The National Centre for Commando Training, (, ) is a

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 ...

training centre. It is a located in

Mont-Louis Mont-Louis (; or ''el Vilar d'Ovansa'') is a Communes of France, commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales Departments of France, department in southern France. Geography Mont-Louis is located in the canton of Les Pyrénées catalanes and in the ar ...

and

Collioure Collioure (; , ) is a commune in the southern French department of Pyrénées-Orientales. Geography The town of Collioure is on the Côte Vermeille (Vermilion Coast), in the canton of La Côte Vermeille and in the arrondissement of Céret. ...

in the Pyrenees-Orientales department, and is part of the . As of 18 July 2022, the commander was Lieutenant Colonel Damien Lefèbvre.

History

Created on the 1st January 1964, as a descendant of the

11e régiment parachutiste de choc The ''11e régiment parachutiste de choc'' ("11th shock parachute regiment), often called ''11e choc'', was an elite parachute regiment of the French Army. It used to serve as the armed branch of the SDECE. Its insignia, designed by lieutenant ...

, the National Centre for

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 ...

Training is a unique establishment that specialises in commando training in

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 ...

. With the return of the French troops from

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 ...

in 1961, it was recognised that the training methods of the shock troops were highly effective for modern warfare. Thus ten centres were created in Metropolitan

and

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 ...

, most often in austere fortifications. The first commando training centre created in France was the of

Givet Givet () (; ) is a commune in the Ardennes department in northern France surrounded on three sides by the Belgian border. It lies on the river Meuse where Emperor Charles V built the fortress of Charlemont. It borders the French municipali ...

at the Fortress of Charlemont, in the department of

Ardennes The Ardennes ( ; ; ; ; ), also known as the Ardennes Forest or Forest of Ardennes, is a region of extensive forests, rough terrain, rolling hills and ridges primarily in Belgium and Luxembourg, extending into Germany and France. Geological ...

. It was designed in 1961, put into operation in 1962, by and for the 11e division légère d'intervention (11e DLI), a Parachute Division created in 1961 from the . Subsequently, the creation of the Givet CEC was entrusted to of the , which had recently returned from Algeria, resulting in the formation of the

17th Parachute Engineer Regiment 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 forming the engineerin ...

(17th BGAP). After being established in 1964, the CNEC de Mont-Louis and Collioure trained cadres of the

and also received

special forces Special forces or special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equip ...

and foreign trainees from

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, Germany,

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, and

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 ...

Training

After three weeks of training in a CEC, an entire unit is awarded the badge, flanked by the number associated with the centre (Number 1 for CNEC). *For NCOs, after five weeks at the CNEC, they are awarded the gold badge. *For Officers, after eight weeks at the CNEC, they are awarded the gold badge.

Flag

The CNEC uses the Colour of the which has the following

battle honours A battle honour is an award of a right by a government or sovereign to a military unit to emblazon the name of a battle or operation on its flags ("colours"), uniforms or other accessories where ornamentation is possible. In European military ...

sewn in gold letters:Order concerning the attribution of registration on the flags and banners of the formations of armies and services, 19 November 2004 (A)NORDEF0452926A Michèle Alliot-Marie. *Corsica 1943 *Elba Island 1944 *Cape Negro - Toulon 1944 *Upper Alsace 1944–1945 *Indochina 1947–1948 1951–1954 *AFN 1952–1962.

References

{{reflist French Army Military education and training in France Commando training facilities Training establishments of the French Army 1964 establishments in France