Quentin Vieux-Rochas takes command of the amphibious helicopter carrier (PHA) Mistral

This change of command was presided over by Rear Admiral Pierre-Yves Gente, deputy for the organic commander in Toulon to the commander of the Force d'action navale (ALFAN Toulon). Thus, Rear Admiral Pierre-Yves Gente, deputy for the organic commander in Toulon to the commander of the Force d'action navale, presented the new commanding officer of the amphibious helicopter carrier to the crew.

MISSION JEANNE D'ARC 2022

The amphibious helicopter carrier (PHA) Mistral (L9013) and the Lafayette-type frigate (FLF) Courbet (F712) were deployed from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic Ocean, via the Red Sea, the Indian Ocean, and the Gulf of Guinea, as part of the JEANNE D'ARC 2022 (JDA 22) mission. This mission was a high-level, long-duration operational deployment of an amphibious group. It allowed France to ensure its presence in a major area of strategic interest while providing a concrete, realistic, and high-quality training framework for the French and international officer cadets embarked from the Marine's officer application school. Thus, from September 27 to October 9, 2020, the French Navy conducted a major NATO exercise, Dynamic Mariner 20 (DYMR 20), in the Mediterranean Sea. This maneuver was part of the preparation cycle for the NATO Response Force (NRF), NATO's multinational joint force, and aimed to certify France's capability to exercise command of its maritime component (maritime component command – MCC) ahead of its stand-by duty on January 1, 2021. This alert had last been held by France in 2018, following the Brillant Mariner 2017 certification exercise in the Mediterranean. In October 2020, part of the Dynamic Mariner force gathered in the bay of Hyères for a VIP Day, accompanied by a visit of the Mistral and an aerial demonstration by two Rafale marine.