The 17th Parachute Engineer Regiment () is heir to the traditions of the 17th Colonial Engineer Regiment () which fought illustriously during the Second World War . It is the only airborne engineer unit of the

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (, , ), is the principal Army, land warfare force of France, and the largest component of the French Armed Forces; it is responsible to the Government of France, alongside the French Navy, Fren ...

forming the engineering component of the 11th Parachute Brigade and secures all the specific airborne engineering missions relative to para assaulting at the level of deep reconnaissance as well as operations relative to para

demining Demining or mine clearance is the process of removing land mines from an area. In military operations, the object is to rapidly clear a path through a minefield, and this is often done with devices such as mine plows and blast waves. By cont ...

and handling explosives. The regiment has been present non-stop since 1975 on all theatres of operations (

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

, Tchad,

New Caledonia New Caledonia ( ; ) is a group of islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean, southwest of Vanuatu and east of Australia. Located from Metropolitan France, it forms a Overseas France#Sui generis collectivity, ''sui generis'' collectivity of t ...

French Guiana French Guiana, or Guyane in French, is an Overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France located on the northern coast of South America in the Guianas and the West Indies. Bordered by Suriname to the west ...

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

Kurdistan Kurdistan (, ; ), or Greater Kurdistan, is a roughly defined geo- cultural region in West Asia wherein the Kurds form a prominent majority population and the Kurdish culture, languages, and national identity have historically been based. G ...

Kuwait Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in West Asia and the geopolitical region known as the Middle East. It is situated in the northern edge of the Arabian Peninsula at the head of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Kuwait ...

Cambodia Cambodia, officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. It is bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the north, and Vietnam to the east, and has a coastline ...

Somalia Somalia, officially the Federal Republic of Somalia, is the easternmost country in continental Africa. The country is located in the Horn of Africa and is bordered by Ethiopia to the west, Djibouti to the northwest, Kenya to the southwest, th ...

Rwanda Rwanda, officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of East Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator, Rwanda is bordered by ...

Gabon Gabon ( ; ), officially the Gabonese Republic (), is a country on the Atlantic coast of Central Africa, on the equator, bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, the Republic of the Congo to the east and south, and ...

Mozambique Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country located in Southeast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Eswatini and South Afr ...

, ex-

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Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

Mali Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the List of African countries by area, eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of over . The country is bordered to the north by Algeria, to the east b ...

and others). For its various combat operational deployments, the 17^e RGP was cited 3 times at the orders of the armed forces, 2 times at the orders of the armed forces corps, and three of its

combat Combat (French language, French for ''fight'') is a purposeful violent Conflict (process), conflict between multiple combatants with the intent to harm the opposition. Combat may be armed (using weapons) or unarmed (Hand-to-hand combat, not usin ...

companies cited at the orders of the armed forces ( 2nd combat company) in addition to armed forces corps (1st and 3rd combat companies).

History since 1870

* 1870–1871: creation of the 17th company, 2nd Engineer Regiment: took part in the defense of

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, Saint-Denis, Mont-Valérien, Bourgets combats, battles of Champigny and Buzenval, founders of bridges at Marne. * 1876: creation of an engineer battalion and intervention in

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

. * 1881: 1st combat company of the 17th participated to an expedition in

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

. * 1912: 4 combat companies participated to an expedition in

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

. * 1914–1918: 23 combat companies of the 17th Engineer Battalion

battle A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force co ...

d in Ardennes Belge, Marne, Champagne, Artois, Verdun, Aisne, Flandres, Oise, Woëvre. * 1916–1920: 4 combat companies of the 17th intervened in

, attached to the Moroccan Division. * 1923: creation of the 17th Engineer Regiment, the 1st battalion of the regiment was stationed at Strasbourg, the second was dispatched to the

of the Rhin at Biebrich in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. * 1928: the 17th Engineer Regiment became the 1st Engineer Regiment. * 1940: 2 combat engineer companies of the 17th battled in l'Oise. Creation of the 17th Battalion at Castersarrasin (Tarn and Garonne) which became the 5th Engineer Battalion. * 1944–1945: creation of the 17th Colonial Engineer Battalion in

