Joining the French Legion

T

The Dude

First time out of the vault
Has anyone else ever considered joining the French Legion? Until now I have still managed to keep myself studiing, but this urge to do something completely different is eating me up on the inside.

After highschool I had another 1.5 years technical education but I dropped out because I really felt the need to do something opposed. Got into the army but realized after a while I had to have some more education for future purposes and to prove myself.

I'm back in university for like 4 years now, but every now and then I have that same feeling again. The feeling of not beeing satisfied and not getting out of life what I want it to give me. And the urges are really getting strong again.

3 years ago I read about this fellow in school, a student also, that he joined the French Legion for 4 months, the complete training course, just to experience something he considered a great value to his life experience. Then, a couple of days ago I saw this show on National Geographic about the Legion, and I thought it rocked.

Now I have a differculty making a decision like that because I just can't leave my girlfriend for 4 months (or 5 years, a full period contract), but I was wondering, since we are all kind of alike (rpg'ers are not ordinairy people, but seek adventure and bettering themselves, though be it through a game) does anyone else have these urges? Did you ever consider doing something like this, or did you do it for real? Because I mean, if real life was dealing experience points, I really think you would get a lot doing things like that. (and imagine, stationed in the desert, you might experience a Fallout like feeling ;) )
 
Nice to meet you, Dude! I've often felt that I was not doing what I was supposed to, though I didn't know what the latter was; it might just be a part of growing up? (correct me if I'm wrong, oldies!)

The French Foreign Legion is very tough. Each to his own, I guess. :roll:
 
yeah, i still want to go on a back-packing trip...but indeed: gf @ home, not enough money, college...i indeed feel a thrist for adventure, but society is too demanding to let a person expres her/hisself.
 
French foreign legion? No, but experiencing something different is quite a common and normal urge.

My oldest brother spent half a year in the Balkans a couple of years back, my other brother spent half a year working with the homeless in London and half a year working with streetchildren in Guinea/Senegal.

I'm planning to go to Cuba to work for half a year. Why not, eh?
 
You are right off course, but it's not only that, but something more. Something primal. Experiencing combat, really living to live. Survival of the fittest, brotherhood, discipline.

Haven't we all become pacifist office slaves, evolution no longer based on physical condition but on intellect and ability to fit in into society. I kind of regret that sometimes. Perhaps that's why I want to take a step back, back to instinct, where living is still pure.

(Off course, this is the urge speaking)
 
Yeeeehaw, I gots me some guns!

But seriously; yes, we're pansies, nothing to be done about that, it's evolutions.

I don't hold much faith in the army to counter that. War is just another regulated experience in our way of regulated living.

Plus the whole killing people thing.
 
[PCE said:
el_Prez]never join anything run by the french...
Click to expand...

Dude, the French Foreign Legion is different

Never seen Legionary with Jean-Claude van Damme? He cuts down dem damn enemies (uhm...the Brits?) with his MACHINE GUN! And then the Arabs show him their respect.
 
After killing every other Legionare and almost killing him.

van Damme can to our school once. He touched my shoulder.
 
When I was younger sure. I read a lot about the Foreign Legion. Man do they kick ass. I have seen many of the Foreign Legion flicks out there too. They are definitely one of the more interesting military organizations to join and an easy way to become a French citizen to boot.

Which of course raises some issues. Do you want to be French? Do you mind going to foreign countries and get in foreign wars, potentially killing people, for the benefit of France?

This is something you have to think of carefully.

I agree with you, it's a great big world full of experiences that you can get involved in. There is no time better to do it than when you are young. Some of this is very exciting, some of it could be action backed. But like I said, there are lots of options, so choose wisely.

My wife's cousin went from Brazil to work in fishing off the coast of Africa, one of my friends went up to the border between Thailand and Camobodia to work with refugees during the civil war there some years ago and I knew a lot of folks that worked with boat people. There are people involved in environmental projects, in a ton of projects all over the world. But you have to go out and look for them.

I'd think about this very carefully before joining up. Read up on the Foreign Legion. I know a lot of folks that became soldiers or cops that really enjoyed. I also know quite a few that did it for the adventure and regret they did it for as long as they did. So really, think carefully about this.
 
Your comment is wise welsh, but I have to say I have already had experiences being in the army and I liked it.

I think helping people won't be so fulfilling for me. But off course, I studie International Development and I know our help is most of the time not doing many good, although it is meant well.

And environmental projects... with those greenpeace dude's...? yeah, right. NOT. They do some good, but they also screwed up too many times. And real bad also. I just hope the US will agree on the Kyoto Protocol. But this is getting offtopic.
 
Dude, there are a lot of folks who would try to talk you out of the military. I won't do it, though I would caution that you be careful about this. Yes there are a lot of NGOs and a lot of them don't do much good. But there are some that do.

For some folks being in the military is something they want to make a career out of. If that's you, go for it. I really think that the trick in life is to find something you enjoy and then invest your time in it. If for you, that's military, than do it.

But if military is not something you want to build a career around, but you still want to go out and look for adventure, there are lots of opportunities out there. But you have to look for them.
 
Ok, let me give you a couple of examples. I have one friend who is very interested in doing environmental work concerning national parks in Tanzania and the protection of Chimps. His research and work concerns that project, much of his time is spent at conference but he also does a lot of field work.

I also know people doing work on the social conditions of miners in Southern Africa, another person who has been involved in War Crimes Tribunals in Rwanda and at the Hague, others who are involved in the reformation of government organizations and democratization in former Yugoslavia and in Romania. I have known people who travel the world as journalists, and who do stuff in Camobodia. ANother who is doing environmental research in Antarctica. My wife was involved in human rights and environmental protection in Brazil.

One needs always keep in mind that in life you live between two extremes.

On one extreme you control the circumstances, in another the circumstances control you. All of us live within that range of extremes.

One thing that none of us has enough of is time. Time to develop your life in the way you want to go.

I know a lot of students who are unsure of what they want to do with their lives, and rarely do they realize that the world is their oyster. They can pull out of it just about anything to make their lives.

The world is full of interesting stuff to do, full of adventure. Like you said, look at National Geographic, there are people involved in all sorts of interesting projects. But much of that depends on what you want to invest yourself in. The trick is usually figuring that out, then its a matter of actually doing it.
 
I have often played with the thought of joining the legion.
Now, i have heard that you should stay away, but i think it is alot about your personality.
If you stay in the foreign legion for four years you will definetly be a kick ass soldier at the end of your time.

On the other hand you are allmost guarentead to enter live combat one way or the other, and you have to learn french.

Also i have heard that you can hide for the police in the foreign legion since they give you a fake ID untill you are finishied.
 
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