Post: #26

Interesting...anyone here considering this?

Post: #27

The only positive thing about FFL was that romantic notion you could start your life over if you were persecuted criminal, but if you managed to escape and knock to doors of FFL they would take you in and give you new personality to escape persecution and start a new life after you have served for a number of brutal years.

If this is not longer true (if it ever was more than a myth) and they give you out to Interpol then I see no benefits from joining them. The negatives are numerous:

-No access to pussy, with rare exceptions that you fail anyway because your game has atrophied in that atmosphere
-Brutal life conditions
-Probably little personal space
-You are used as an expendable cannon fodder
-You take huge risks with your life and health fighting for interests of rich french capitalists.
-You might have to kill people who fight for their liberty and rights in the name of rich french capitalists.
-Your prize is a citizenship which is being renounced en masse because of ridiculous taxes in a country that is becoming a PC police state in near future to change into sharia law in a bit further future.

Post: #28

Recent articles:

Vice: A Canadian in the French Foreign Legion

Quote:It was part of the mystique that led Dave to buy a one-way ticket from Ottawa to Paris, to join the French Foreign Legion, where he was guided through an intense training regimen that involved widespread corporal punishment. It was a decision that would eventually lead into the jungles of South America, where he was paid a high premium to make up for the chances of contracting malaria and other tropical diseases. And it was the unchanging structure that partly drove Dave to make a decision that resulted in his virtual banishment from France, for fear of serving time in Legion prison were he to return.

Vice: I tried joining the French Foreign Legion

Quote:The best you can do is show up at the front gate of the Legion's headquarters with your passport and your fingers crossed. Don't get me wrong—I was as prepared as I could have been. I had quit my job, moved out of my apartment, and put most of my worldly possessions into storage back in the US. I was in shape and I was committed. A one-way plane ticket, a couple of layovers, and 22 hours of traveling later, I found myself on the ground in Aubagne, France.

After a few beers at a local tavern, I felt recharged and readied myself for a potentially long break from freedom and reality. Eventually I worked up the courage to show up at the gate. There I met some fellow would-be legionnaires: a skinny, chain-smoking Moroccan and two Spanish hopefuls who looked like they had walked out of the Eurotrash version of Fight Club. Soon enough a weathered Russian who could have been on his way to a Gulag in Siberia joined the waiting party. We had some language barriers between us, but we'd all get taught French as part of this uneasy bargain with the Legion.

Another one, mentioning a West Point grad who went AWOL to enlist in the FFL, then got court-martialed when he got back after completing his enlistment:

Washington Post: How the mysterious lure of the FFL keeps drawing Americans

I thought of doing it after finishing an enlistment in the US Army. I walked by a recruitment center in Strasbourg and looked at the posters and it stuck in my mind.

I did some research, including reading some memoirs, and decided it wasn't worth it. The first thing was the five year enlistment was too long, even three years in the US Army seemed long to me. One book by an English guy who served in the 1970s talked about how they basically beat the French language into non-speakers, like the Canadian in the Vice article. Unless you really want French citizenship, I don't think it's worth it or any better than joining your own country's military, at least if you live in the west.

Another interesting thing, in addition to the Spanish army taking Latin Americans: New Zealand and Australia were taking US and UK veterans for enlistment.

Post: #29

This thread sparked an interesting conversation.

My take is joining the FFL = Taking the Black

Post: #30

(02-03-2015 09:39 AM)RIslander Wrote:  This thread sparked an interesting conversation.

My take is joining the FFL = Taking the Black

At least they don't have to guard a 500 ft ice wall from barbarians.

Post: #31

I think this guy is in the FFL.

Post: #32

(02-03-2015 06:31 AM)VolandoVengoVolandoVoy Wrote:  

(02-02-2015 10:08 PM)Cattle Rustler Wrote:  "reading a book or two"

What's wrong with a book? The books I read were written by people who were in the FFL. It generally takes a long time and a lot of effort to write a book. The whole point is to transmit your experience to others in a significant way.
I've also read some articles that contained valuable information.
If only people who have actually served in the FFL are worthy of commenting about it, then no one, including you and the original poster, should be posting in this thread.

If none of your experience is firsthand then you should have made that clear in your original response.

