Joining the French Foreign Legion?

earlytobed

There is a thread with identical title in this forum. try that:)

Zambia

Have you considered permanent migration to Australia and joining their/ the army ?

Oink

The only thing I would suggest is to think long and hard whether you really want to join the legion. I know someone who decided it wasn't for him and wanted to leave, and they made it very, very, very hard for him to leave (that a was about 10 years ago ). Just saying. Best of luck with whatever you decide.

pablomakaveli

Zambia wrote: »

Have you considered permanent migration to Australia and joining their/ the army ?

I believe the only take foreigners with previous military service in the Australian army.

Zambia

Move to Aus , become citizen, Join army ....

Timeframe is a few years but its do-able.

Possible other option is sign up to British army then transfer

Morpheus

[MOD] Threads merged... also KEEP IT CIVIL AND RELEVANT TO THE TOPIC - last warning. [/MOD]

Beruthiel

http://www.legion-etrangere.com/

Not their official Facebook page

James09ufc

Zambia wrote: »

Have you considered permanent migration to Australia and joining their/ the army ?

I have considered it, but to achieve that I would have to get sponsorship in my trade an spend the guts of 4 years waiting for citizenship to come through before I can apply for the army! At that stage I'd be near finished a 5 year stint in an elite force (ffl) which I could then transfer to most armys around the world with the legion background.

James09ufc

Oink wrote: »

The only thing I would suggest is to think long and hard whether you really want to join the legion. I know someone who decided it wasn't for him and wanted to leave, and they made it very, very, very hard for him to leave (that a was about 10 years ago ). Just saying. Best of luck with whatever you decide.

Iv done all the long an hard thinking its just got to the bite the bullet stage! But thanks for the advice

James09ufc

Zambia wrote: »

Move to Aus , become citizen, Join army ....

Timeframe is a few years but its do-able.

Possible other option is sign up to British army then transfer

Unfortunately the British army is not an option for me

BostonB

Remembered listening to this. Took me a while to find it again.


http://www.eoinbutler.com/interviews/lots-of-the-writers-i-admired-dostoyevsky-orwell-vonnegut-had-served-in-the-military-it-was-something-men-just-did-in-those-days-i-wanted-to-experience-what-theyd-gone-through/

http://www.podcast-directory.co.uk/episodes/french-foreign-legion-19440017.html
And Dermot O'Shea from Balbriggan spoke about joining the French Foreign Legion

http://bankstobattlefields.blogspot.ie/

Zambia

James09ufc wrote: »

Unfortunately the British army is not an option for me

Say no more

James09ufc

Cheers bostonb just after reading the article, in work at the moment so I'll listen to the podcast later thanks again this kinda stuff is really helpful

BALLHOPPER

Hello Airsofter1234
You seem to be a pretty intelligent young lad, now here is a bit of advice from an old timer, now you can take it or leave it the choice is yours.If you dont mind taking orders and you appear to be a disciplined young lad and you would like to follow an adveterous career, why not attend the Marine College and do either Nautical Science or Marine Engineering,these are well payed professions for well educated young people and you get to see the world and get payed for it at the same time. Yes soldiering is an honourable profession but at the end of the day all you become is a pawn or cannon fodder for your political masters. Good Luck in whatever you do

RUSTEDCORE

airsofter1234

RUSTEDCORE wrote: »

Thanks for the videos it's hard to find them cause most are in French .

aindriu80

Mostly everyone on the thread did mention the British Army (which is a excellent organisation) but for some its just not an option. O.P my 2 cents worth is to go for the FFL.

Everyone knows how tough the FFL is so if your thinking about it you already have a good idea. I did a bit in the Army Reserve and couldn't really envisage signing up for the British Army no matter how excellent the links we have with the U.K. Even though its all in French and tough the excitement in the FFL would really be worth it. If you are fit enough and think you will get through the 5 years ok then there isn't any reason not to apply.

airsofter1234

Thanks aindriu,
I have thought about it a lot and I think ill go for it, it's still a least 3 years till im finished college so i will be prepared by then,

goldie fish

airsofter1234 wrote: »

Thanks for the videos it's hard to find them cause most are in French .

Its a language you need to have a basic knowledge of before you consider a career in le Légion étrangère.

airsofter1234

goldie fish wrote: »

Its a language you need to have a basic knowledge of before you consider a career in le Légion étrangère.

