FROM ONE WAR TO THE NEXT

Having enlisted in the marine infantry in 2001 at the age of 20, Yohann Douady joined the 2e RIMa as a rifleman. His first deployments took him to Bosnia-Herzegovina and then to Côte d'Ivoire, on peacekeeping operations among populations still haunted by the memory of war or torn apart by clashes between rebel and loyalist forces. In 2004, deployed again to Côte d'Ivoire in the city of Bouaké, he experienced first-hand the dramatic events leading to the bombing of French positions by President Laurent Gbagbo's Sukhoi SU-25s, then took part in the marine infantry charge on riot-torn Abidjan before taking up position with his comrades at the Hôtel Ivoire, soon besieged by thousands of Ivorian "young patriots". Promoted to sergeant in 2005 and transferred to the reconnaissance and fire support company's sniper section in 2007, Yohann Douady returned to Côte d'Ivoire before preparing with his regiment for a future deployment to Afghanistan. Following operational preparation and the regiment's handover to a new commanding officer, Colonel Heluin, the 2e RIMa flew out to the Tagab valley in December 2010. Foot patrols, armoured vehicle patrols, helicopter missions, fire support missions and village investigations then followed one another at a relentless pace during operations that would see the soldiers of the 2e RIMa assert their supremacy over the insurgents — but at a price — never faltering in their motto: "Fidélité et honneur sur terre et sur mer".