. The Battalion was detached to

Corsica Corsica ( , , ; ; ) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the Regions of France, 18 regions of France. It is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of the Metro ...

and battled at Toulon ( battle campaigns of

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and

) at the corps of the 1st Army (Rhin and Danube). * 1946–1949: creation of the 17th Airborne Engineer Battalion attached to the 25th Airborne Division. * 1947: a combat section of paratrooper Pioneers intervened in

Indochina Mainland Southeast Asia (historically known as Indochina and the Indochinese Peninsula) is the continental portion of Southeast Asia. It lies east of the Indian subcontinent and south of Mainland China and is bordered by the Indian Ocean to th ...

at the corps of the 61st Colonial Engineer Battalion. * 1948: a combat section of the paratrooper pioneers intervened in Indochina at the corps of the 71st Colonial Engineer Battalion * 1948–1953: 3 successive combat sections of paratrooper pioneers of the 17th Airborne Engineer Battalion (17^e B.G.A.P) intervened in Indochina. * 1950: volunteer engagement of the 17th Airborne Engineer Battalion to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

French formed battalion participating in the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

. * 1953: regrouping of the combat sections of the paratrooper pioneers of Indochina from 17th Airborne Engineer Battalion for the creation of the 17th Parachute Engineer Company which would intervene in the

Battle of Dien Bien Phu The Battle of Điện Biên Phủ was a climactic confrontation of the First Indochina War that took place between 13 March and 7 May 1954. It was fought between the forces of the French Union and Viet Minh. The French began an operation to in ...

part of

Operation Castor Operation Castor was a successful French Union's airborne operation in the First Indochina War. This operation of France and the State of Vietnam established a fortified airhead in Điện Biên Province against the communist Việt Minh, ...

. * 1954: creation of the 3rd combat company of Vietnamese Airborne Engineers in Indochina commanded and formed by the cadres of the 17th Parachute Engineer Company. * 1953–1962: the 1st combat company of the 17th Airborne Engineer Battalion intervened in

and became in 1955 the 60th Airborne Engineer Company attached to the 10th Parachute Division. The combat company intervened in

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

in 1956 and in 1961 at Bizerte (

). * 1956–1962: the 75th Airborne Engineer Company issued from the 3rd combat company of the 17th Airborne Battalion Regiment was attached to the 25th Parachute Division. The company became in 1961 the 61st Airborne Engineer Regiment and intervened in Bizerte. * 1958: creation of the center of instruction of Airborne Engineers '17' at Castersarrasin. * 1961–1962: creation, conception and placing in effect the first Commando Instruction Center (C.E.C) at Fort de Charlemont of Givet in the department of Ardennes by the 61st Airborne Engineer Company and the 1st Commando Parachute Group. The main section of the 61st Airborne became the

Commando A commando is a combatant, or operative of an elite light infantry or special operations force, specially trained for carrying out raids and operating in small teams behind enemy lines. Originally, "a commando" was a type of combat unit, as oppo ...

Instruction Center of the 11th Light Intervention Division (11^e D.L.I). This Division replaced the 10th Parachute Division and 25th Parachute Division. * 1963: creation of the 17th Airportable Engineer Regiment (17^e R.G.A.P) at Castelsarrasin from the paratrooper pioneers of the engineer Center of Instruction and from the two combat companies back from

. * 1971: the regiment was dissolved, the 1st and 2nd combat companies of the airportable engineer regiment were attached respectively to the 1st Parachute Hussar Regiment, 1^eRHP and the

35th Parachute Artillery Regiment The 35th Parachute Artillery Regiment () is the only airborne artillery unit of the French Army forming the air artillery component of the 11th Parachute Brigade. It is based in Tarbes together with the air cavalry, the 1st Parachute Hussa ...

