Camille d'Ornano was a Lieutenant Colonel

Lieutenant colonel

Lieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...

 in the French Army

French Army

The French Army, officially the Armée de Terre , is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces.As of 2010, the army employs 123,100 regulars, 18,350 part-time reservists and 7,700 Legionnaires. All soldiers are professionals, following the suspension of conscription, voted in...

 leading up to the Second World War. He had been appointed as commander of the Chad garrison prior to the initiation of hostilities. During the war he supported the Free French, his actions including the participation and co-leading a successful attack on Kufra

Battle of Kufra

Battle of Kufra may refer to either of two battles fought for control of the Libyan desert town of Kufra:*Battle of Kufra , a battle of the World War II Western Desert Campaign fought between Allied and Italian forces from 31 January to 1 March 1941....

.

After the war he was named High Commissioner of the French Territory of the Afars and Issas (1976–1977), which became the independent country of Djibouti

Djibouti

Djibouti , officially the Republic of Djibouti , is a country in the Horn of Africa. It is bordered by Eritrea in the north, Ethiopia in the west and south, and Somalia in the southeast. The remainder of the border is formed by the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden at the east...

on 27 June 1977.