I do French in school. I know the basics but not most of what there saying. It's not a requirement it's just very good to have. On one of the documentarys there was a Mongolian who didn't know the Latin alphabet.

goldie fish

airsofter1234 wrote: »

I do French in school. I know the basics but not most of what there saying. It's not a requirement it's just very good to have. On one of the documentarys there was a Mongolian who didn't know the Latin alphabet.

And did he breeze thru it? You seem to fail to grasp the importance of being able to speak the language that orders will be shouted at you.

airsofter1234

it didnt really show him but it passed training anyway. I dont plan on joining until after college and im only in 6th year now, i have a long time to get better at french, iv already started physical training ( pressup , situps and running ) and next year ill have more time ill start going gym and keep up the french even though im not doing it in college.

booom

the videos from aubagne are not training. the 1RE at aubagne is an administratave regiment- the videos show some of the selection process. Once you get through aubagne you go to the 4RE at castelnaudary for your basic. aubagne is pretty civilised in comparison. language is picked up pretty quickly as it is related to self-preservation. one smack over the head with a bucket and you'll remember what a seau is for quite some time, same goes for a mop across the back of the legs.

airsofter1234

booom wrote: »

the videos from aubagne are not training. the 1RE at aubagne is an administratave regiment- the videos show some of the selection process. Once you get through aubagne you go to the 4RE at castelnaudary for your basic. aubagne is pretty civilised in comparison. language is picked up pretty quickly as it is related to self-preservation. one smack over the head with a bucket and you'll remember what a seau is for quite some time, same goes for a mop across the back of the legs.

ye from watching videos and reading online and a book, the training starts in ''the farm'' and its meant to be very tough. They mention about the technique to learn french in all the articles

James09ufc

It's not mandatory to know French, it will obviously help. I have a friend that joined just over a year ago an he didn't even know the basics. He has sailed through it but did agree that it would have been a huge help to have had some knowledge of the French language. As for the training he said its tough but if u enjoy running it should be no problem, he's a straight shooter an tells u how it is. However he was always extremely fit an won a lot of cross country competitions at home, so I'm defiantly not underestimating how tough it's gonna be!

Absolutezero

Why do you want your one chance at life hanging on the whim of a French President like Sarkozy or Hollande? Stop feeling you have to prove yourself and get a life.

airsofter1234

A lot people dont join the army ( irish , british , us , or FFL ) to prove themselves, they just have always wanted to be in the army all their lives, some people join for that reason and others for money. I have wanted to be in the Army all my life, dont know why i just do.

James09ufc

Absolutezero wrote: »

Why do you want your one chance at life hanging on the whim of a French President like Sarkozy or Hollande? Stop feeling you have to prove yourself and get a life.

As airsofter said some people just want an army lifestyle an always have, I am one of those people nothing to do with proving yourself! I'm interested in every aspect of it an can think of a lot worse things to be doing, the show still goes on whether or not I join, I for one would like to have my input in it. So if ya don't have any decent advice go pollute a different forum!

summerskin

My cousin (half english-half french) is in the 4th year with the Legion and has decided to leave when his 5th year is up, next january if I recall correctly.

It's hard as hell. he's a tough lad, his dad was a commando in the French special forces and he always wanted to out-do him so joined the legion.

He's been hospitalised with parasites that buried in his skin on swamp missions in Central Africa, and with blisters on his feet and legs that got infected to the bone.

He did a tour of Afghanistan, including front line duty, and had friends killed. He doesn't talk about the rest of what happened, other than to say the US Army bases there are like holiday camps compared the the shít the legion had to put up with.

Served time in Military Prison a couple of times (once for getting back from holiday leave 1 hour late, once for losing his Kepi Blanc when pissed).

Successfully completed his Stage Caporale and got promoted.

Did hundreds of parachute jumps.

Now works in a support role in Calvi, seeing as he is leaving next January he doesn't have to go on any more tours of duty. He is using his trade (he trained as a carpenter before joining up) so that he will be able to use it when he leaves.

He has amassed a substantial sum in the bank, well in to 6 figures, as a result of the excellent pay they get for the tours of Afghanistan and Central Africa.

Does he think it was all worth it? Sometimes yes, sometimes no. He said it's the hardest thing he will ever have to do, and it has definitely changed him as a person. He's more arrogant now, and he knows it. Also a lot colder and more detached than he used to be. But, as he points out, when he leaves he will be 26, have a house he owns with no mortgage plus a shed load of money which secures his future and will enable him to travel the world.

Just remember though, for the first year you will not be able to contact your family easily, and also they will assign your new name and if anyone contacts you using your real name you will be disciplined for it. (my gran sent him a letter with his name on it and he got in a fair bit of trouble). You can change back to your real name after a year. We were lucky as his dad had contacts himself in the Legion who kept us all updated on his progress.

