Is the French Foreign Legion as good as they say or is it

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As good as who says?

>>33997704
man with nothing to loose and everything to gain. A murderous combination.

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>>33997749

As good as Simon Murray says

1SG of my very first unit years back made me read this.

>>33997704
They treat you worse than dirt

Violent hazing

Full expendability

Worst of the worst conditions

They're not lying about them being hardcore, it's tough, and it has to be something you really want, like PMC work but worse everything.

>>33997704
They are well trained, if trained to be disposable, but small and not particularly well equipped. So not particularly relevant outside of small scale conflicts.

>>33997800

Also don't forget that the legion runs almost everywhere. No much trucking around from point A to point B. It's always running and hard marching.

>>33997788

Well, the old legion was a different place. The old legion had a lot of WW2 experienced soldiers of questionable origin (read: nazis etc) as well as many (ex-)criminals.

Today, the FFL is flooded with people wanting to join and they have to turn away the vast majority, even if they pass basic physical testing. Criminals are no longer allowed into the legion and they are dropped outright.

So it's a different legion from what Simon Murray knew.

They're still tough though and are expected to suck it up when they're in the shit. They are disposable, but relatively well supported.

As far as I know it IS an elite force of purely volontary soldiers. An ex légion team leader said they are Made to die so the legion send them to die. Also go read about the CECAP stage at Djibouti or the CEFE pour centre d'entraînement en forêt équatoriale. It is pretty hardcore

>>33997871
>The old legion had a lot of WW2 experienced soldiers of questionable origin (read: nazis etc)

This has been proved to be myth on a number of occasisons. Why do people still repeat it? There were about 100 German speakers in the FFL per year, on average, between 1945 and 1960. Across a corps sized formation that's miniscule. Only a fraction of those were SS; the majority were Germans who wanted to soldier and did not have the opportunity to do so in Germany.

I got that from the curator of the Legion's museum, before you start.

>>33998103
just like how Coca-cola swears up and down there was no cocaine in the original formula huh?

>>33998136
No, just how some people take Sven Hassel and George Robert Elford novels as fact.

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>>33998136
hehehehehehehe

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>>33998014

The FFL also has rank & file. It's not just elite/special forces.

The FFL has specialist units (say on the level of Marine Force Recon or maybe Green Berets), but the vast majority are more akin to US Marines, or even US Army Rangers at best.

>>33998103

You do realize that french Vichy troops & belgian Eastern Fronters joined up as "belgians"?
Condor legionnaires as "spanyards"?
Austrians claimed to be "swiss".
And so on and so forth.

You would lie about your origin... And your recorded native tongue.

This is most easily shown with French people. They were not allowed to join as a soldier. So they lied about their origin. Back then it wasn't important and the legion didn't care where the meat came from.

The legion has tried hard to distance themselves from WW2 Axis powers, as well as their attrocities in northern africa, but that doesn't make it less true.

My source are actual legionaires from that era (belgian eastern fronters to boot), so your quote from a curator at some museum doesn't really convince me.

>>33998179
Of course there is the rank and file and there is the REP. Still. It is an elite force. At least on par with other. But any nationalities can join and gain the french nationalité. (Such as it is, and this is said from a french).

And french can join provided they take a false nationality on engagement. It's pretty transparent.

And of course some SS jointes back in the day. They were trained soldier and the indochinian War were up... It is know ffs.

>>33998179
He was at the official Legion museum, had served 12 years in the 2REI prior and had completed two full histories of his Regiment and the Legion as a whole. I'd be inclined to take his view over yours.

>The legion has tried hard to distance themselves from WW2 Axis powers, as well as their attrocities in northern africa, but that doesn't make it less true.
It wasn't true at all.

They are stories, peddled by people who find it exciting. It's rubbish.

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They are shock troops without families to cry over the coffins, so they do a lot of overseas operations.
Training... still messes them up in the head. It's hard to describe, but there's a "legionnaire" mindset that's easy to spot after a while. Pretty nice drinking fellows, tho.
As for gear and logistics, it's the french army. So you usually got "your dick and your knife" and you're supposed to manage the situation with it.
Ofc the specifics depend on the regiment.

>>33997871
You still get a bunch of experienced soldiers nowadays, mostly slavs.

>>33998136
Let's talk facts: Most ex-wehrmacht were regrouped in the 3eme Etranger. In 1949 it had 33% germans, 7% spaniards, 6% poles, 5% french, 5% italians and 17% swiss. Note that this percentage includes anti-nazi germans that joined the legion prior or during ww2.
And the loses were mostly remplaced by locals (up to 50% thai in Dien Bien Phu).
So that's 1/3rd of a regiment, out of ~10 regiments, and only at the beginning of the war.
Yes, there were nazis in the post ww2 legion. However, their part has been blown out of proportion by Wehraboos, and the Indochina war is hardly "the last battle of the Waffen-SS", as some retards call it.

sources: Par le sang versé by Bonnecarrère, Dien-Bien-Phu by Roy, various trips to the SHD archives.

Two great books for anyone interested in Legion history:
https://www.amazon.com/Street-Without-Joy-Indochina-Stackpole/dp/0811732363/
https://www.amazon.com/Wolves-City-Death-French-Algeria/dp/0671205137/

>>33998679
keep in mind I'm not arguing one way or the other here, just pointing out how "official sources" will try and change/deny history to suit a narrative.

