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You don't have to speak French to join. They try and pair you up with a French speaking recruit during basic training and there are French lessons at least once a week during the 4 months of basic.
In reality you don't need much French to get through your day as most of the commands are the same ones over and over "Get your butts downstairs" "Line up" "Attention" "Stand at ease" et al. The cadre were always annoyed that most people seemed to learn "pay day" and "time to eat" faster than everything else
Mine improved dramatically after meeting my French girlfriend as only being able to say "attention, left turn, quick march" didn't really cut it after a while.
That is one question that you NEVER ask a soldier. Reason?? It's none of your $%&^ business.
Oh I dunno, seems like a reasonable question to ask of a professional soldier if the practice of his trade becomes the subject of conversation. Even more so of a mercenary like a Foreign Legionaire.
Now fellas that were drafted, yeah, that's different.
IIRC – the Foreign Legion is an official part of the French Army composed of non-French citizens and is accorded all the rights, responsibilities and restrictions that apply to any national soldier.
The Blackwater and Custer-Battles thugs are armed civilians without any restrictions or protections under law. They are mercenaries.
If you ask anyone how many people they have killed, expect to be rebuffed because it is NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS. That part of soldiering is between the soldier, his enemies and his gods.
Actually every dictionary I've ever looked at gives more than one definition. For eg.
Motivated solely by a desire for monetary or material gain.
Hired for service in a foreign army.
While number two applies somewhat (plenty join who aren't already soldiers hiring out their skills) number one most definitely doesn't. As I told the 60 Minutes reporter the Russians could have offered me a million dollars per day and I wouldn't have fought with them or for them.
What about the Ghurkas? They've never been labelled mercenary but they've worked exclusively for the British Govt for years in many campaigns. How about the legal immigrants here in the States who join the US Armed Forces and expedite their citizenship as a result. By the dictionary definition they're also mercenaries until they become citizens.
My own definition is someone who will fight for anybody in exchange for money regardless of political ideology...definitely does not apply to members of the Legion.
We flew into Djibouti in '85... USN P3's out of Diego Garcia... What a crap hole! Some Legionnairs and some junked out Russian helos.............. We didn't stay long but the Legion guys were preety cool to deal with..........What do you know about Legion history? It is my understanding that many X German army soldiers joined up post WW2 and ended up in Indochina more then few were lost at Dein Bein Phu
Actually every dictionary I've ever looked at gives more than one definition. For eg.
Motivated solely by a desire for monetary or material gain.
Hired for service in a foreign army.
While number two applies somewhat (plenty join who aren't already soldiers hiring out their skills) number one most definitely doesn't. As I told the 60 Minutes reporter the Russians could have offered me a million dollars per day and I wouldn't have fought with them or for them.
What about the Ghurkas? They've never been labelled mercenary but they've worked exclusively for the British Govt for years in many campaigns. How about the legal immigrants here in the States who join the US Armed Forces and expedite their citizenship as a result. By the dictionary definition they're also mercenaries until they become citizens.
My own definition is someone who will fight for anybody in exchange for money regardless of political ideology...definitely does not apply to members of the Legion.
N
I think a soldier in the employ of a nation other than his own is a mercenary. Ghurkas being Napalese, though part of the British regular army are mercenaries; note the Indian army uses Ghurkas too. The Hessians who fought in the employ of the British in our revolution were part of the regular army of their prince but his putting them in British service made them mercenaries. Von Stueban, Pulaski and Kosciusko were certainly mercenaries.
Immigrants who join a nation's army generally aren't mercenaries because they've transferred their allegiance to their new nation and intend to live there. But yeah, some immigrants would be mercenaries, like the San Patricios, Irish immigrants serving as American regulars who deserted to and then fought for Mexico in the Mexican-American War.
The Swiss guards are mercenaries with a very long tradition going back to the late Middle Ages when the Swiss were famed for their excellent mercenary infantry whom you could hire by the thousands. "No money, no Swiss."
Some put a pejorative connotation on the term but being a mercenary is an ancient and (usually) honored trade. Who can forget the 10,000 Greeks the Persian pretender Cyrus took with him in his rebellion against Artaxerxes? The Spartan king Agisoleus hired the Spartan army out to Persia and Egypt in order to raise money for Sparta, he led it in the field too and died at the age of 84 still in harness.
I think a soldier in the employ of a nation other than his own is a mercenary
And there are probably many who agree with you...I just happen to subscribe to the other definition. (BTW...don't ever tell a Ghurka your theory )
My54Ford...I know a bit as they drum it into you during basic (pretty much like any army does )...yes, the makeup of the Legion has always reflected what's going on in the world. Loads of Germans after WWII, plenty of Hungarians right before the fall to the Soviet Union, tons of Brits looking for more fights right after the Falklands was over and now loads of East Europeans looking for French papers.
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