Interesting article on a US Army deserter joigning the Legion

[ruthabagah]

When I served in the early 90' I was merely a driver for the Legionnaires, but as I got to know and respect them, I realized how much of a family the Legion was for these men. Everybody make mistakes, and one of the Legionnaire I met back then, was a former stasi guard.... After the Legion, he went back to germany to face justice. I am glad this guy choose to face his responsibilities.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/16/us/a-deserter-who-chased-conflict-is-jailed-for-shirking-duty.html?_r=0

Excerpt:

"FORT DRUM, N.Y. — After graduating from the United States Military Academy at West Point near the top of his class in 2008, Second Lt. Lawrence J. Franks Jr. went on to a stellar career with three deployments, commendations for exceptional service and a letter of appreciation from the military’s top general.

The only problem: None of it was in the United States military.

After being sent to Fort Drum, here in the snowy farmland of northern New York, where he was put in charge of a medical platoon, Lieutenant Franks disappeared one day in 2009. His perplexed battalion searched the sprawling woods on the post for his body.What they did not know was that he was on a plane to Paris, where he enlisted under an assumed name in the French Foreign Legion. It was only this year when he turned himself in that the Army (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/a/us_army/index.html?inline=nyt-org) and his family learned what had happened."

[Mick-Boy]

Unfortunately you don't get to serve only under the conditions you desire. You sign on the line and you're in for the duration of your contract (and maybe a little extra..). Sounds like this dude was underwhelmed by the US mil and went war hunting. I get it... but he could have pursued the same adventures by volunteering for different assignments.

Discharge under other-than-honorable conditions? Sure. Repay the cost of his education? Sure. 4 years confinement? Over the top.

On a barely related note, I was able to work a bit with the 13th DBLE in Djibouti (including attending their desert survival school). It was amazing how similar the Legion is the the USMC. The biggest difference is that our military cult is built on victory in battle and their's was built on glorious defeat.

[ruthabagah]

"It was amazing how similar the Legion is the the USMC. The biggest difference is that our military cult is built on victory in battle and their's was built on glorious defeat."

Yep, just like the Spartans

[thvigil11]

Yep, just like the Spartans

Does that include the Buggery? [bad-banana]



I keed! I keed!

[thvigil11]

Interesting though. Self medicating your depression with "The Legion."

[airborneranger]

The whole article reeks of bullshit.

First, he was just a baby in the Army. A new 2LT has no idea what the Army is about is certainly doesn't have enough time in service to be underwhelmed with the military.

Second, the idea that he clamored to be cold, wet and hungry is nonsense. If that was true then he should have gone Infantry instead of Medical Service Corps. As the top 12% of his class (as the article states) then he would have gotten his first pick of branch as well as assignments. Instead, he came in a soft branch that truly only manages paperwork. He could have finished his first assignment and then tried out for Special Forces if he was that unhappy with his branch of choice.

Third but not last is the entire suicide piece. Again, as a new dude in the unit who told no one that he was having these thoughts, how was the Army supposed to help him? His lawyer claims that the Army is turning a blind eye to his suicidal issues but he never gave anyone in his chain of command a chance to help. This dude shows up, who happens to be a West Point graduate and the son of a neurosurgeon. Yup, sounds plenty suicidal to me. I guess someone should have noticed. (sarcasm)

Officers take an oath and we are expected to live up to that oath. You aren't allowed to run away and then come back expecting not to be hammered for it. He deserted his unit in a time of war, so he deserves to spend time in jail regardless of what he did during his time away.

Maybe I will go visit him once he arrives on post :).

[Rucker61]

Maybe I will go visit him once he arrives on post :).

Nice. ;) Of course, he was at Drum, and I think everyone there harbors suicidal thoughts, at least during the winter.

[airborneranger]

Nice. ;) Of course, he was a Drum, and I think everyone there harbors suicidal thoughts, at least during the winter.

Back in the day when I was in the 82D, we were forcing dudes to either reassign there or be forced out of the Army. It was crazy.

[Rucker61]

Back in the day when I was in the 82D, we were forcing dudes to either reassign there or be forced out of the Army. It was crazy.

We had two Ranger School spots open up for volunteers in our EOBC class in 86. The two gotchas were that you wouldn't have time to go to Airborne School before the Ranger class started, and you had to go to Drum. They got their volunteers, though.

[airborneranger]

We had two Ranger School spots open up for volunteers in our EOBC class in 86. The two gotchas were that you wouldn't have time to go to Airborne School before the Ranger class started, and you had to go to Drum. They got their volunteers, though.

Ouch!!!

[Hoser]

The first time I worked with the Legion was 92-93 in East Africa. Good dudes.

Said Lt deserves a kick in the nuts for sure.

[Dave]

Nice. ;) Of course, he was at Drum, and I think everyone there harbors suicidal thoughts, at least during the winter.
I was happier at Drum than at Schofield Barracks.

[HoneyBadger]

Said Lt deserves a kick in the nuts for sure.
^this.

[KestrelBike]

What a strange, strange article. I agree in that his story doesn't quite add up. Contrary to popular belief, from all recent reports, the FFL is extremely selective these days. They definitely do psych exams to make sure A) you're not a psycho, and B) you're not going to run away (US and British recruits allegedly run away the most).

“We never ask where they come from, " a French brigadier general, Laurent Kolodziej, said in video testimony from Paris. “You have people knocking on the door, just make sure they don’t have blood on their hands, and we take them in. The Legionnaires, it’s about giving someone a second chance.”

^^^ this part seems the most bullshit. While they love recruits with prior military duty, I seriously doubt they would have taken an army deserter, had they known. And from everything I've heard, they definitely ask a person's entire history. They want to know what they're getting, then they deem whether or not they want to take a chance, giving someone a second chance.

[Dave]

What a strange, strange article. I agree in that his story doesn't quite add up. Contrary to popular belief, from all recent reports, the FFL is extremely selective these days. They definitely do psych exams to make sure A) you're not a psycho, and B) you're not going to run away (US and British recruits allegedly run away the most).

“We never ask where they come from, " a French brigadier general, Laurent Kolodziej, said in video testimony from Paris. “You have people knocking on the door, just make sure they don’t have blood on their hands, and we take them in. The Legionnaires, it’s about giving someone a second chance.”

^^^ this part seems the most bullshit. While they love recruits with prior military duty, I seriously doubt they would have taken an army deserter, had they known. And from everything I've heard, they definitely ask a person's entire history. They want to know what they're getting, then they deem whether or not they want to take a chance, giving someone a second chance.

http://foreignlegion.info/joining/

[ruthabagah]

http://foreignlegion.info/joining/

Yeah: they really don't care what your prior history is as long as you are do not have a file with Interpol. In the early 90' most of the Legionnaires were Stasi, Securitat, spetnaz... Everybody who wanted to move west from behind the Iron Curtain.

In Indochina, a lot of former SS were the core of the FFL.

[KestrelBike]

http://foreignlegion.info/joining/

oh damn, hah they pay those poor bastards roasting in Djibouti about 2.5x what they pay their elite parachutists (and the dudes in guyane get more than them, too)

[ruthabagah]

Yeah, but there are plenty of goats in Djibouti....

I got shot more at in the 3 weeks I spend in the jungle in Guyane, than in sarajevo... go figure.

[KestrelBike]

Yeah, but there are plenty of goats in Djibouti....

I got shot more at in the 3 weeks I spend in the jungle in Guyane, than in sarajevo... go figure.

damn gold rustlers!