Escape to the French Foreign Legion?


Im thinking of joining the French foreign legion. Iv been in the British army and dont fancy going back, the legion just seems like more of an adventure. Learn a new language, serve with people from all over the world and hopefully duel nationality, some action and french bitches.

Any one know some one whos been there?

Would be good to hear feedback from any one whos served with this lot as my mind is 90% made up, but a 5 year commitment to a foreign unit I know little about could be one EPIC disaster.

Cool pic of my great, great, great grandpa for ya…

i like that they’re marching/parade speed is like almost half that of normal marching speeds, giving them a sort of ‘swag’.

i know you will have to learn french during basic training.

it’s supposed to be pretty rough. get in shape for it.

[quote]HolyMacaroni wrote:
i like that they’re marching/parade speed is like almost half that of normal marching speeds, giving them a sort of ‘swag’.
.[/quote]

88 steps a minute compared to the usual 130.

You dont do 130 in sand dunes.

[quote]orion wrote:
You dont do 130 in sand dunes.

[/quote]

wat? i’m talking about seeing them in ceremonies / military-might parades.

i don’t remember the last time my unit marched in rank and file while in the field.

Rock on, Van Damme style.

[quote]domsGOOD wrote:
Any one know some one whos been there?

[/quote]

Just these two guys

A client I was working with joined up and went AWOL just like Van Damme (just noticed it is also called Lionheart’ anyway…)

He went to France to sign up but they told him to fuck off. So he waited all day outside their headquaters until someone eventually came out and told him to come in. They sat him down and asked him to hand over his passport. They gave him a contract to sign BUT they told him to sign it with a name they just gave him. He laughed and said his name was #### ####. The officer then slapped him across the face and screamed SIGN! So he did…

They shipped him off to some hot shitty place (cant remember) for training. Training was brutal and they only got one meal a day, someting like rice or beans and that was it. He went from plump to sinew in record time.

If you failed to do any tasks or take orders’ the commanding officer would kick the shit out of you there and then. Total hardcore! They got some leave in Paris before being shipped off and he went AWOL. His parents had to get a second passport done up and over to him so he could get out of France. LOL’ total madman went looking for adventure and got thrown into a world of pain & misery. He admitted he was totally out of his depth!

He said he made some great friends though, from all over the world. Guys trying to make a new start for themselves. There was a glut of guys from far flung places trying to get French citizenship and ex criminals trying to wipe the slate clean.

I don’t know the stat but a very high % of legionnaires die in service so thats worth considering…

I think this is the documentary I saw a while back, its worth checking out!

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6777372516104300363#

A book I a read a few years back called “Mouthful Of Rocks” by Christian Jennings gave a pretty good view of training and regimental life. Funny thing is that I had read another book from a guy who served in the '50s and a majority of what he discussed happened pretty damn close to how it went for Jennings in the '80s.

I recall seeing that seeing as you have no identity the instructors can pretty much kill you (literally) with their brutality if they’re so inclined.

Do not get swept up in the supposed romanticism of joining the French Foreign Legion. It’s truly the last stop before hell, and only a road that those with no other option should take.

I actually looked very heavily into it since I’ll be getting out of the US military. From what I read they’re the toughest fighting force in France (I know, LOL), but they will beat the piss out of you for any and every mistake, all the way down to mispronunciation while learning an entirely new language.

The pay and bennies seem comparable to what I’m getting now, so i took that into consideration. Lots of VD from nailing cheap whores all over the world too. That could be good or bad, I guess.

And an entirely new life seems like a great idea some days, honestly. A new name, a new face (from all the beatings), and a new language in a new country? There really are days i could buy a ticket to France right now!

My only problem with it is the whole ‘serving a different country’ thing. I seriously doubt that I could bring myself to fight against my former countrymen if the shit really hit the fan.

So I’ll stay here, and be another out of work vet. Yay!

Oh shit

[quote]Mad HORSE wrote:
So I’ll stay here, and be another out of work vet. Yay![/quote]

i uhh, could always use a new driver? heh.

All you bro.

[quote]HolyMacaroni wrote:

[quote]orion wrote:
You dont do 130 in sand dunes.

[/quote]

wat? i’m talking about seeing them in ceremonies / military-might parades.

i don’t remember the last time my unit marched in rank and file while in the field.[/quote]

And yet they stubbornly refuse to do more than 88.

Which is why they always are the last in a parade.