, 35^eRAP becoming inter-arm units. At the corps of these two regiments, the two airborne engineer companies maintained their missions and traditions of " Génie Parachutiste". * 1974: recreation of the 17th Airportable Engineer Regiment at Montauban (Tarn and Garonne). * 1978: the 17th became the 17th Parachute Engineer Regiment (17^e R.G.P). * 1982–1984: the 17th Parachute Engineer Regiment took part extensively and heavily in both the

Multinational Force in Lebanon The Multinational Force in Lebanon (MNF) was an international peacekeeping force created in August 1982 following a 1981 U.S.-brokered ceasefire between the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and Israel to end their involvement in the conf ...

within the 31st Brigade and the

United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (; ), or UNIFIL (; ) is a United Nations peacekeeping mission established on 19 March 1978 by United Nations Security Council Resolutions United Nations Security Council Resolution 425, 425 and Unit ...

placed in ground operations since 1978.http://www.soldatsdefrance.fr/Liban_r11.html National Support Association for French and Foreign Soldiers in Operations * 1990–1991: the 17th Parachute Engineer Regiment took part in the

Gulf War , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...

part of the Opération Daguet. * 2001: the 17th Parachute Engineer Regiment spearheaded

, combat support, peacekeeping, multipurposed operations through the War on Terror and has been seen taking part in all exterior theatres of operations of the

French Armed Forces The French Armed Forces (, ) are the military forces of France. They consist of four military branches – the Army, the Navy, the Air and Space Force, and the National Gendarmerie. The National Guard serves as the French Armed Forces' milita ...

on all five

continent A continent is any of several large geographical regions. Continents are generally identified by convention (norm), convention rather than any strict criteria. A continent could be a single large landmass, a part of a very large landmass, as ...

Creation and different designations since 1944

* Created on March 1, 1944 at Port Lyautey in

under the designation of the 17th Colonial Engineer Regiment () 17^eRGC. Dissolved on November 16, 1945. * Reformed on August 1, 1946 in

, from the 91st Engineer Battalion which provided airborne engineer support to the 25th Parachute Division, under the designation of 17th Engineer Battalion. Combat companies 17/9 stationed at Hussein Dey, the 17/1 at Bougie, the 17/2 at Marocco, the 17/3 at Mont-de-Marsan. Dissolved with the division in July 1948, a combat engineer Group designated (17) was integrated at the center of specialized airborne troops until February 1949. * The airborne engineer group (17) was redesignated the 17th Airborne Engineer Battalion on February 15, 1949 and was based within

Metropolitan France Metropolitan France ( or ), also known as European France (), is the area of France which is geographically in Europe and chiefly comprises #Hexagon, the mainland, popularly known as "the Hexagon" ( or ), and Corsica. This collective name for the ...

at Castelsarras in Tarn-and-Garonne under the successive designations 17th Airborne Engineer Battalion, Center of Instruction of Airborne Engineer (17), 17th Airborne Engineer Regiment. Dissolved on June 30, 1971, two combat companies of the Airborne Engineer troops joined the two combined-arms paratrooper regiments in Tarbes and Auch, mainly the

and the 1st Parachute Hussard Regiment. * Reconstituted at Montauban on July 1, 1974 under the designation of the 17th Airborne Engineer Regiment from the companies of parachute engineers forming the inter-arm regiments, based in garrison Doumer. In 1978, the airborne engineer regiment was designated as the 17th Parachute Engineer Regiment.

Structure

The Regiment of volunteer paratroopers, the 17th Parachute Engineer Regiment is articulated in 6 combat companies and 1 detachment: * 1 Command and logistic company (CCL) * 1 Combat support company (CA) known as ''la verte et amarante'', regrouping means of terrain organization ** 2 sections of combat support for emergency deployments ** Commando Parachute Group, known a
Commando Guéniat
named after an Adjudant-chef

killed in action Killed in action (KIA) is a casualty classification generally used by militaries to describe the deaths of their personnel at the hands of enemy or hostile forces at the moment of action. The United States Department of Defense, for example, ...

in an operation. * 3 combat companies with the 4th on its way: ** 1st combat company ** 2nd combat company ** 3rd combat company * intervention reserve unit: 5th combat company * 1 combat detachment

