Rear Admiral (fr) Labonne number 2 of Operation Atalanta
Rear Admiral Jean-Pierre Labonne will therefore be the number 2 in the EU's anti-piracy operation "Atalanta" alongside his British counterpart, Philip Jones. Deputy Admiral commanding the naval action force since September 9, the Rear Admiral has the advantage of knowing the Indian Ocean area and Djibouti well, from his various previous commands.
Born in 1956, Jean-Pierre Labonne joined the army in 1974 and the Naval Academy in 1976. In 1979, he was second officer on the patrol boat "Edelbaran" (based in La Pallice). Promoted to lieutenant in August 1983, he then embarked on the Jeanne d'Arc as an instructor for the 1985-86 campaign. But, for a whole period, it is more in the air than at sea (see below). Promoted frigate captain in August 1992, he joined the staff of the Naval Action Force, before taking the post of second in command on the frigate "Montcalm" in June 1993. From 1994 to 1996, he commanded the aeronautical flotilla 23 F. Then, he took the position of head of aeronautical office within the operations/employment division of the staff of the admiral commanding the Atlantic maritime zone. Promoted to captain, he commanded the command and supply building (BCR) "Somme" in 1998. Then he headed the training office of the navy's military personnel department from July 1999 to 2002. Before going back to sea at the head of the anti-submarine frigate Primauguet (sept 2002 - 2004).
A flying sailor
Jean-Pierre Labonne has almost 4000 flight hours, surprising for a sailor? No. Labonne is first and foremost a pilot. In 1980, he attended the school for certified aeronautical officers in Salon-de-Provence in 1980, before flying on Bréguet Atlantic. And in 1983, he followed the aircraft commander training cycle on Atlantic. In 1988, he was assigned to the post of second in command of the 22 F flotilla, and participated in this context in seven detachments in Chad, for the “Epervier” operation, for two years. In September 1990, he took up the post of head of the flights/training department at the naval air base of Nîmes Garons. From 1994 to 1996, he commanded the 23 F flotilla of naval aircraft. Based in Lann-Bihoué (Morbihan), and equipped in particular with the Bréguet Atlantique 2 (which is used regularly in Djibouti), the 23 F was also present in Yugoslavia.
A connoisseur of the Indian Ocean
At the head of the BCR Somme (photo), Captain Labonne has made several stays in the Indian Ocean and in Djibouti. Including training with the Omani and Indian navies, during the Pearl Gathering exercise. And the integration into a multinational naval force in the Khunkar Hadd 99 exercise, bringing together four American and British ships (including HMS Cumberland, engaged today in the Indian Ocean), as well as corvettes and aircraft from Oman. A final exercise will take place with the Egyptian Navy frigate El Nasser in the Red Sea in December. At the head of the Primauguet, an F-70 type frigate whose (Breton) motto is War vor ha war zouar (on land and at sea), he notably participated in exercises with the British naval battle group Ark Royal, before to join the Indian Ocean and the anti-terrorist coalition, under Canadian command, as part of Operation Heracles (French operation code).
(NGV)
