Volume 45 - No. 27
July 9, 2015
Left: Adjutant Harold Vormezeele, 33, a legionnaire of the 2nd Foreign Parachute Regiment (2e REP) of the French Foreign Legion was killed in a clash with Islamists in the Iforhas region of northern Mali, on February 19, 2013. His funeral was held in National Residence of the Invalids (Les Invalides), Paris, on February 22. by lyle e davis
I suppose some of us men have at one time or another fantasized about running away and joining the French Foreign Legion.
Probably best to keep it as a fantasy as it is no walk in the park.
It’s the dark romance of the French Foreign Legion: haunted men from everywhere, fighting anywhere, dying for causes not their own. The French Foreign Legion is one of the only Western military forces comprised mostly of foreign nationals. It was established nearly 200 years ago for the same reason Australia exists—to give society's dregs a fresh purpose in life, ideally one that took them as far away from home as possible.
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The Legion will gladly send you to war to fight for a country you're barely acquainted with. In exchange, you get shipped off to God knows where and have a chance to reinvent yourself.
Currently it employs 7,286 enlisted men, including non-commissioned officers. Over just the past two decades they have been deployed to Bosnia, Cambodia, Chad, both Congos, Djibouti, French Guiana, Gabon, Iraq, Ivory Coast, Kosovo, Kuwait, Rwanda, and Somalia. Recently they have fought in Afghanistan, as members of the French contingent. There is no other force in the world today that has known so much war for so long. A significant number of the men are fugitives from the law, living under assumed names, with their actual identities closely protected by the Legion. People are driven to join
the Legion as much as they are drawn to it.
Since 1831, when the Legion was formed by King Louis-Philippe, more than 35,000 legionnaires have died in battle, often anonymously, and more often in vain. The Legion was created primarily to gather up some of the foreign deserters and criminals who had drifted to France in the aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars. It was discovered that these men, who were said to threaten civil society, could be induced to become professional soldiers at minimal cost, then exiled to North Africa to help with the conquest of Algeria.
Throughout history, the Legion has served as a second chance for people who have run out of bridges to burn. For those few willing and able to tough it out, a
brand new beginning and identity await, complete with a freshly minted French passport. Enlisting in the French Foreign Legion
The French Foreign Legion accepts recruits from all over the world. The Foreign Legion’s recruiting centers have to be open 24/7/365 (yes, all year long) officially. However, whatever is stated on the Legion’s official website, enlisting in the Legion during Monday to Friday between 08:00 AM – 05:00 PM will be a good option for you. The smaller recruiting centers might be closed during nights. You can be enlisted in mainland France only! There is no other way.
The French Foreign Legion Continued on Page 2