Callsign Clochette - Medical Officer of the BEP and REP - 70 Years in the Service of the Legionnaires

No one leaves the REP without having left a part of themselves behind. For 70 years, having served in one of the Foreign Parachutist Battalions and Regiments has remained a unique human and professional experience for all the officers, non-commissioned officers, and legionnaires who one day stepped through the door of an aircraft alongside the men of the assault troops.

Medical officers are no exception to this rule, and from the reservist to his active-duty comrades, from the aspirant — the unit's sole conscript — to the chief medical officer, all have truly left a piece of themselves there and share their memories here for the space of a page. Why such enthusiasm for the 2e REP, now heir to the three foreign parachutist battalions? For this heroic past of one of the finest units in the French Army, which every day pushes your limits and multiplies your desire to give your best. For the men who serve in it — those legionnaires for whom one is ready to give everything, so much do they give in return. For those distant lands of Indochina and Algeria that forged its history. For the battles and operations in which it has been and will again be engaged tomorrow. For the exhilaration of the jump and the adventure that begins once your feet are on the ground and the canopy is stowed.

For an intense and varied medical activity combining curative medicine, emergency care, specialist assessment, mountain medicine, diving medicine, and parachuting medicine. And finally for the Calvi region itself — an exceptional garrison where the regiment has been stationed for more than fifty years. This book aims to offer a different perspective on the 2e REP through the lens of its medical support. It reveals, through this prism, the major operations conducted over 70 years. We immerse ourselves in the past of every medical officer who one day answered the radio under that very particular callsign Clochette — the REP's toubib. It uncovers the human resources, equipment, and techniques deployed to fulfil this fascinating mission as effectively as possible: the support of airborne legionnaires on operations. But above all, it is these "lived stories under the green beret" that convey the meaning of this commitment for the medical teams. This Legion, which saw them arrive one day and which they had come to serve, ended up adopting them. Fond memories, human adventures, moments of relaxation and acts of heroism, brotherhood of arms and friendly banter — the carabinier culture takes on the hues of Legionnaire traditions. The darkest tragedies rub shoulders with the most comical moments and anecdotes full of humour. More Majorum