Didier Etumba

Didier Etumba Longila
Birth name	Didier Etumba Longila
Born	(1955-07-15) July 15, 1955 Basankusu, Équateur
Allegiance	Democratic Republic of the Congo
Service/branch	Land Forces
Rank	Army general (since 2013)
Commands held	FARDC Congolese Navy Military intelligence

Didier Etumba Longila (born July 15, 1955, Basankusu, Equateur province, Belgian Congo) is an Army General born the 15th of July 1955, and Chief of General Staff of the Armed Forces of the DRC since the 17th of November 2008. After graduating from a Presbyterian (Protestant) school in Lemba Sud I in Kinshasa, Didier Etumba Longila made brilliant scientific humanities (Math-Physics Option) at Lisanga BOKELEALE College (formerly Pestalozzi) in Kinshasa / Gombe. Graduate of State in 1974, he is admitted to the Polytechnic faculty of the University of Kinshasa that he leaves three years later. In 1979, Didier Etumba Longila was admitted to a competition at the prestigious Royal Belgian Military School in Brussels and was part of the 120th Promotion of the All Arms Division (Promotion Paul Henry of the Lindi). He is a hyper university and military graduate.

University Profile

Didier Etumba Longila holds the following academic titles:

• Degree in Social Sciences and Military from the Royal Military Academy (Belgium) (ERM) / Brussels
• Master of Criminology at the University of Liège / Belgium
• Master (Executive MBA) in Global Risk Management and International Programs at THEMIIS Institute

Military Profile and Career

Since 1979, the year of his incorporation and throughout his military career, Army General Didier Etumba Longila has obtained several diplomas, patents, distinctions and military decorations:

• Diploma from the Royal Military Academy (ERM) / Belgium
• Diploma from the Royal School of Gendarmerie / Belgium
• Staff Diploma
• War School Diploma / Strategies: College of High Strategy and Defense Studies (CHESD) / DRC
• Certificate of Infantry Officer
• Intelligence Officer's Certificate
• B Para Patent (ERM)
• Brevet B Commando (ERM)
• Rider's certificate
• EPS Officer Certificate (Physical Education and Sport)

Decorations and other honorific titles

• Grand Officer in the National Order "Kabila-Lumumba National Heroes"
• Commander in the order of COPAX / CEEAC
• Cross of Military Bravery with Bronze Five-pointed Star
• 1st and 2nd class military cross
• USM peace ambassador
• Notable alumni of the Belgian Royal Military Academy (ERM)

Professional profile

1. Second Lieutenant 1981 Chief of Platoon
2. Lieutenant 1985 - Director of Studies & Head of Office / Ministry of Defense
3. Captain 1992 - Commander Company & Head of Office / G3 General Staff
4. Major 1994 - Battalion Commander & Assistant Director of Cabinet / MRSA
5. Lieutenant Colonel in 1998 Counselor in the Office of the President of the Republic & 1999 Representative of the DRC to the Military Commission of the Lusaka / Zambia Agreement
6. Colonel 2002 - Head of Foreign Department of Military Intelligence & Government Rapporteur and Senior Negotiator at the Defense and Security Commission of the Sun City / South Africa Agreement
7. Brigadier General 2003 Chief of Staff Military Intelligence
8. General-Major (Vice Admiral) 2006 - Chief of Staff of the Naval Force & Co-Chair of the Joint Military Commission of the Amani Process
9. Lieutenant-General 2008 Chief of General Staff of the FARDC
10. Army General 2013 Chief of General Staff of the FARDC

Throughout his career, General d'Armée Didier Etumba Longila has been a great trainer in several schools for officers and especially at the College of Advanced Strategy and Defense Studies (CHESD) of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Similarly, General Didier Etumba Longila has successfully led several campaigns and military operations, the most famous of which are:

• Operation Orange Apple [archive] which allowed him to definitely defeat the M23 and their Rwandan and Ugandan allies on November 5, 2013 in Tshanzu in North Kivu province;
• Operation RUDIA against the LRA which enabled him to definitively drive them out of the Congolese territory in 2010;
• Operations Kimya I, Kimya II and Amani Leo against the FDLR;
• SUKOLA operations against ADF.

References