French Special Forces

[spetsnaz]

French Special Forces:

http://militaryphoto.com/POULETSAS/pouletSAS/pouletsas.html


http://militaryphoto.com/POULETSAS/pouletSAS/prev.0028.jpg


;)

_____________________________

Visit my web site on Special Forces: http://le.cos.free.fr

[Jooglae]

I'm afraid someone already beat you to it, but good photos anyway!!

[spetsnaz]

Sorry i don't understand english i am french... :roll:

[mout]

wao ! great pics !

[Sleeping Sun]

GREAT PICS, GREAT VIDS, GREAT SITE! woot

[Dennis79]

Nice pics and a great website you have.

[fantassin]

Current Operations of the French and German Armies
September 2003-Army Magazine


By Col. Peter Herrly, U.S. Army retired


That America undertook Operation Iraqi Freedom against the advice and without the participation of some of its oldest allies, including France and Germany, aroused considerable controversy and ill will during the run-up to and conduct of the war.

America's ties to France and Germany were severely strained by the political divergence over the war in Iraq, to the extent that many voices on the American political scene began questioning the utility of long-standing alliances like NATO. It is nevertheless remarkable that even when tempers were most heated, U.S., French and German soldiers continued to serve together in other coalitions as well as formal alliance efforts.

In fact, if we think of the continuing global war on terror as composed of various "fronts" where substantial active military forces are operating, it is remarkable that despite their absence in Iraq, French and Germany forces are present and operating with U.S. forces in multiple theaters. For the French Army, these include Afghanistan, East Africa, West Africa and the Balkans. German forces have broken with a long-standing reluctance to deploy outside of Germany and have been or are present in such areas as Somalia, the Balkans and Afghanistan.

These operations illustrate the complexity of the modern world. It is true that when an American asks -- "Are you with me or against me?" -- a Frenchman is ****e to answer, "On what issue?"

That complexity has been hard for many Americans to swallow as the country and Army geared up for a tough and difficult struggle in Iraq.

The dispute among allies over the Iraq conflict masked an often overlooked reality: The United States, despite its military might, will have a tough time taming an unruly world without its admittedly less muscular but still most militarily capable allies.

From the Balkans to Afghanistan and the Persian Gulf, the U.S. military maintains strong forces (at a considerable strain in operational tempo and soldier and family cohesion). Even so, tackling alone the laborious tasks associated with building enduring peace in difficult theaters does not present the optimum solution for the U.S. Armed Forces.

The complex realities of global operations are portrayed here, showing the French and German Armies in recent action in various hot spots around the world -- Afghanistan, the Balkans, the Ivory Coast and elsewhere. Often these forces are involved in training and operating directly with the U.S. Army or in similar missions. Like the U.S. Army, the French and German Armies have lost soldiers in the fight against the forces of global terrorism and instability.



The French Army
There are only a few armies in the world today that retain robust full spectrum capabilities. Beyond the U.S. and British Armies, the French Army is one of the few land forces that not only maintains a substantial worldwide presence and a capability to fight at high intensity, but also is increasingly optimized for power projection.

The French Army has recently completed the ambitious restructuring program it launched in 1995, despite the handicaps of budget constraints imposed by five years of a center-left government from 1997 to 2002. These funding constraints hit especially hard at equipment maintenance and modernization accounts, in part because the Army was so heavily engaged in a series of deployments and overseas commitments. Nevertheless, despite the strains of this vigorous operational tempo, the French Army has completed the transition to an entirely new force structure, converting from a division to a brigade-centered force, and making the transition to an all-volunteer force.

During the same period, adding to its long-standing presence in Africa and the Pacific, the French Army began in 1992 a substantial long-term and continuing effort in the Balkans, where nearly 100 French soldiers have perished in the intervening decade.

In addition, after September 11, 2001, the French Army was asked to mount a major effort in Afghanistan. There, French soldiers operate in close conjunction with their American counterparts, notably in training the Afghan Army, participating in the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), and recently deploying special operations forces in a combat role.

To this has been added deployments to the Ivory Coast, where after helping evacuate American citizens, the French force has been engaged in a risky but so far successful effort to keep the lid on an explosive situation. Despite having fewer soldiers than the situation would seem to demand, French soldiers have employed their sense of the terrain and the overall environment to prevent the emergence of still another failed state, of still another spawning ground for instability and a potential safe haven for terrorists.
Recently, the French Army has also sent units to the Democratic Republic of the Congo for similar purposes.
At the same time, the French Army continues to develop its "Air-Land Operational Space" concept, a parallel to the U.S. Army's Future Combat System. This program's scope and bold vision, like the British Army's FRES (Future Rapid Effects System) effort, show that high technology in the landpower arena is not a one-way street from the United States to Europe.