Wouldn't be the thing for me, and I'd recommend anyone that wants to do it really does their research.

gctest50

goldie fish wrote: »

Its a language you need to have a basic knowledge of before you consider a career in le Légion étrangère.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIAdHEwiAy8

goldie fish

Deliberate error. He didn't spot it either. It is of course "La" Légion étrangère.

Bonne Nuit.

airsofter1234

@Summerskin

thanks for the information, i have read a lot of similar stories on the web about people saving a lot of money and counting down the days until the end of the contract, i got the impression from what iv been reading is that most people only do the 5 years (if they dont desert). About the injuries , they sound horrible. thanks again

earlytobed

There was an article in last Saturday's Indo "Weekend" suppliment about 2 Dublin lads currently serving with the Legion. One of them has a blog "banks to Battlefields" which may be of use

aindriu80

earlytobed wrote: »

There was an article in last Saturday's Indo "Weekend" suppliment about 2 Dublin lads currently serving with the Legion. One of them has a blog "banks to Battlefields" which may be of use

Banks to Battlefields did an interesting radio interview which was still on the web. He has a facebook page too..

James09ufc

earlytobed wrote: »

There was an article in last Saturday's Indo "Weekend" suppliment about 2 Dublin lads currently serving with the Legion. One of them has a blog "banks to Battlefields" which may be of use

Cheers mate, brilliant blogs really gives you an insight

TomRooney

summerskin wrote: »

My cousin (half english-half french) is in the 4th year with the Legion and has decided to leave when his 5th year is up, next january if I recall correctly.

It's hard as hell. he's a tough lad, his dad was a commando in the French special forces and he always wanted to out-do him so joined the legion.

He's been hospitalised with parasites that buried in his skin on swamp missions in Central Africa, and with blisters on his feet and legs that got infected to the bone.

He did a tour of Afghanistan, including front line duty, and had friends killed. He doesn't talk about the rest of what happened, other than to say the US Army bases there are like holiday camps compared the the shít the legion had to put up with.

Served time in Military Prison a couple of times (once for getting back from holiday leave 1 hour late, once for losing his Kepi Blanc when pissed).

Successfully completed his Stage Caporale and got promoted.

Did hundreds of parachute jumps.

Now works in a support role in Calvi, seeing as he is leaving next January he doesn't have to go on any more tours of duty. He is using his trade (he trained as a carpenter before joining up) so that he will be able to use it when he leaves.

He has amassed a substantial sum in the bank, well in to 6 figures, as a result of the excellent pay they get for the tours of Afghanistan and Central Africa.

Does he think it was all worth it? Sometimes yes, sometimes no. He said it's the hardest thing he will ever have to do, and it has definitely changed him as a person. He's more arrogant now, and he knows it. Also a lot colder and more detached than he used to be. But, as he points out, when he leaves he will be 26, have a house he owns with no mortgage plus a shed load of money which secures his future and will enable him to travel the world.

Just remember though, for the first year you will not be able to contact your family easily, and also they will assign your new name and if anyone contacts you using your real name you will be disciplined for it. (my gran sent him a letter with his name on it and he got in a fair bit of trouble). You can change back to your real name after a year. We were lucky as his dad had contacts himself in the Legion who kept us all updated on his progress.

Wouldn't be the thing for me, and I'd recommend anyone that wants to do it really does their research.

The highlighted part seems a bit unbelievable when you take into consideration that the FFL are paid crap money, around €220 per week after training.

earlytobed

TomRooney wrote: »

The highlighted part seems a bit unbelievable when you take into consideration that the FFL are paid crap money, around €220 per week after training.

Well, according to the article in the Indo suppliment, the money triples when posted overseas.
If €220 is an accurate figure, triple that is still not great

TomRooney

earlytobed wrote: »

Well, according to the article in the Indo suppliment, the money triples when posted overseas.
If €220 is an accurate figure, triple that is still not great

Here is a list of salaries from the official F.F.L website, http://www.legion-recrute.com/en/salaires.php

Note the Sgt Major salary of just over €500 per week, Sgt Major is the highest possible rank an enlisted man can reach, it would normally take 21 years to reach this rank and only about 3% to 5% of enlisted men will reach this rank.

summerskin

TomRooney wrote: »

Here is a list of salaries from the official F.F.L website, http://www.legion-recrute.com/en/salaires.php

Note the Sgt Major salary of just over €500 per week, Sgt Major is the highest possible rank an enlisted man can reach, it would normally take 21 years to reach this rank and only about 3% to 5% of enlisted men will reach this rank.

two tours in Afghanistan and Africa on the €3636 figure, plus the addtional payments they receive equated to over €50k for the equivalent of just one year service. All food and lodging etc is covered, making it money to invest. Now add to that 4 more years salary, plus benefits/compensations and the money adds up.

