Camp Des Garrigues

R.A.S. 🇵🇫

Winter 1993, as called to fulfill the obligation of national service. In search of professional inspiration I was, halfway Between high school and the boredom of not knowing my vocation, the only most appropriate response was to anticipate my request to the recruitment service located in the city of Auch, where medical examinations were carried out and written tests called "the three days" to assess the capacities of called to integrate one of the three Armies: Army, Sea and Air; Armed forces that were made up of women volunteers called or enlisted. I was assigned to Nîmes at the 6th RCS in the Army of the Train (transport and logistics). As a Toulouse resident with my comrades called from all over from the Midi-Pyrénées-Languedoc-Roussillon region, we formed the so-called peloton contingent 92/12, and there were found the rich / poor, the suburbanites / country people and even the deserters, we were in support of the 6th DLB we did our classes (training) partially in the barracks and the rest in the Garrigues camp. The camp is a sort of French military vestige of the Ministry of Defense located on the Gardon massif, and is an area closed to civilians. During one of our training missions lasting 5 days 4 nights, in this camp we had never been so close to nature. At night, in winter, it blew over it a dry cold accompanied by a rain in order to complete the architectural poetry of The vegetation halfway between the dry meadow and the forest which recalled how painfulness, heaviness of the rucksack which contained the tent, the combat rations, the gourd, the hot effects, the enormous responsibility of the famas carried on the shoulder so as not to lose it (even during the rest in the tent). On the day with our designated partner, we had to reach the stopping points indicated on our route of individual plan, with a compass, all in allotted time, the lack of rest following the rounds successive hours of duty that we performed at night with the pair in order to watch over the peloton. Sometimes we came across other regiments or battalions, which carried out different formations, exercises, some landed at the Garrigues camp by air. In order to close and validate this training, we had to walk back to the barracks in downtown Nîmes.

Training camp, north of Nîmes, unfortunately subject to a harsh weather, not very easy to access, very repulsive accommodation (rooms and bedding unhealthy, dilapidated, unsanitary toilets and sanitary, ordinary food deterrent by its quality, and especially its welcome ...). Only the infirmary is clean, welcoming and effective. Distances between the camps, important and made very difficult by the closing of the barriers. To avoid (except maybe winter!)

I've known this place for over 40 years. I'm still there every day after working for years. It's a beautiful place, the scrubland camp. There is the built part and the maneuvering areas. The whole is about 4800 hectares. It is crossed by 4 roads in North-South axes. Its northern limit is the River Gardon on 8.4 km.