Even in the domain of future high-intensity combat, the French Army remains centered around the soldier on the ground to maintain "Contact With Reality" as the current French Army doctrine states. Despite the deep tensions of the past year over Iraq, the French Army is more often than not still ranged solidly on the ground beside the Army of its oldest ally, the United States.

[MolliG]

Don't know if you were told, the french foreign legion - is made of

foreigners! rofl

I'm pretty sure that the majority of Legionnaires are in fact French. I'll get some of the figures out to check if you like?

[citizen-k]

Don't know if you were told, the french foreign legion - is made of

foreigners! rofl

I'm pretty sure that the majority of Legionnaires are in fact French. I'll get some of the figures out to check if you like?

It's ok - it was a kind of a "joke". I don't REALY care how many franch are in the legion nor how many of them are considered as brave.

Lucky for me, my freedom is not depending on them.

[tooms]

Don't know if you were told, the french foreign legion - is made of

foreigners! rofl

I'm pretty sure that the majority of Legionnaires are in fact French. I'll get some of the figures out to check if you like?

It's ok - it was a kind of a "joke". I don't REALY care how many franch are in the legion nor how many of them are considered as brave.

Lucky for me, my freedom is not depending on them.

its depending on american tax payers money

[Pégase]

thx for the link spetnatz

I like this ones :


http://militaryphoto.com/POULETSAS/pouletSAS/prev.00060.jpg

http://militaryphoto.com/POULETSAS/pouletSAS/prev.0024.jpg


and for the neo-cons fans and other radical far right jewish trolls here, who try to mock the honnor of the French special forces, this one is for you :

http://www.specialoperations.com/Counterterrorism/gign.html

[Adri]

Nice group of trolls looking for flames.

Go back to squeezing your zits in your mommy's bathroom.

Babylon meaning for 'Troll': "legendary Scandinavian creature that lives in caves;"

hmm...

Scandinavian... :lol:

jepp thats rigth, here in norway we have a brigade of trolls in our army...norwegian special forces ;) (ironi)

[Pégase]

Don't know if you were told, the french foreign legion - is made of

foreigners! rofl

the UK's Gurkas are foreigners as well
so what's your point ?

btw, why are you talking of the légion étrangère here ? this topic is about French special forces, the legion isn't under the special operation command :roll:

[OldRecon]

Don't know if you were told, the french foreign legion - is made of

foreigners! rofl

I'm pretty sure that the majority of Legionnaires are in fact French. I'll get some of the figures out to check if you like?

Think the French actually make up something like 25-30% of the total manpower in the legion.
Think there's a tradition in the legion with registering French citizens serving as privates or NCOs in the legion as "Belgians" or something.

As for French special forces mentioned on that web-page couldn't find anything about 11th choc. Has that unit been disbanded (in the wake of Rainbow Warrior)? They had some pretty neat operations during the Algerian war, stirring up internal rivalry among the fellagah and the like.
Even blowing up black-market gun runners for FLN outside of French territory.
A former Norwegian legionnaire also pointed to them as being heavily involved in the action around Faya Largeau in Tchad when the Chadians whipped the Libyans there during the late 80's.
Also understand the americans got their hands on a couple of Mi 24 Hinds as a result of that action.

[OldRecon]

thx for the link spetnatz

I like this ones :


http://militaryphoto.com/POULETSAS/pouletSAS/prev.00060.jpg

http://militaryphoto.com/POULETSAS/pouletSAS/prev.0024.jpg


and for the neo-cons fans and other radical far right jewish trolls here, who try to mock the honnor of the French special forces, this one is for you :

http://www.specialoperations.com/Counterterrorism/gign.html

As for those pics I'm actualy more impressed with the way GIGN solved that plane hijack drama at Marseille airport (if my memory is correct) some way back involving islamic militants from Algeria.
Understand they had to do an immediate response, without time for proper reconnaisance, and that the Algerian militants had planned to crash the aircraft into the Pompidou centre in Paris (a warning as good as any on the outlook of al Qaida vs. 9/11).

[fantassin]

Also understand the americans got their hands on a couple of Mi 24 Hinds as a result of that action

Actually, they were given one the three Mi 24 that were captured in the Faya Largeau oasis by the French; the Brits got another one and the last one went to France.

