 companies.^[5]

• Compagnie de Commandement et de Logistique (CCL) - Command and Logistics Company
• Legion Pionniers Groups
• Compagnie d'Administration et de Soutien (CAS) - Administrative and Services Company
• 1^re Compagnie de Combat - 1st Combat Company (3 combat sections, a support section and a command section)
• 2^e Compagnie de Combat - 2nd Combat Company (3 combat sections, a support section and a command section)
• 3^e Compagnie de Combat - 3rd Combat Company (3 combat sections, a support section and a command section)
• Compagnie d'Appui (CA) - Support Company (5 specialist sections)
• PCG Teams (Combat Engineer Divers, French: Plongeurs du Combat du Génie) former DINOPS Teams of Nautical Subaquatic Intervention Operational Detachment ( French: Détachement d'Intervention Nautique Operationnelle Subaquatique ) specialized in Parachute, Underwater demolition, Diving and Mountain Commando Group ( GCM ) in some cases as double specialties.^[6]

Traditions

Insignias

• 

  Insignia of the 27th Mountain Infantry Brigade, 27^e BIM

• 

  Insignia of the 2nd Foreign Engineer Regiment, 2^e REG

• 

  Insignia of the Pionniers of the 1st Foreign Regiment

• 

  Regimental Insignia of the 2nd Foreign Engineer Regiment, 2^e REG

Regimental Colors

Regimental Colors of the 2nd Foreign Engineer Regiment

Regimental Song

Chant de Marche : Rien n'empêche featuring:^[7]

Decorations

• croix de la Valeur militaire with one palm since January 3, 2012.^[8]
• Another citation for the croix de valeur militaire was attributed on June 20, 2013, the regiment since that date wears the fourragère with colors of the croix de la Valeur Militaire.^[9]

• 

  Croix de la Valeur militaire

Honors

Battle honours

• Camerone 1863^[10]

Regimental Commanders

• 1999 - 2001 : colonel Nebois
• 2001 - 2003 : colonel Autran
• 2003 - 2005 : colonel Fradin
• 2005 - 2007 : colonel Boucher
• 2007 - 2009 : colonel Chavanat
• 2009 - 2011 : colonel Kirscher
• 2011 - 2013 : colonel Bonini
• 2013 - 2015 : colonel Reussner
• 2015 - 20xx : lieutenant-colonel De Sercey

See also

• 1st Foreign Engineer Regiment
• 6th Foreign Engineer Regiment
• 17th Parachute Engineer Regiment

Notes

References

• www.legion-etrangere.com
• Windrow, Martin (1996). French Foreign Legion Since 1945. Oxford: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 1-85532-621-3. 

External links

• Official website - 2e Régiment étranger de génie

Foreign Legion Command French Foreign Legion
Honneur et Fidélité History of the French Foreign Legion Foreign Legion Pioneers (Pionniers) List of French paratrooper units Képi Blanc (publication)
Current Foreign Legion Units	Administrative Communal Depot of the Foreign Regiments 1st Foreign Regiment Foreign Legion Command Foreign Legion Recruiting Group Infantry & Parachute 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 Engineer & Parachute Engineer 6th Foreign Engineer Regiment 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 Parachute Parachute Company of the 3rd Foreign Infantry Regiment 1st Foreign Parachute Regiment 1st Foreign Parachute Battalion 2nd Foreign Parachute Battalion 3rd Foreign Parachute Battalion Foreign Air Supply Company 3rd Foreign Parachute Regiment 1st Foreign Parachute Heavy Mortar Company Infantry 1st Foreign Infantry Regiment 1st Marching Regiment of the 1st Foreign Regiment 2nd Marching Regiment of the 1st Foreign Regiment 3rd Marching Regiment of the 1st Foreign Regiment 4th Marching Regiment of the 1st Foreign Regiment/Garibaldi Legion 1st Marching Regiment of the 2nd Foreign Regiment 2nd Marching Regiment of the 2nd Foreign Regiment Marching Regiment of the Foreign Legion 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 Transport Armored Train of the Foreign Legion Disciplinary Disciplinary Company of the Foreign Regiments in the Far East Foreign Legion Brigades 31st Brigade (France)