Post: #33

(02-03-2015 05:37 AM)Sp5 Wrote:  Thanks for the story, OP. They might have let you go because of your youth and your parent's diplomatic status. Maybe they thought there would be a diplomatic hassle when your parents found out.

You maybe could have joined the Spanish armed forces, including the Spanish Legion:

Spanish armed forces: foreign enlistment

No, I'd never join any country's military unless I was made a colonel or higher; at the time I was just seeking an adventure and this adventure came with a French passport. Besides, I didn't even have a Spanish permanent residency permit at the time (I have citizenship now). As for my parents' diplomatic status, I don't think that had anything to do; I gave them my regular passport (generally, a dependent of a diplomat is not supposed to travel on a diplomatic passport unless he's accompanying them to the country where they are stationed or some other official engagement) when I arrived and I was already eighteen.

Post: #34

Mr. Rubirosa, can one still go on weekend parrandas while in the FFL?

Post: #35

(02-03-2015 09:31 PM)la_mode Wrote:  Mr. Rubirosa, can one still go on weekend parrandas while in the FFL?

Once you complete your four months of basic training you are allowed to leave your base but I doubt you'll be able to find a good nightclub in Mayotte (a French overseas department where some legionnaires are sent to).

Post: #36

I had a close friend join the FFL, and have heard plenty about his experiences. Essentially, if you're a middle class western European or American (as most on this forum are) then you'd be a fool to join. You'll receive better pay, better treatment, and better training by joining your own national army, if you want to be a solider.

If you join the FFL prepare for years spent being shouted in a language you don't understand, with intermittent beatings. Prepare to be regarded by the French government as marginally less expendable than the US government views PMCs - you'll shed your blood so a French solider doesn't have to. Prepare to be sent to the arse ends of the earth - my friend was stationed in Dijbouti. Prepare to be paid significantly less than if you were in a proper army, along with having no real long term career prospect. And prepare to be surrounded by the dregs of society, who were too stupid, too criminal, or too poor to have better life options.

Basically, unless you're desperate to get French citizenship (ie you're from somewhere in the 3rd world), you'll be far better off in your own national army.

Post: #37

(02-02-2015 08:15 PM)Brian Shima Wrote:  Volando thank you my friend will appreciate the info

I can just see Brian running around Europe impregnating everyone he can to get citizenship With each 3 thrust combo it is "Give Me Citizenship"

Just having a little fun, nothing personal

Post: #38

I wonder if we have any current or ex spetsnaz members here? Or any other special forces? I am aware that some may not want to reveal themselves.

Post: #39

(02-04-2015 03:12 PM)samsamsam Wrote:  

(02-02-2015 08:15 PM)Brian Shima Wrote:  Volando thank you my friend will appreciate the info

I can just see Brian running around Europe impregnating everyone he can to get citizenship With each 3 thrust combo it is "Give Me Citizenship"

Just having a little fun, nothing personal

I am surprised it doesn't get mentioned more on here since guys are so desperate to get out of the states

Post: #40

(02-04-2015 07:37 PM)Brian Shima Wrote:  

(02-04-2015 03:12 PM)samsamsam Wrote:  

(02-02-2015 08:15 PM)Brian Shima Wrote:  Volando thank you my friend will appreciate the info

I can just see Brian running around Europe impregnating everyone he can to get citizenship With each 3 thrust combo it is "Give Me Citizenship"

Just having a little fun, nothing personal

I am surprised it doesn't get mentioned more on here since guys are so desperate to get out of the states

This particular 'method' doesn't get mentioned frequently but I would assume that's mostly due to possible dangers involved. What if she has the kid but refuses to marry you therefore making you ineligible for a spouse visa? You don't need to impregnate her to make her marry you!

This might be useful.
/thread-31412.html

Post: #41

(02-04-2015 09:14 PM)Porfirio Rubirosa Wrote:  

(02-04-2015 07:37 PM)Brian Shima Wrote:  

(02-04-2015 03:12 PM)samsamsam Wrote:  

(02-02-2015 08:15 PM)Brian Shima Wrote:  Volando thank you my friend will appreciate the info

I can just see Brian running around Europe impregnating everyone he can to get citizenship With each 3 thrust combo it is "Give Me Citizenship"

Just having a little fun, nothing personal

I am surprised it doesn't get mentioned more on here since guys are so desperate to get out of the states

This particular 'method' doesn't get mentioned frequently but I would assume that's mostly due to possible dangers involved. What if she has the kid but refuses to marry you therefore making you ineligible for a spouse visa? You don't need to impregnate her to make her marry you!

