Anybody ever heard of "foreign legion" ?

Question

Hi dudes...

I've read on Yahoo that the french military has a "foreign legion".
Did anyone ever heard about this ?
Who are they ? Are they really efficient, though being french ?
Can they be compared with our own soldiers, with the SEALs or something like that ?

Answer 1

The French Foreign Legion was formed when France still had colonies, they would take anyone that choose to enlist. In exchange for there service to the Legion they were granted a new name and French citizenship. Many criminals received a new identity for their service, a new life. The Legion was and still is a very demanding service. They take an oath to France and the Legion. They live for, fight for, and die for the Legion. Since the French Foreign Legion is made up of criminal and foreigners the french government considers the Legion expendable and have been sent often to defeat and failure. The Legion became famous for fighting to the death in Mexico, Morocco, Syria, and countless other battles.
At one point a number of FFL members attempted to overthrough the French government after the French defeats in Indochinia, Algeria.
FFL are very tough and professional soldiers. They have a very high level of disipline, there skill and dedication can be compared to US Army Rangers, or US Marines. If you are interested in joining after all it is a good way to see some of the world and learn french.
http://www.info-france-usa.org/atoz/legion/index.asp

Answer 2

The French Foreign Legion is one of the great elite military formations in history. The Wikepedia article read:

"The French Foreign Legion (French: Légion étrangère) is a unique elite unit within the French Army established in 1831. It was created as a unit for foreign volunteers, because foreigners were forbidden to enlist in the French Army after the July Revolution in 1830.

It was primarily used to protect and expand the French colonial empire during the 19th century, but has also taken part in all of its wars with other European powers such as the Franco-Prussian War and both World Wars.

Despite being thought an anachronism, the Foreign Legion has remained an important part of the French Army. It has survived three republics, one empire, two World Wars, the rise and fall of mass conscript armies, the painful dismantlement of the French colonial empire and finally, the loss of its fatherland—Algeria.

The French Foreign Legion is known to be an elite military unit whose training focuses not only on traditional military skills, but also on the building of a strong “esprit de corps” amongst members. As its men come from different countries with different cultures, this is a widely accepted solution to strengthen them enough to work as a team.

Consequently, training is often described as not only physically hard, though not as extreme nor as task-specialized as in small specialist units like the SEALs, whose standards are not applicable to regiment sized units, but also extremely psychologically stressful. A normal FFL enlistee will, over a five or ten year enlistment period, train with a far wider scope weapons, vehicles (including at least rudimentary aircraft skills) and a far wider skill-set than US Special Operations units. Given the historic lack of extensive specialized support networks often afforded forward-deployed FFL troops (unlike Special Ops), this wider skill-set is critical to their success and to their mentality embodied by the FFL members"

If you would like to get more information on the fascinating military subject the type "French Foreign Legion" into Google or some other good search engine - you will be amazed by the results!

Answer 3

The French Foreign Legion has a romantic past. It was said that anyone could join and there were no questions asked about their background. They were an elite fighting force (such as the Green Berets) and most of there action was in North Africa, though they also fought in Viet Nam in the 50s.. A man that was down and out or lost his true love or committed a crime could join the Legion and prove his valor. They have a history of bravery and camaraderie that is legend. Check out the source and Google for more information.

Answer 4

They are top of the line problem solvers. They are made up of Foriegners who volunteer to fight for france. They have a well deserved reputation as they have been in constant combat operations for well over 100 years fighting in one colony or another or helping other countries put down there insurgencies. You can look up the fegion on line with a simple search. In the US rankings they are equal to the Rangers or the Green Beret. They are currently deployed in Algeria and French Guyana. If you want you can join no matter your record so long as your not wanted by Interpol even then the Legion can set you up with a new Identity if you wish.

Answer 5

Yes there is a foreign Legion, made up of many nationalities a great place to hide if your a wanted man, the french don't give a crap what you have done just as long as you fight for them. They are well trained and are the best the french have.

Answer 6

French Foreign Legion
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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French Foreign Legion

French Foreign Legion grenade insignia
Active since 10 March 1831
Country France
Branch French Army
Size Nine regiments and one sub-unit
Garrison/HQ Aubagne (Headquarters)
Metropolitan France (5 regiments)
French Guyana (3rd Infantry Regiment)
Djibouti (13th Half-Brigade)
Mayotte (Detachment)
Motto "Legio Patria Nostra" (The Legion is our fatherland)
"Honneur et Fidélité" (Honour and loyalty)
"Marche ou crève" (March or die, unofficial)
Colors Red and green
March Le Boudin
Anniversaries Camerone Day (April 30) and Christmas
Commanders
Current
commander Brigade General Louis Pichot de Champfleury
"Legionnaire" redirects here. For the 1998 film, see Legionnaire (film).
The French Foreign Legion (French: Légion étrangère) is a unique elite unit within the French Army established in 1831. It was created as a unit for foreign volunteers, because foreigners were forbidden to enlist in the French Army after the July Revolution in 1830.

It was primarily used to protect and expand the French colonial empire during the 19th century, but has also taken part in all of its wars with other European powers such as the Franco-Prussian War and both World Wars.

Despite being thought an anachronism, the Foreign Legion has remained an important part of the French Army. It has survived three republics, one empire, two World Wars, the rise and fall of mass conscript armies, the painful dismantlement of the French colonial empire and finally, the loss of its fatherland—Algeria.

The French Foreign Legion is known to be an elite military unit whose training focuses not only on traditional military skills, but also on the building of a strong “esprit de corps” amongst members. As its men come from different countries with different cultures, this is a widely accepted solution to strengthen them enough to work as a team.

Consequently, training is often described as not only physically hard, though not as extreme nor as task-specialized as in small specialist units like the SEALs, whose standards are not applicable to regiment sized units, but also extremely psychologically stressful. A normal FFL enlistee will, over a five or ten year enlistment period, train with a far wider scope weapons, vehicles (including at least rudimentary aircraft skills) and a far wider skill-set than US Special Operations units. Given the historic lack of extensive specialized support networks often afforded forward-deployed FFL troops (unlike Special Ops), this wider skill-set is critical to their sucess and to their mentality embodied by the FFL members.

The current (2006) retention level is 12-13% of applicants

God Bless you :)

Answer 7

You mean the children who supposedly have special powers and will usher all of humanity into the Golden Age? Oh yes I've heard of them. I've seen all the "symptoms" for Indigo...they are the exact same ones for many childhood disorders such as autism. It's a crock of crap. What they call Indigo Children I call spoiled brats whose parents just want another reason to try to convince other people that their little darlings are special and that other people should bow down to them. I remember I was told I was an Indigo when I was a child. I had the "symptoms"...I was quiet, withdrawn, all of that (nevermind the fact that it turned out to be from a combination of mild autism and childhood depression). Then when I started questioning it...OOPS, guess what? Turns out I'm not a "true" Indigo after all...their mistake! It's a damn fraud and I wish parents would stop buying into it. If your child is misbehaved, disrespectful of authority, and generally disorderly, it's not because he or she has special powers...it's because he or she has a lack of discipline in their lives and may have an emotional disorder that they should see a doctor for.

Answer 8

Yes they are real and very good. The French know they make lousy soldiers so they bring in foreigners to do it for them.

Answer 9

i've heard a lot of stories and they are usually pretty interesting -- worth the research. actually you don't have to be french. i think you get citizenship after serving so many years, etc. do some research on it and it will be interesting for you.

Answer 10

here is a web site to their info....

http://www.foreignlegionlife.com/