>>33997704
>Is the French Foreign Legion as good as they say
that depends on what you personally have heard, as I'm sure there are a lot of different stories out there.

>>33998898
True. But who doesn't?

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>>33997704
Does the Legion have tanks?

I've always wanted to get up close to a LeClerc, but I'm not French

>>33997871
>Criminals are no longer allowed into the legion and they are dropped
This is incorrect.

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>>33999179
>Leclerc
The 1st REC has AMX-10 RC, but no Leclerc. They wouldn't be that useful in the kind of conflict where the Legion is engaged most of the time.

>>33997704

So are these two fuck-ups representative of the Legion as a whole? Do they all wear their uniforms like a complete ass?

>>33997760
>nothing to loose

He must keep his boots tied tight.

>>33998179

These guys FFL or straight French Army?

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>>33997788

>Fiction

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>>33999694
Are you a motard or something

>>33997803
>small and not particularly well equipped. So not particularly relevant outside of small scale conflicts.
That's true of the French army as a whole

>>33999309
>the kind of conflict where the Legion is engaged most of the time.
>>33998679
>they do a lot of overseas operations.

Keep in mind the era of the legion sent first somewhere ended with the end of conscription in France. It was for no small part due to the fact they were one of the only 100% professional corp, among the regular, non SF, troops. They were combat ready on a much shorter notice than the other elements of the french army which had a proportion of conscripts from which you had to assemble combat-ready formations out of the pool. In addition since the deployment of said conscript required a parliamentary vote to deploy eversea while professional troops and FFL required that vote only after 3 months of operation, they were the prefered mean of emergency reaction.

Also, the french regiments are largely administrative in nature, the base combat unit is the composite GTIA (roughly translates as inter-arms tactical group), A 1000-12000 personnel formation assembled out of the combat ready troops at a given moment. You could get Legionaires infantrymen riding VBCI coming from another regiments supported by artillery from a third and Leclercs, if things justify their deployment, from a fourth. Whoever is on "Gepard Alert" at that moment goes first.

>>34001584
1000-1200, not 1000-12000

>>33997704
I dont know if they are just as good, but they are certainly just as hardcore.

>>33999179
The legion used to be much larger and had a lot of tanks and shit.
And then they went rogue.
So when they were taken back into control the French shrank them and took their toys.

>>33997704
I am a bored American, an Army veteran who likes guns and the poor life of a rover. French is a cool language and despite their people being okay with being killed by Muslims I have a lot of respect for French culture. Would like to join FFL. Why should I join, or why not?

>>34004744

> American

good luck getting in

>>34004744
>Why should I join, or why not?
Why would you want to go back to being a grunt?

>>34004823
Supposedly they'll give prior service a preference, even Americans.

>>34005040
>likes guns and the poor life of a rover

I was not a grunt. I was intel & never deployed. I'm mid-30s and not going to be young(ish) forever, and I expect I will regret not taking the opportunity when it was available. Marines would ostensibly be better for the career, as years there count towards federal service, but I'm not interested in the bullshit corporate environment US service has become. FFL pays better and offers what I want: combat.

>>34004744
Every single Legionnaire I've talked to says the same thing:Americans and Brits are from good armies, and don't get the mindset.

They get that the training and discipline is harsh, but don't understand the constant malnutrition, the bug infestations, the poor use of time, and being quartered with people who will rape and rob you.

The French don't give a shit about the FFL. Their purpose is too stay alive long enough to die in combat.

>>34005251
I can attest. Even at its absolute worst, when you are sleep deprived and freezing cold and getting smoked by your DS at all hours of the day and night, you never miss a meal. Once, during a field exercise, the 1SG woke everyone up at 0200, rousted us from our tents and sleeping bags and out into the freezing cold. We formed up, and he laid us out on our backs on the sharp gravel in camp. He turned the water hose on and showered us for half an hour while we did leg lifts, begging someone to quit. Some did quit.

No matter what happened, I knew the cadre training us had the best intentions of the Army at heart and no one was going to die. If someone was injured, they'd be taken care of and rolled into another cycle or discharged and taken care of financially. FFL does not seem to make those guarantees, and I get it. It seems needless, but I understand the reason why. You're not meant to live long. You already gave your life away.

>being quartered with people who will rape and rob you.

tbhwyf this seems to be the part I'd be hung up about. Hardship is fine, but I will stab a brainless scummy motherfucker who takes from me.

>>34005353
>who takes from me
>no mention of the rape
Gee willickers anon, that's fucked up.

>>34005368
It's implied, anon. This butt and everything in it is pure as virgin snow.

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https://aeon.co/essays/why-young-men-queue-up-to-die-in-the-french-foreign-legion

Neat.

FFL was hardcore maybe 20 years ago but not today.Basic instruction this days is a total bullshit.You don't have anymore morning exercise every day if you will run 2 days a week thats enough for them.All day what you doing there is a clining,working as labour and others silly things what for sure not gonna make you professional soldier.Another thing is it there is so many French soldiers with high ranks who go to Legion straight from regular French army and they are making Legion only weak and pathetic place to serve.In my opinion FFL this days is a f.cking joke.Not worth to join there.