This might be useful.
/thread-31412.html

Solution..........find a girl with low self esteem or one who doesnt care about money if you dont have much and make her fall in love

Post: #42

(02-04-2015 09:33 PM)Brian Shima Wrote:  

(02-04-2015 09:14 PM)Porfirio Rubirosa Wrote:  

(02-04-2015 07:37 PM)Brian Shima Wrote:  

(02-04-2015 03:12 PM)samsamsam Wrote:  

(02-02-2015 08:15 PM)Brian Shima Wrote:  Volando thank you my friend will appreciate the info

I can just see Brian running around Europe impregnating everyone he can to get citizenship With each 3 thrust combo it is "Give Me Citizenship"

Just having a little fun, nothing personal

I am surprised it doesn't get mentioned more on here since guys are so desperate to get out of the states

This particular 'method' doesn't get mentioned frequently but I would assume that's mostly due to possible dangers involved. What if she has the kid but refuses to marry you therefore making you ineligible for a spouse visa? You don't need to impregnate her to make her marry you!

This might be useful.
/thread-31412.html

Solution..........find a girl with low self esteem or one who doesnt care about money if you dont have much and make her fall in love

How do you think I got this beautiful Spanish passport, eh?

Post: #43

Apparently, a few former legionnaires in the French Foreign Legion (and the French Special Foreces) have joined Isis. I wonder how (or if) this will impact the recruitment and selection process. I do not think the FFL could be any stricter with its background checks considering they already use Interpol's services to run these tests.
http://www.ibtimes.co.in/dozens-french-s...sis-621252

---

And for all the interested Russophiles on this forum you could join the Russian Armed Forces but I'll just give you guys the link considering I do not know much about the Russian Federation's military. I do wonder why Ukraine hasn't created anything similar; one would imagine they would do anything to recruit as many soldiers as possible with the delicate state of the situation in the east of the country.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/business/a...14256.html

Oh yes, I'm so privileged you literally can't even.
Interested in joining the FFL? I tried (and failed).

Post: #44

No offense, but why are you advertising this thread on your signature?

You didn't actually make it, and as a datasheet this thread isn't that good; the Wikipedia article on the French Foreign Legion has much more in-depth information than this.

Someone who actually joined the Legion and passed the training and served the full 5 years would provide a much better insight, otherwise this is just a glorified book report.

It's as if I had on my signature "How I (almost) joined the US Marine Corps", linking to a thread called "United States Marine Corps datasheet" with some brief shallow information on the USMC and a story about how I almost became a marine but washed up during basic training.

Post: #45

(08-30-2015 05:49 PM)Killer Joe Wrote:  No offense, but why are you advertising this thread on your signature?

You didn't actually make it, and as a datasheet this thread isn't that good; the Wikipedia article on the French Foreign Legion has much more in-depth information than this.

Someone who actually joined the Legion and passed the training and served the full 5 years would provide a much better insight, otherwise this is just a glorified book report.

It's as if I had on my signature "How I (almost) joined the US Marine Corps", linking to a thread called "United States Marine Corps datasheet" with some brief shallow information on the USMC and a story about how I almost became a marine but washed up during basic training.

No that would be like if you went to the recruiter station and were rejected.

That being said, I thought that the conversation started was interesting as well as his account of what happened.

Post: #46

(02-02-2015 05:38 PM)micha Wrote:  What is this? Are we gonna have datasheets for "How I almost spent 1 month in city XY" soon?

I try hard not to be a hater, but that post is useless - and I only put in the energy to say this because I REALLY looked forward to some real insights into the legion (which the title basically promises).

Stay tuned for my data sheet on how to solo circumvent the world. I havn't done it yet, havn't bought my boat yet, but I did pickup a hobie cat to start learning on, stay tuned until 2020 for when I post my progress report on the solo circumvention

lol jk

Not trying to give the OP too much shit, maybe rather than a data sheet this should have just been sharing an experience, there's very little to gain from this post in regards to data, though I would have still been interested in hearing OP's story regardless maybe just not in the format of a datasheet since there's no data.