TomRooney

summerskin wrote: »

two tours in Afghanistan and Africa on the €3636 figure, plus the addtional payments they receive equated to over €50k for the equivalent of just one year service. All food and lodging etc is covered, making it money to invest. Now add to that 4 more years salary, plus benefits/compensations and the money adds up.

Yeah that's not bad, but I was of the understanding that the maximum time you can spend with 13 DBLE was 2 years, besides the chances of getting into the 13 DBLE being slim, other units go to Abu Dhabi now on rotation for 6 months each.

Is it possible to spend your entire 5 year contract with the 13 DBLE?

summerskin

TomRooney wrote: »

Yeah that's not bad, but I was of the understanding that the maximum time you can spend with 13 DBLE was 2 years, besides the chances of getting into the 13 DBLE being slim, other units go to Abu Dhabi now on rotation for 6 months each.

Is it possible to spend your entire 5 year contract with the 13 DBLE?

Dunno to be honest. All I know is he's done hundreds of parachute jumps, two tours(afghan and africa) and now he's working in support in Calvi for his final year. He's made a damn sight more money than the figures on that link, i can promise you that much. The allowances and compensations must be quite large.

booom

summerskin wrote: »

two tours in Afghanistan and Africa on the €3636 figure, plus the addtional payments they receive equated to over €50k for the equivalent of just one year service. All food and lodging etc is covered, making it money to invest. Now add to that 4 more years salary, plus benefits/compensations and the money adds up.

Apologies if I got this wrong but; are you saying your mate did three tours in one year? if so, things have really changed. As an aside; food and lodging (along with uniform, boots etc) are deducted at source. if you go on PLD (usually an extended leave after a tour) you can then claim back for the time you weren't on their books. Admittedly it's not a fortune but would get you your fags and a case of beer.

summerskin

booom wrote: »

Apologies if I got this wrong but; are you saying your mate did three tours in one year? if so, things have really changed. As an aside; food and lodging (along with uniform, boots etc) are deducted at source. if you go on PLD (usually an extended leave after a tour) you can then claim back for the time you weren't on their books. Admittedly it's not a fortune but would get you your fags and a case of beer.

no, he has done two tours, not in the same calendar year.

Diairist

Apologies if I'm hijacking a thread...

Is there a celebration planned for 30th in Ireland?

goldie fish

Celebration of what?

Diairist

http://www.badassoftheweek.com/danjou.html

goldie fish

Walter mitty time then.

tac foley

Diairist wrote: »

http://www.badassoftheweek.com/danjou.html

I'm sure that there are better versions - less 'comic-book bad-ass' in the writing style - of the Battle of CameronE than this one.

I'll leave it to you to find one.

As for writing '30th' instead of '130th', I'm sure you'll be along in a minute to correct this little error, adding a '1' and changing the '3' to a '5'....

There is, however, no special significance of either the 130th or the 150th anniversary - Camerone Day is celebrated by the Legion EVERY year. However, I'd be very interested to know why you think that Camerone Day would be singled out for celebration in Ireland.

Thanks in advance.

tac

booom

tac foley wrote: »

I'm sure that there are better versions - less 'comic-book bad-ass' in the writing style - of the Battle of CameronE than this one.

I'll leave it to you to find one.

As for writing '30th' instead of '130th', I'm sure you'll be along in a minute to correct this little error, adding a '1' and changing the '3' to a '5'....

There is, however, no special significance of either the 130th or the 150th anniversary - Camerone Day is celebrated by the Legion EVERY year. However, I'd be very interested to know why you think that Camerone Day would be singled out for celebration in Ireland.

Thanks in advance.

tac

The (inaugural) Foreign Legion Association of Ireland will be celebrating Camerone on the 27th. The French Ambassador will be presenting the Association with their standard, before all heading off for a good knees up. All Walters keep away.

tac foley

booom wrote: »

The (inaugural) Foreign Legion Association of Ireland will be celebrating Camerone on the 27th. The French Ambassador will be presenting the Association with their standard, before all heading off for a good knees up. All Walters keep away.

Thank you, Sir - THAT is what I wanted to read.

Have a great day.

tac