Soldiers of the 6th Light Armored Brigade to take part in amphibious exercise in Japan

Le général Valentin Seiler commande la 6e brigade légère blindée dont deux régiments sont à Nîmes. Midi Libre – Cathy Rocher

The soldiers of the 6th Light Armored Brigade based in the Gard are participating in the Brune Takamori amphibious exercise which is taking place, for the first time, in Japan, announced General Valentin Seler who leads the 6th Light Armored Brigade.

The 6th Light Armored Brigade currently has around 7,500 active soldiers (and more than 1,500 reservists), seven regiments in four departments in the South-East. Two of these regiments are based in the Gard (the 2nd Foreign Infantry Regiment and the 1st Foreign Engineer Regiment in Laudun-l'Ardoise). The 6th BLB celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2024.

Soldiers from the 2nd Foreign Infantry Regiment are taking part in the Brune Takamori 24 amphibious exercise, which is taking place for the first time in Japan, announced General Valentin Seler, who will be on site from September 15. And this is a first.

“The training is conducted at the Ojyojibara and Iwateyama training camps in Aomori Province and aims to enable the Japanese and French armed forces to train in amphibious areas and in commando operations. Their training will also focus on drone support in combat, specifies the Ministry of the Armed Forces. Unprecedented on Japanese soil, this exercise is part of the growing strength of the Franco-Japanese military partnership since 2022."

The particularity of the sixth light armoured brigade is to be « massively and permanently in external theatres », recalls General Valentin Seiler. « And we are today quite focused on the Indo-Pacific », the general continues. The goal of these exercises is to strengthen ties with Japan, Australia, India… and even, to a lesser extent, with Indonesia, New Zealand, South Korea.
Fifty legionnaires have already joined Japan. And a hundred men from the light armoured brigade (the 13th DBLE based in Larzac) and its vehicles have returned from an exercise that took place in India. And a large-scale exercise is planned for 2025 in the USA.
The general highlights the combat vehicles of the 6th BLB with a fairly powerful fire capacity and the speed of manoeuvre on land of its vehicles. « We have developed amphibious know-how, with light boats. The first regiment of Laudun can thus deploy divers. This allows us to be the first to enter a theatre of operations with amphibious means. »
The military has already participated in missions in Lebanon. Three hundred men from the second foreign regiment have also been deployed on French territory, in New Caledonia, to secure the airport.

Work in Nîmes

In Nîmes, since this summer, in the Montcalm district area which housed the first permanent barracks, 35 housing units for military personnel and their families will be built. Work should start in the fall. On site, only the recruitment center and a branch of the Gard departmental military delegation remain. Most of the army services that were at the Montcalm barracks have moved to Garons.
And in the old Vallongue district, opposite the barracks of Colonel de Chabrières, of the 2nd REI, rue Vincent Faïta, a building for the families of soldiers must also see the light of day.

Four regiments are installed in the Gard.: the 2nd Foreign Infantry Regiment and the 1st Foreign Engineer Regiment, which come under the 6th Light Armored Brigade as well as the 503rd Train Regiment and the 4th Equipment Regiment. The Gard is the department with the most Army soldiers in France. I subscribe to read more