Soldats français en Afghanistan

[Edmond]

http://www.defense.gouv.fr/ema/enjeux_defense/operation...ee_nationale_afghane






Pictures from NATO, SHAPE

[scotty1418]

Merci Edmond pour les belles photos.

[eli]

Excellent pics.

I really like the French Humvee counterpart. ALOT.

[ketoujin]

Interesting. Thanks for sharing.

Best,
Gunnar

[Capitaine Conan]

Here's a video documentary about our troops in Afghanistan. There's even a gunfight towards the end.

http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=OldzXXTUg-k

[AndGunsForAll]

Yeah, thanks, great pics.

[Mybusa]

Very nice photos! I sure would like one of those vehicles they have like the one marked ISAF! What kind of rigs are they?

[sigshr]

Legion Etrangere?

[Edmond]

Only one where the soldiers wear a green beret. Alpine troops and Infantry. Mainly troops belonging to the equivalent of US SOCOM.

[Edmond]

Very nice photos! I sure would like one of those vehicles they have like the one marked ISAF! What kind of rigs are they?

http://www.armyrecognition.com/europe/France/vehicules_...ance_description.htm

http://www.panhard.fr/francais/index.htm


http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=l6aSyb...eature=related


http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=FHKXQnY1ggg

VBL, Vehicule Blindé Léger, Light Armoured Vehicle, built by Panhard, it was developped as a Reco Vehicle to be used in the European Theater of Operation.
It is amphibious and has a good protection against small arms fire and shrapnels

[BARQS19]

Geez they have some screwed up looking guns.

[Mybusa]

Edmond

Thank for the links! I really want one for my birthday! It would be a great all around town rig. Are they petrol or diesel?

[kelt]

The VBL Panhard has a 100HP turbo charged diesel engine made by peugeot, 4WD, automatic gear box, max speed is 100km/h on roads or 6km/h on water.

You have noticed that on several of the pictures,N°3, 6, 7) there is a US soldier alongside the French and Afghans, a NCO from the 82nd airborn division (the AA patch can be seen clearly as well as a SSG or SFC insigna) and his ARPAT camo battle dress stands out.

kelt

[sigshr]

Is this the French Foreign Legion?

[Capitaine Conan]

I can't see any FFL insignia on these uniforms.

[kelt]

Is this the French Foreign Legion?

These guys are mostly Chasseur Alpins (mountain troops), best suited to operate in the mountains of Afghanistan, a few others are obviously Paratroopers, only on the 16th picture there seems to be two Foreign Legion Officers with the green beret (The French navy commandos also wear a green beret but British style).

The Foreign Legion is a very small component of the Armée de Terre, the total strength of the Foreign Legion including its bases and training units is 7700 men, of which 1700 are Officers and NCO of French origin (the Armée de terre is 140.000 strong on active duty).
The Foreign Legion has five regiments and three base/training units.

kelt

[Edmond]

[IMG]http://www.defense.gouv.fr/var/dicodrefonte/storage/images/media/images/ema/afghanistan__2/toa_batfra_18_09_07/le_colonel_collet_passe_une_derniere_fois_les_trou pes_en_revue__2/802546-1-fre-FR/le_colonel_collet_passe_une_derniere_fois_les_trou pes_en_revue.jpg


















































































































Pictures French Ministry of Defense.

[Frenchy24RI]

thanx 4 sharing!!!

[Harbringerxv8]

As an American I'd just like to say how much I appreciate the support of our oldest ally throughout our endeavors in the dangers of the modern world.

[BetaDeltaKA]

Edmond,
What troops are the ones wearing the large blue, almost matador style berets? And it looks as if most of these troops are not equipped with electronic sights, such as the Aimpoint or ACOG. Has the Armée de Terre not made these standard issue?

[Harbringerxv8]

I'd make a wild guess and say they are Chasseurs Alpines.

[Edmond]

People wear this type of beret in mountain areas for a long time, in Alps or in Pyrenees.

Alpine Troops and Chasseurs ( Light Infantry, Motorised or Mechanised) wear this beret. It protects from the sun in summer and the cold in winter. It was useful in breaking the head shape and kept the face from reflecting the light before helmets were worn and camouflage face paints were used.

The nickname for this beret in french armed forces is "tarte", pie.

The french horn insignia on the beret indicates Chasseurs.

Chasseurs alpins, Alpine troops http://www.alpins.fr/

Chasseurs in action in Afghanistan.

http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=OldzXXTUg-k

Electronic sight are becoming more common but not a general use.

[Pompier]

This is a great thread. It's interesting to see M203s mounted on FAMAS. Also I've seen a couple of the SpecOps looking guys carrying Glocks(17s?) while the Alpine and Paratroop
(Beret Rouge?) still have the venerable PA50 (9mm). Really like the Panhard VBL, neat vehicle would be great to have in my part of the world.

[kelt]

The Glock 17 is in service with some units of the Army since 1990.

kelt

[Pompier]

Interesting Kelt. So the military hasn't shown any interest in the Sig P2022? Is it just the National Police that use it or the Gendarmes also?

[kelt]

So far, no the Army is not showing interest in the Sig P 2022, only the Police Nationale, Gendarmerie and Douanes are getting the new pistol.

The Army still has a large stock of PA Mac 50 and the Mas G1S (Beretta 92 built by MAS) available to equip regular units where the pistol is not a primary weapon but only considered as a back up tool.

The Army units that uses pistols as primary tool are mostly Special Forces and usually have their own budget to buy whatever they want.

kelt

[MarkRKelley]

Kelt,

Thank you for posting this. Viv' la France! Permit me to echo the earlier poster's appreciation for your military's work in A'stan.

BTW, is your average infantry grunt still called by the nickname they had in WWI. It starts with a "P" but I am sure I would mispell it. Heck, I can't even pronounce it.

[Edmond]

[Moonclip]

I'm hoping those MAC 50's will be sold in the USA eventually when the Army decides to upgrade

[Pompier]

I hope so too. But I'm afraid because of some misguided UN treaties they will probably be destroyed instead of being sold as surplus. A damn shame too.

[Edmond]

Don't dream, guys...

[Moonclip]

Well we did get the MAS 36's and MAS 49's and such but I really am feeling it's a dream for those MAC 50's to appear on the surplus market one day.

[scotty1418]

nah, the mat-49, now THAT's a dream

[Moonclip]

Yes, one can only dream for a MAT 49. Another somewhat dreamy gun for me is a Manurhin MR73, so expensive!

[kelt]

Dream on, guys!

A brand new type 3 Mat 49:
1) stock extended, with 5 mags pouch, standard 32 rounds and 20 rounds "sahara" magazines
2) stock at 1st notch bolt cocked with 20 rounds mag
3) cocked but on safety (mag folded to 45°) with 32 rounds mag
4) folded for transportation

[BetaDeltaKA]

What are the rules in France about getting one of these beauties, Kelt? And are there many French-used M-1 Carbines around your neck of the woods?

[kelt]

In France, it is not easy to have a categorie 1-3 Licence for a full auto firearm, it is delivered only to individuals who need it for their professional activities.

A large quantity of the 850.000 SMG Mat 49 built have been destroyed, what has not been destroyed is in long term storage. A small quantity has been released for sale to collectors after being demilled.

The M1 carbine is quite popular in France, it was for more than 30 years the weapon of choice for NCO's and Officers.During WWII, two of the five SAS regiments were manned by French and they used many M1A1 carbines, while M1 carbines were used by the 8 French divisions outfitted with US equipment, I believe that alltogheter some 100.000 Carbines M1 & M1A1 were used by the French Army from 1943 to the late 60's.
During the Gulf war in 1991, M1A1 carbines were still part of the survival kits of transport planes and Helicopters.

Here is a picture of an early M1 Saginaw used by my wife's Grand dad that was air delivered by the British with many other goodies to the Résistance in Britanny during the winter 1943/44.




kelt

[Edmond]

[Edmond]

Sharp shooter using a FA MAS
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qR72-ZBjxzw

[Edmond]

[BetaDeltaKA]

Does the French Army have a heavy anti-material rifle in its arsenal, equivalent to the US Barrett .50 cal? Very nice pics, by the way.

[kelt]

The French Army has used Barrett M82 in the 90's but since it has adopted on a large scale the bolt action PGM Hecate II rifle in .50BMG.
The PGM rifle has a much better accuracy than the semi auto Barrett, and most important it is fitted with a very effective muzzle brake, anybody who has fired a M82 will understand the need for a good muzzle brake.

The military designation of the PGM Hecate II is "fusil FR 12.7", it is equiped as standard with a Scrome J10 scope for a working range of up to 1800M.

[Edmond]

Does the French Army have a heavy anti-material rifle in its arsenal, equivalent to the US Barrett .50 cal? Very nice pics, by the way.

http://securityarms.com/20010315/gal.../2800/2897.htm

[Edmond]

2 platoons, 60 men, belonging to the 8eme Regiment Parachutiste d'Infanterie de Marine (Airborne,Marine Infantry) 2eme Regiment Etranger de Parachutistes (Airborne, Foreign Legion) and Regiment de Marche du Tchad (Motorised Infantry, Marine Infantry) patrolling with an unit of the Afghan National Army, 30 miles of Kabul, near Surobi have been caught in an important ambush at the end of the afternoon.

Many IED and RPGs hit the patrol. The fight went late into the night until mid morning.

10 french soldiers have been killed in action and 21 wounded.

Circumstances of the ambush:

A group of 100 French, ANA and US SF were ending a patrol at high altitude and making a RECO on foot, no UAV available, when a group of 100 Talibans opened fire.
8 french paratroopers of the 8th RPIMA and one medic of the 2nd REP were killed, a dozen of soldiers including the CO were wounded.

Firefight last for hours during the night until morning, fire support came from two Apache and two A10 and partly from two Caracal used for MEDEVAC.

30 Talibans killed (their leader presumably among them), 30 talibans wounded according to available informations.

Looks like the Talebans have really taken an agressive stance for weeks. An american unit had to go through a fierce fight near the border with Pakistan during the night.

[Pompier]

Thanks for posting Edmond. Things are definitely getting hot over there again. My condolences to the families of those brave French troops.