Rear Admiral Jean Emmanuel Roux de Luze was born in Paris on 9 January 1967.
His career began 3 October 1989 in Brittany, at the Poulmic Schools Group where he undertook his initial officer training. Upon its completion, he was assigned to the Aviso Escorteur, PROTET, at Djibouti, where he took part in mission ARTIMON, the French maritime codename for the Gulf War.
In February 1991, he entered the French Naval Academy as an Officer Candidate. He completed his officer training in 1992 with an application campaign aboard the French helicopter carrier, JEANNE D’ARC. Upon completion of his training, during the summer of 1993, he was assigned overseas to the P400 patrol boat, LA GLORIEUSE, based in New Caledonia, as officer in third.
In January 1994, he commenced flight school at the Ecole des Officiers Brevetés d’Aéronautique, Salon de Provence, where the initial training is performed on CM 170 Fouga Magister. In September he continued his training at the Naval Center of Instruction of Saint Mandrier where he underwent specialty training as a “detector.”
After a brief stint in the “Aeronautical Training” Division at ALFAN from February to April 1995, He completed his flight training at the squadron 56S at Nimes where he received his French wings and his Tacticien d’Aéronautique (Naval Flying Officer) certification.
Assigned to the 6th Squadron (6F) of the French Naval Aviation in November 1995, he flew on Breguet 1050 Alizé and embarked on the French aircraft carrier, CLEMENCEAU, during which time he took part in the mission codename SALAMANDRE. While assigned to the 6F, he underwent training as a Fighter Controller and was sent for two months to the French Air Force 36th Detection and Control, Airborne Squadron where he flew on E-3F AWACS.
Sent to the United States in July 1996, Rear Admiral Roux de Luze was assigned as an exchange officer at the squadron VAW-120, within the heart of the US Navy at Norfolk, Virginia. There, he received his USN Naval Flying Officer wings, completed the American Fighter Controller course as well as qualified as an Instructor Mission Commander on the E-2C HAWKEYE. He embarked on numerous USN aircraft carriers and took part in many At-Sea-Training-Cycles (COMPTUEX, JTFX) with the fleet squadron VAW-123.
He joined the 4F at Lann-Bihoué, Britany, in July 2000, where he flew the HAWKEYE. There, he successively fulfilled the capacities of head of training, Assistant Operations Officer, Operations Officer, and Executive Officer. He then took command of the squadron on 19 June 2006.
He has participated with his squadron to all deployments of the French Aircraft Carrier, CHARLES DE GAULLE, where he has participated in various missions, including missions codenames HERACLES, TRIDENT D’OR, FRAME, and HERACLES AIR INDIEN I, II, and III. He flew 77 combat missions over Afghanistan as mission commander on board the HAWKEYE.
After having relinquished his command on July 2008 in Virginia Beach, VA, where his squadron was deployed, Rear Admiral Roux de Luze went to Paris where he attended the Collège Interarmées de Défense, the French Armed Forces Staff College, during a year. After his graduation in July 2009, he was appointed to NATO and came back to Norfolk, VA. He had a desk job there for three years as an Operational Concept Developer, within the Capability Engineering Division of the Alliance Transformation Command, ACT.
He came back to Paris in August 2012, made Captain, and was appointed as the head of the J5 World, within the Joint Planning and Conduct of Operations Center (CPCO). There, he worked as a strategic level lead planner dealing mainly with Middle East. A major part of the area he was working on corresponds to the USCENTCOM AOR. He initiated and conducted the planning of two major French Carrier Strike Group deployments in the Arabian Gulf : BOIS BELLEAU and ARROMANCHES. During his third and final year in the CPCO, he was in charge of operation CHAMAL, the French participation to coalition Operation Inherent Resolve.
He went back to the USA on July 2015 to join the National War College of the American National Defense University in Washington DC. He graduated from the NWC in June 2016 and earned a degree of Master of Science in National Security Strategy.
He became Naval Attaché at the Embassy of France in the United States of America on the 25th of July 2016. He went back to Paris during summer 2019 and joined on September 2nd the International Engagement division of the French Joint Staff where he served as Executive Assistant to VADM Schricke, the flag officer in charge of this domain for the entire French Armed Forces.
He joined Toulon in summer 2020 to become the deputy of the French Commander in Chief for the Mediterranean sea, where he is in charge of the operations in this AOR. He made Rear Admiral on September 1st 2020.
Rear Admiral Roux de Luze logged over 2200 hours of flight time, mainly in the E-2C HAWKEYE, as well as 770 arrested landings and 77 combat missions.
Recipient of various awards and decorations, he is an Officer of the Legion of Honor, a Commander of the National Order of Merit, an Officer of the Maritime Merit, decorated with the Military Cross of Valour with gold and bronze stars, the Cross of Combatant, the Medal of Aviation, the Overseas Campaign Medal with “Middle East” and “Hormuz” markings, the Golden Medal for the Defense of the Nation with the markings “Naval Aviation,” “Overseas Assistance Mission,” and “Combat Vessels,” the Commemorative Campaign Medals for ex-Yugoslavia and Afghanistan, the Commemorative Medal for NATO Operations in ex-Yugoslavia, the ISAF Medal, as well as the US Legion of Merit (degree of Officer) and the US Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal.
Rear Admiral Roux de Luze is happily married with Marion and the father of three children, two of them being FR-US binational.