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Brigade of Marines [Fusiliers Marins]

The French Navy has a combat corps, the Fusiliers Marins (Marine Riflemen), which are devoted to protection of the Navy bases and ships. From these soldiers are chosen the Commandos Marines (created during the WWII with the Free French and following the British SAS traditions) which are highly trained troops, experienced in to all sorts of commando ops, submarine attacks, long-distance raids, etc... Currently the Naval Fusiliers (FUSCO, or fusiliers/commandos) consists of 14 Companies of Fusiliers and a small commando battalion.

The Navy missions require increasingly often that the action of its ships or aircraft is completed by human means, whether to establish a direct contact (visit ship, control of fisheries, projection on the ground) or when these missions require a very targeted use of force or a combination of discretion and proximity (employment of snipers, fight against drug trafficking, maritime counter-terrorism, protection of buildings of trade teams). This is the reason for the force of Marines and Marine Commandos , based in Lorient and bringing together approximately 2500 people. It consists of 2 major units, the Marines and Marine Commandos.

The groups and companies of Fusiliers Marins provide a dual mission: the protection of strategic sites of the Navy; strengthening the protection of the ships of the Navy and the protection of some civilian buildings deemed sensitive to interest national or particularly exposed to certain maritime threats at sea. A group of Marines is present in each of the military ports of Brest and Toulon, where a group Intervention and reinforcement (IRM) is able to intervene to strengthen the protection of a site or building in all places. Seven companies of Marines are distributed on the metropolitan territory which one at the naval base of Cherbourg, one in each of the sites within the force oceanic strategic (Island long, France South, Rosnay and Sainte Assisi) and on the foundations of Naval Aviation of Lann Bihoué and Nîmes Garons.

Six marine commandos are:

1. Commando Jaubert : it is the name of the frigate Captain François Jaubert, killed January 29, 1946 in Indochina.
2. Commando Trépel : the name of Captain Charles Trepel, disappeared in February 1944 during a raid in Holland.
3. Commando de Montfort : it bears the name of the vessel sign Louis de Montfort, killed on November 27, 1946 in Indochina.
4. Commando de Penfentenyo : it bears the name of the vessel sign Alain de Penfentenyo, killed on February 12, 1946 in Indochina.
5. Commando Hubert : it named lieutenant Augustin Hubert, killed on 6 June 1944 at Riva Bella.
6. Commando Kieffer : name of the frigate Captain Philippe Kieffer, founder of the French marine commandos, 1962.

Mastering a skills base and common capabilities (combat commando, sea-land-AIR mobility, transmissions), each of the six marine commandos develops a dominant task which they are the pole of excellence: