The National Order of the Legion of Honour, formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour, is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil, and currently comprises five classes. Established in 1802 by Napoleon Bonaparte, it has been retained by all later French governments and regimes.
Air France Flight 8969 was an Air France flight that was hijacked on 24 December 1994 by the Armed Islamic Group of Algeria (GIA) at Houari Boumediene Airport, Algiers. The terrorists murdered three passengers and their intention was either to detonate the aircraft over the Eiffel Tower or the Tour Montparnasse in Paris. When the aircraft reached Marseille, the National Gendarmerie Intervention Group (GIGN), a tier one counterterrorism and hostage rescue unit of the French National Gendarmerie, stormed the plane and killed all four hijackers.
The GIGN is the elite police tactical unit of the National Gendarmerie of France. Among its missions are counterterrorism, hostage rescue, surveillance of national threats, protection of government officials, critical site protection, and targeting organized crime.
The Parachute Intervention Squadron of the National Gendarmerie was a parachute-trained tactical unit of the French Gendarmerie. The squadron was formed in 1984 with personnel from EPGM, a one-of-a-kind parachute squadron that had been created within the mobile gendarmerie in 1971 and was disestablished at that date. EPIGN, was based in Versailles-Satory with its sister unit GIGN. Besides its primary mission of providing heavy support and reinforcement to GIGN, EPIGN soon developed its own set of missions in the fields of protection and observation. It was finally absorbed, together with the "old" GIGN, into the newly reorganized GIGN in September 2007.
Ugo Cavallero was an Italian military commander before and during World War II. He was the first Chief of the Comando Supremo on June 1941. He was dismissed from his command due to his lacklustre performance, and was arrested upon the fall of Benito Mussolini's regime. Cavallero was later freed by the Germans, but refused to collaborate and was found dead the following day.
Ettore Bastico was an Italian field marshal who served as the commander of Axis forces in North Africa from 1941 to 1943 during World War II. In addition to being a general of the Royal Italian Army, he served as the governor of the Italian held Aegean islands and of Libya. After his time in the army, he became a military historian and published several books.
Lê Nguyên Khang was a South Vietnamese lieutenant general who commanded the South Vietnamese Marine Division.
The Mobile Gendarmerie (GM) is a subdivision of the French National Gendarmerie whose main mission is to maintain public order and general security. Contrary to the Departmental Gendarmerie, whose jurisdiction is limited to specific parts of the territory, the Mobile Gendarmerie can operate anywhere in France and even abroad as the Gendarmerie is a component of the French Armed Forces. Although the term "mobile" has been used at different times in the 19th century, the modern Mobile Gendarmerie was created in 1921.
The Royal Order of Isabella the Catholic is a knighthood and one of the three preeminent orders of merit bestowed by the Kingdom of Spain, alongside the Order of Charles III and the Order of Civil Merit. It recognizes extraordinary services to the homeland or the promotion of international relations and cooperation with other nations, with a particular focus on the territories of the former Spanish Empire. By law, its Grand Master is the King of Spain, and its Grand Chancellor is the Minister of Foreign Affairs. The Order is open to both Spaniards and foreigners, particularly from the Spanish-speaking world.
Jean-Louis Georgelin was a French Army General who was Chief of the Defence Staff between 4 October 2006 and 25 February 2010. From 9 June 2010 until 2016 he served as Great Chancellor of the French national order, the Légion d'honneur.
Benoît Puga is a general in the French Army and the Grand Chancellor of the National Order of the Legion of Honour and the National Order of Merit.
The Médaille de la Gendarmerie nationale is a French military decoration created on 5 September 1949 on proposition of the then Minister of Defence, mister Paul Ramadier. It was originally created in a single grade for award to officiers and NCOs of the Gendarmerie nationale who were cited in the orders of the entire service. Such a citation in the orders of the entire service, and all potential subsequent ones would be denoted by a grenade device on the ribbon as the medal could, and can still only be awarded once to any potential recipient. The medal could also be exceptionally awarded to persons not members of the service for important services rendered to the gendarmerie or for help during special missions. These presentations were made without a citation and thus without any ribbon device.
The National Defence Medal is a French military decoration. It was created by Charles Hernu, Minister of Defence and established by decree on 21 April 1982. It rewards particularly honourable service rendered by military personnel for their participation in operational activities. The medal has three levels: Gold, Silver and Bronze.
Jean-Paul Paloméros is a retired general of the French Air Force and served as Supreme Allied Commander Transformation, a senior military post in NATO. Paloméros previously served as Chief of Staff of the French Air Force from 2009 to 2012.
The Assault is a 2010 French action thriller film directed by Julien Leclercq, based on the 1994 hijacking of Air France Flight 8969 by Algerian Islamic fundamentalist terrorists and the raid to free the hostages by the GIGN, the elite counter-terrorism unit of the French National Gendarmerie.
Cambodian honors system consists of a number of orders, decorations and medals through which the country's sovereign awards its citizens for actions or deeds that benefit the nation. The modern system was established under Colonial French Rule and continued with modification after independence until the fall of the Khmer Republic on 17 April 1975. The current system was reinstated on 5 October 1995 by the Decree for the Establishment and Use of Decorations of Honor of the Kingdom of Cambodia No. 1095/01. The system includes an array of awards, both civil and military, for gallantry, bravery, distinguished service, meritorious service and long service. Various campaign and commemorative medals have also been struck.
Général d'armée aérienne Denis Mercier is a former Chief of Staff of the French Air Force. He was appointed on 17 September 2012. On September 30, 2015, he succeeded General Paloméros and became Supreme Allied Commander Transformation of NATO.
Richard Lizurey is a French National Gendarmerie general. He has served as Director General since 1 September 2016.
Fernando Alejandre Martínez is Spanish Army retired officer. A General of the Army, he served as the 10th Chief of the Defence Staff from 24 March 2017 to 15 January 2020, being succeeded by air general Miguel Ángel Villarroya.
Arnaud Jean-Georges Beltrame was a lieutenant colonel in the French Gendarmerie nationale and deputy commander of the Departmental Gendarmerie's Aude unit, who was murdered by an Islamic terrorist at Trèbes after having exchanged himself for a hostage. French President Emmanuel Macron said that Beltrame deserved "the respect and admiration of the whole nation." A state funeral was held at Les Invalides, Paris; for his bravery and adherence to duty he was posthumously promoted to the rank of colonel and made a Commander of the Legion of Honour.
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