Mascot

The mascot of the regiment was initially the

Golden eagle The golden eagle (''Aquila chrysaetos'') is a bird of prey living in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the most widely distributed species of eagle. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. They are one of the best-known bird of pr ...

named "Bac Kan" in reference to the first mission participation of the Airborne engineers in

during the airborne operation "Lea" in October 1947. Since 2014, the mascot is a

Bald eagle The bald eagle (''Haliaeetus leucocephalus'') is a bird of prey found in North America. A sea eagle, it has two known subspecies and forms a species pair with the white-tailed eagle (''Haliaeetus albicilla''), which occupies the same niche ...

named "Malizia", name of François Grimaldi ( said "François la Malice") who in the 13th century conquered the Rock of Monaco.

Traditions

The regiment wears wear the Red Beret. Regimental Colours: Battle Honours: * Germerscheim 1944 * AFN 'Afrique française du Nord''1952-1962 (

Algerian War The Algerian War (also known as the Algerian Revolution or the Algerian War of Independence) ''; '' (and sometimes in Algeria as the ''War of 1 November'') was an armed conflict between France and the Algerian National Liberation Front (Algeri ...

)

Regimental Songs

Decorations

The regimental colors are decorated with: * Croix de Guerre 1939-1945 with 1 star of vermeil (to quote the order by the Army OG 1148 of September 15, 1945), *

Croix de la Valeur militaire Croix (French for "cross") may refer to: Belgium * Croix-lez-Rouveroy, a village in municipality of Estinnes in the province of Hainaut France * Croix, Nord, in the Nord department * Croix, Territoire de Belfort, in the Territoire de Belfort d ...

with: ** 2 palms ( for service in

as part of the

in 1980 and 1982) ** 1 palm ( for service in

as part of the

International Security Assistance Force The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) was a multinational military mission in Afghanistan from 2001 to 2014. It was established by United Nations Security Council United Nations Security Council Resolution 1386, Resolution 1386 ac ...

on May 21, 2012 ** 1 star of vermeil ( for service in

as part of the corps of

Operation Serval Operation Serval () was a French military operation in Mali. The aim of the operation was to oust Islamic militants from the north of Mali, who had begun a push into the center of Mali. Operation Serval followed the United Nations Security ...

in September 2014 ) *

Fourragère The ''fourragère'' (, from , "fodder") is a military award, distinguishing military units as a whole, in the form of a braided cord. The award was first adopted by France, followed by other nations such as the Netherlands, Belgium, Portugal, ...

with colors of la Croix de la Valeur militaire on April 16, 2012; the first unit to be decorated with such honors. * French Medal of Honor for Courage and Commitment - échelon bronze, 1952, for search and rescue operations during the

Natural disaster A natural disaster is the very harmful impact on a society or community brought by natural phenomenon or Hazard#Natural hazard, hazard. Some examples of natural hazards include avalanches, droughts, earthquakes, floods, heat waves, landslides ...

in the South-West of

. The Fanions of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd combat companies are decorated with: *

Croix de guerre des théâtres d'opérations extérieures The (; "War Cross for Foreign Operational Theatres"), also called the for short, is a French military award denoting citations earned in combat in foreign countries. The Armistice of November 11, 1918 ended the war between France and Germa ...

with 1 palm for the '2nd' combat company. *

with 1 vermeil star for the '1st' combat company. *

with 1 vermeil star for the '3rd' combat company. File:Croix de Guerre 1939 France AVERS.jpg, Croix de Guerre 1939–1945 with 1 star vermeil File:AVERS Croix de Guerre TOE France 2 citations.jpg, File:Croix de la Valeur Militaire France AVERS.jpg, File:Médaille d’honneur pour acte de courage et de dévouement.jpg,

Battalion and Regimental Commanders since 1963

References

Amicale (friends) of the 17th Parachute Engineer Regiment
{{DEFAULTSORT:Parachute Engineer Regiment, 17th Parachute regiments of France French engineer regiments Military units and formations established in 1944 1944 establishments in France