There's a Youtube video about a guy who made it through most of the process and then asked to leave. People were giving him shit. He did a video explaining why he left and he essentially said A. he wasn't confident in the leadership and B. upon further reflection realized he didn't wanna be comming out at 30 behind all his peers with really no marketable skills.

Post: #47

(02-08-2015 08:02 PM)Porfirio Rubirosa Wrote:  Apparently, a few former legionnaires in the French Foreign Legion (and the French Special Foreces) have joined Isis. I wonder how (or if) this will impact the recruitment and selection process. I do not think the FFL could be any stricter with its background checks considering they already use Interpol's services to run these tests.
http://www.ibtimes.co.in/dozens-french-s...sis-621252

---

And for all the interested Russophiles on this forum you could join the Russian Armed Forces but I'll just give you guys the link considering I do not know much about the Russian Federation's military. I do wonder why Ukraine hasn't created anything similar; one would imagine they would do anything to recruit as many soldiers as possible with the delicate state of the situation in the east of the country.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/business/a...14256.html

After being somewhat intrigued by the other FFL thread I started watching some Youtube videos. They are a lot less likely to take people from Muslim countries following the issues you mentioned, at least thats what one guy said in his video who had made it thorugh most of basic before deciding he didn't want to go further and asked to leave

Post: #48

(02-04-2015 08:21 AM)zatara Wrote:  I had a close friend join the FFL, and have heard plenty about his experiences. Essentially, if you're a middle class western European or American (as most on this forum are) then you'd be a fool to join. You'll receive better pay, better treatment, and better training by joining your own national army, if you want to be a solider.

If you join the FFL prepare for years spent being shouted in a language you don't understand, with intermittent beatings. Prepare to be regarded by the French government as marginally less expendable than the US government views PMCs - you'll shed your blood so a French solider doesn't have to. Prepare to be sent to the arse ends of the earth - my friend was stationed in Dijbouti. Prepare to be paid significantly less than if you were in a proper army, along with having no real long term career prospect. And prepare to be surrounded by the dregs of society, who were too stupid, too criminal, or too poor to have better life options.

Basically, unless you're desperate to get French citizenship (ie you're from somewhere in the 3rd world), you'll be far better off in your own national army.

What you said has always resonated with me. I can see why someone from an impoverished country may join or even someone with a questionable past, running from a criminal record. Outside of that the only reason I can see to join is to test your metal so to speak or for bragging rights and to have some good stories to tell. Otherwise like you said may as well join your own countries military, better pay, better benefits, and likely you'll come out with some type of marketable skill.

Post: #49

(06-11-2018 01:01 PM)jamaicabound Wrote:  What you said has always resonated with me. I can see why someone from an impoverished country may join or even someone with a questionable past, running from a criminal record. Outside of that the only reason I can see to join is to test your metal so to speak or for bragging rights and to have some good stories to tell. Otherwise like you said may as well join your own countries military, better pay, better benefits, and likely you'll come out with some type of marketable skill.

Absolutely. For someone with a dodgy past (though they're apparently much stricter on that these days) or from the 3rd world it makes perfect sense to join the FFL. But when it comes to first worlders in my experience its usually teenagers or armchair general military hobbyist types who have a weird obsession with the FFL. If someone actually wants to do good deeds/make a difference, or be a highly trained soldier, or challenge themselves, or see the world, or almost anything else really - they're better off going for officer training in their own national army. For all the above reasons you listed and more. The problem with that is a lot of those types prefer the distant fantasy of the FFL over the reality of the easily joinable local military.

Its always particularly funny seeing British or American guys talk about needing to join the FFL to "find adventure" or get "war experience". If you can't find adventure or war experience in the US or British armed forces then its because you're deliberately avoiding it. They've both had soldiers in battle conditions all over the globe almost continuously for most of the last 50 years.

Post: #50

There are some questions and answers about joining the FFL on Quora. The responses match what zatara stated earlier in this thread, that the first few years of service are absolutely miserable, mainly cleaning toilets, mopping floors, and getting physically abused by the noncoms. When you do get any time off, the pay is so terrible that you can't afford to really do anything.

It seems if you want to live life as a professional soldier of fortune, it would be better to join your country's infantry force, do one enlistment at least and get as much training and experience as you can, then get with a contractor that provides security services in sketchy environments.