The US Air Force sent a heavy lift cargo aircraft with a CH47 in it that flew to the Mi 24, lifted it, brought it back to the cargo plane and then they were gone.

The full story of French undercover soldiers in Chad will probably never be told but it's amazing. It lasted from 1969 to the early 90s...
Several were KIAs in action against the Libyans while they were supposedly "counseling" the Chadians in the use of Milans, AML, 20 mm cannons, APILAS ATK rockets and other stuff like that.

[OldRecon]

Read somewhere that fast driving with armed pickups was a central theme in the tactics employed by the Chadians ("driving so fast that any mines encountered exploded behind the vehicles", well that got to be some pretty fast driving).



Also understand the americans got their hands on a couple of Mi 24 Hinds as a result of that action

Actually, they were given one the three Mi 24 that were captured in the Faya Largeau oasis by the French; the Brits got another one and the last one went to France.

The US Air Force sent a heavy lift cargo aircraft with a CH47 in it that flew to the Mi 24, lifted it, brought it back to the cargo plane and then they were gone.

The full story of French undercover soldiers in Chad will probably never be told but it's amazing. It lasted from 1969 to the early 90s...
Several were KIAs in action against the Libyans while they were supposedly "counseling" the Chadians in the use of Milans, AML, 20 mm cannons, APILAS ATK rockets and other stuff like that.

[fantassin]

It was called the "rezzou TGV".

TGV=Train à Grande Vitesse or High speed train in France

Rezzou= arab word for a lightning fast attack on horseback

The horses were actually Toyota Land Cruisers festooned with LRAC 89, APILAS and RPGs...The French "counsellors" had, in the middle of combats, to stop the chadian from using Milans ATGW under the range of 50 metres so their warheads would activate and they wouldn't be killed by the fragments !

When using the AML90 armoured car, they fought the T55s and BMPs at such close range they were aiming through the bore of their 90 mm barrels !

[Undo]

Great site, great images. As far as actions in Chad, weren't they mainly focused around the Ouzou (sp?) strip? From what I have been informed, most engagements were about 1500m and conducted with M2 .50 cals mounted in toyota (technicals). I didn't think it was a big secret that the French were there. There are French troops in every part of the world, after all.

[fantassin]

No, the engagement were much closer because the chadians were depending on their speed and courage to defeat the libyans; their main ATK weapons were Milans and Rockets but they rarely fired the Milans at the max range; they were more often fired under the security limit !

The overt presence of French forces was never hidden. What was never admitted was the presence, with the chadian troops doing the fighting, of covert French operators.

A bit like US SF were "never" in China during the VN war.

[Javehn]

interesting indeed guys , nice info .

[Undo]

No, the engagement were much closer because the chadians were depending on their speed and courage to defeat the libyans; their main ATK weapons were Milans and Rockets but they rarely fired the Milans at the max range; they were more often fired under the security limit !

The overt presence of French forces was never hidden. What was never admitted was the presence, with the chadian troops doing the fighting, of covert French operators.

A bit like US SF were "never" in China during the VN war.

I think you mean Laos.

Anyway, is there a source for more info on this conflict? I find it very interesting.

I don't want to pick at an old wound, but despite some opinions expressed here, I have met/worked with French soldiers and hold them in high esteem (I have a funny story about a French soldier and an American brothel, but that is for another time). Don't judge them by the politics of their land. The French are constantly engaged in LICs and have always held their own. OK, I am done.

[fantassin]

No, I meant China...there's been a couple of interesting stories involving the recovery of sensitive equipment in red China during the 60s and 70s; not mentioning Tibet, of course...

For your info, the French covert unit also had strong links with the South African Recce Commandos during the Apartheid era, in the 70s and 80s.

The South African provided bush fighting expertise and the French provided combat-swimmer training with rebreathing equipment.

This is confirmed in:

"The Silent War - South African Recce operations 1969 to 1994" by Peter Stiff

It is the ultimate book on South African military operations during the apartheid years. It deals with all the top secret raids by Special Forces into surrounding African states, the political dynamics which led to them and the turbulent history of the times.

[OldRecon]

No, the engagement were much closer because the chadians were depending on their speed and courage to defeat the libyans; their main ATK weapons were Milans and Rockets but they rarely fired the Milans at the max range; they were more often fired under the security limit !

The overt presence of French forces was never hidden. What was never admitted was the presence, with the chadian troops doing the fighting, of covert French operators.

