Interesting article on a US Army deserter joigning the Legion

[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!