This third edition of the Paille-en-Queue exercise brought together around sixty soldiers and sailors with the participation of French Navy vessels, the patrol boat Le Malin and the overseas support and assistance vessel (BSAOM) Champlain , a detachment of shooters from the 2nd Marine Infantry Parachute Regiment (2nd RPIMa ), a maritime action group (GAM) from the same regiment and observers from the EMIA.
During this sequence, sailors, soldiers and gendarmes conducted training in maneuvering and navigation, including towing, refueling at sea and tactical evolutions. They also carried out exercises in visiting suspect vessels and assisting a vessel in distress.
The 2nd RPIMa’s porpoises were integrated into the “Artillery” chain of the patrol boat Le Malin , participating in the defense against asymmetric threats, in particular with the experimentation of an anti-tank rocket launch – a first on a patrol boat.
The interoperability between Le Malin and the GAM also allowed the recovery from the sea of two army boats and their amphibious deployment.
At the same time, a helicopter from the Gendarmerie air section carried out a helicopter hoisting sequence on the Champlain and then on Le Malin to train pilots and sailors to transfer an injured person from the sea to the air.
In addition, numerous individual exercises were conducted by the participating units, such as infantry weapons shooting, the fight against asymmetric threats, computer warfare and cyber defense, fire and water safety.
Paille-en-Queue 24.3 was a very rich exercise in lessons and was also an opportunity to advance interoperability between units, armies and ministries within the FAZSOI.
The Armed Forces in the Southern Indian Ocean (FAZSOI) carry out a wide range of missions in a permanent area of responsibility with significant extensions. From Mayotte and Réunion, more than 2,100 soldiers guarantee the protection of the population, protect the exclusive economic zones, and fight against piracy and illicit trafficking. The FAZSOI frequently support State action missions at sea and implement France’s military partnerships with countries in southern Africa and the southern Indian Ocean.