A bit like US SF were "never" in China during the VN war.

You don't have any good links to pics or historical stuff about the 11 choc then (the unit was disbanded in 1992?)?

[fantassin]

The secutity around all the DGSE "action" units is extremly tight and there are very, very few pictures of them. Most of them date back to the war in Algeria.

It's known they were active recently in Kosovo, Afghanistan (before the americans BTW) and Iraq for example, but still not a single picture...

The name of the three units are one of the few things made public; it's the

-CPEOM, the Combat swimmer unit
-CPIS, the ground combat unit
-CPES, another combat unit that is supposed to specialized in other types of operations

[Royal]

Read somewhere that fast driving with armed pickups was a central theme in the tactics employed by the Chadians ("driving so fast that any mines encountered exploded behind the vehicles", well that got to be some pretty fast driving).

My old man had a similar experience in Cyprus in the late 50's - unfortunately the mine destroyed the LandRover behind his, killing two of his guys. :(

[Brandon]

I hate to ask this, however, "pouletSAS"... Doesnt 'poulet' mean chicken in french? :P

Just curious....

[fantassin]

Yes, and it's the name of the photographer, Philippe Poulet.

[Brandon]

OH..... Good to know.

[MetalBoy]

Actually I believe PouletSAS is a special branch of the French Special Forces whose main operational status is to assault any McDonalds French troops come across in foreign countries, specifically to steal Chicken McNuggets.

http://www.angelfire.com/de3/daveland/mcdonalds.jpg
PouletSAS guarding McDonalds after successful mission in Chad

http://www.mcspotlight.org/campaigns/campaigns_pix/demo_dead_ronald.jpg
Aftermath of firefight between PoluetSAS and Ronald McDonald

[mustamato]

Actually I believe PouletSAS is a special branch of the French Special Forces whose main operational status is to assault any McDonalds French troops come across in foreign countries, specifically to steal Chicken McNuggets.

That post said more about how retard you are than anything about french SF.

[MetalBoy]

Actually I believe PouletSAS is a special branch of the French Special Forces whose main operational status is to assault any McDonalds French troops come across in foreign countries, specifically to steal Chicken McNuggets.

That post said more about how retard you are than anything about french SF.

Sorry, :oops: I meant "liberate" Chicken McNuggets.

[mustamato]

Actually I believe PouletSAS is a special branch of the French Special Forces whose main operational status is to assault any McDonalds French troops come across in foreign countries, specifically to steal Chicken McNuggets.

That post said more about how retard you are than anything about french SF.

Sorry, :oops: I meant "liberate" Chicken McNuggets.

Since you don´t see a lot of people writing " rofl "-comments we can agree
on that you were/are retarded, and not even in a funny way. Grow up "MetalBoy" :roll:

[MetalBoy]

My apologies sir, I will now jump off the roof of my house because i am a miserably unfunny human being. :( Good Bye harsh world, I have failed you.

[21eRIMA]

Actually I believe PouletSAS is a special branch of the French Special Forces whose main operational status is to assault any McDonalds French troops come across in foreign countries, specifically to steal Chicken McNuggets.

http://www.angelfire.com/de3/daveland/mcdonalds.jpg
PouletSAS guarding McDonalds after successful mission in Chad

http://www.mcspotlight.org/campaigns/campaigns_pix/demo_dead_ronald.jpg
Aftermath of firefight between PoluetSAS and Ronald McDonald rofl rofl rofl rofl rofl rofl rofl rofl rofl rofl
LOL

[soma]

Actually I believe PouletSAS is a special branch of the French Special Forces whose main operational status is to assault any McDonalds French troops come across in foreign countries, specifically to steal Chicken McNuggets.

That post said more about how retard you are than anything about french SF.

Try lightening up, it was a great parody.

[tooms]

hehe funny :hug:

[Pégase]

nice topic pollution :bash:

for me , it will be hamburgers von Hamburg and frites from Belgium (what u call freedom fries now :lol: ) anyway

[ibstolidude]

My apologies sir, I will now jump off the roof of my house because i am a miserably unfunny human being. :( Good Bye harsh world, I have failed you.

Those are some OUTSTANDINGLY funny posts..

I'd say people didn't comment because they didn't see them.

[MetalBoy]

:hug: Their is hope yet on this forum. People haven't yet lost the will to make fun of the French. woot

[Lone Predator]

Actually I believe PouletSAS is a special branch of the French Special Forces whose main operational status is to assault any McDonalds French troops come across in foreign countries, specifically to steal Chicken McNuggets.

That post said more about how retard you are than anything about french SF.

Sorry, :oops: I meant "liberate" Chicken McNuggets.

Since you don´t see a lot of people writing " rofl "-comments we can agree
on that you were/are retarded, and not even in a funny way. Grow up "MetalBoy" :roll:

perhaps because you were the only other posts after his? and yeah lighten up. They say stress will kill you, and I imagine a stick up your arse will too. It was a nice little parody, and while I don't encourage 'french bashing' I thought it was funny.

[Pégase]

perhaps because you were the only other posts after his? and yeah lighten up. They say stress will kill you, and I imagine a stick up your arse will too. It was a nice little parody, and while I don't encourage 'french bashing' I thought it was funny.

there is an humor and off-topic section on this forum guys :roll:

but let's stick with the parody then :)

members of the CPA-10 with the deadly pretzel secret weapon well dissimulated :
http://le.cos.free.fr/photo/CPA/premier_de_cordee7.jpg

[Lone Predator]

people can't post a joke in their replies now?

theres also a general discussion but that doesn't stop people from shooting their mouth off in here on a regular basis.

[DPGLAW]

French SF probably consist of a highly skilled, highly trained Airsoft squadron, or mabye they use those Nerf guns...I think that their idea is to bruise their enemy to death

[LJK]

French SF probably consist of a highly skilled, highly trained Airsoft squadron, or mabye they use those Nerf guns...I think that their idea is to bruise their enemy to death

Very funny...

[littlefrench]

Don't know if you were told, the french foreign legion - is made of

foreigners! rofl

I'm pretty sure that the majority of Legionnaires are in fact French. I'll get some of the figures out to check if you like?

Think the French actually make up something like 25-30% of the total manpower in the legion.
Think there's a tradition in the legion with registering French citizens serving as privates or NCOs in the legion as "Belgians" or something.

As for French special forces mentioned on that web-page couldn't find anything about 11th choc. Has that unit been disbanded (in the wake of Rainbow Warrior)?

No, for the Raimbow Warrior, it was the section "Choc" of the DGSE, our secret services

[Ngati Tumatauenga]

Actually I believe PouletSAS is a special branch of the French Special Forces whose main operational status is to assault any McDonalds French troops come across in foreign countries, specifically to steal Chicken McNuggets.

rofl


No, for the Raimbow Warrior, it was the section "Choc" of the DGSE, our secret services

Now there's an oxy-moron..... rofl

And there's plenty of facts available about that particularly embarrassing episode in french foreign policy.

[Dominique]

Don't know if you were told, the french foreign legion - is made of

foreigners! rofl

I'm pretty sure that the majority of Legionnaires are in fact French. I'll get some of the figures out to check if you like?

Think the French actually make up something like 25-30% of the total manpower in the legion.
Think there's a tradition in the legion with registering French citizens serving as privates or NCOs in the legion as "Belgians" or something.

As for French special forces mentioned on that web-page couldn't find anything about 11th choc. Has that unit been disbanded (in the wake of Rainbow Warrior)?

No, for the Raimbow Warrior, it was the section "Choc" of the DGSE, our secret services

The 11e Choc was disbanded. If I remember correctly it was a group of combat diver from Commando Hubert that actually carried out the Rainbow Warrior mission for the DGSE. The DGSE's paramilitary branch is the Service Action (SA). I can't remember exactly which unit's are supposededly assigned to it, but they have ground, naval, and air units. They also "borrow" personnel form COS.

[spetsnaz]

My New Portal:

http://antiterroriste.free.fr

... :D

My new Photos Portal:

http://www.phototheque.free.fr/ZenPhoto/index.php

... :D

[spetsnaz]

Sorry error of link, the good link are these:

http://www.defenseprod.com/images/galeries/invex/01cta.jpg

http://www.defenseprod.com/galleries.htm

[CaptRichardson]

I thought this was what the French "Special" Forces used for transportation

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c131/captrichardson/i-469671copy.jpg

aka the "Special" Short Bus!


Just busting you know what, which by the way is a huge part of being involved with any Military Force.

Nice Site, don't really hear much about the French Military, glad to see this is out there.

I trained with some "French Commandos" back in the 80's while I was stationed in Europe. I think at that time that they were mostly from the Legion. I remember they had some really good rations, which actually included some wine and cognac. Not sure if that was "standard issue"!

Now if you can just get the freaking Politics straightened out!

Thanks, Best of Luck,
"Capt Richardson"