Why the legion Nick??

Nick,

Curious as to what drove you to do a stint in the Legion, and what your day to day motivations were while you were serving? I guess it’s a question of psyche really.

They say there’s a bit of hero or warrior in all of us. But in some cases it’s a fairly small bit.

I doubt I'd last a week in action. Tough training courses for a few days or a week are great blokie fun. But I like to return home to a warm bed before long.

Most of us on this forum train to fight, albeit self defence, not warfare. So the majority of us probably don’t understand what drives those that actively serve, and particularly those that do it of their own volition.

Would be very interested to hear your thoughts please Nick.

I grew up as a kid hooked on war movies, playing soldiers, building model aircraft etc until I got hooked on the martial arts at about age nine. I don't really know where it came from...my Grandfather on my father's side was in the Australian Light Horse and died from wounds coming home from Gallipoli on a troop ship. Maybe I inherited some of his genes. My mother's side of the family was German and they've always been warriors so maybe it's from there...not sure.

The short story of the Legion was I found out I needed SF experience to become a body guard after arriving in London seeking work in that field. Rather than return to Oz I joined the Legion figuring I'd get some languages under my belt as well. Another key point was that the Brit Army at the time - as well as the Aussies - had a waiting list a mile and a half long. The legion OTOH would take me immediately if I made it in.

The longer story gets a bit weird. I was on the Gold Coast before heading to Europe and hanging out with one of my favourite students, Robbie. He was telling me all about the Legion. He and his mate had heard about it, sent to the embassy for info and he was telling me all about it. I thought it was kind of interesting but my only real knowledge of it was the bits that Abbot and Costello had done on tv.

Later that week I opted to walk a different way to work...and happened upon a paper shop. I stopped in for gum and looked on the back shelf and there were rows and rows of Simon Murray's book "Legionnaire" I thought that was serendipitous, given I'd just heard about it from Rob so I grabbed a copy and began to read.

By the time I'd got to chapter three I was firmly convinced that anyone wanting to join was a raving lunatic. By the time I got to the end I wanted to join. I told some European guys in the casino where I worked and they all told me I was crazy to even consider it and they regaled me with rumours about how bad it was etc. With my 2nd degree black belt behind me I didn't think there was much the French could throw at me that would test me so I kept it in the back of my mind.

So, later, after finding out London and the security agencies were only interested in ex-SF I headed for the Legion.

The day I arrived in Fort Nicolas le bas in Marseille I had about 3 quid left. If they didn't take me I didn't have the money to get back home and had no idea what I would have done. Fortunately, I almost always land on my feet and they did accept me - sketchy at first as to if they were going to - and the rest is history.

Warm beds...plenty of time for them when you're old I reckon. During your youth is when you should get out there and seek adventure and live your life otherwise you'll be on your death bed one day saying I wish a hadda....(fill in the blanks)

I'll tell you one secret. I'm not aware of anyone who regrets things they did while reminiscing on their death bed...I do know they regret the things they didn't do!!!

Hope that helps mate

Nick

Nick,

Good answer. Enjoyed reading it, as I'm sure the 100 odd others who've read it would have.

Just want to get a bit further into your head Nick if you'll let me (just lay down on the couch now please).

What were your typical day-to-day thoughts and motivations whilst you were serving? Was it - I can't wait to get this whole thing over with? Was it - oh great, another day playing soldiers, can't wait to get stuck into this again?

This is really the part that us non-military 'chickens' probably find most interesting.

Thanks again.

Hard to say. During the induction phase it was "I hope I make it through this, because if I don't, I have no idea what I'll do, and no money to do it with."

In basic training it was to finish in the top ten so I could go to the REP. (I finished 4th but the 3 guys ahead of me were French and had prior military experience so I thought that was a result)

In the REP I was actually pretty disillusioned. The commanding officer I had was a jackass and there was very little man management. Instead of feeling motivated and encourage I felt almost the opposite.

I was asked to leave there after only one year and three broken/sprained ankles. I was 25 pounds over the safe weight limit for French parachutes but told them if they wouldn't let me in the REP I'd go over the wall at 1st chance. They were right, I was wrong. My chutes actually opened - they speculated they wouldn't work - but I would sometimes leave the plane last and hit the ground first. Add eighty plus pounds of kit to me and it was like jumping off a two story building.

Out in Africa I was finally beginning to enjoy it. I liked the "rawness" of Africa and was beginning to get a handle on the language. I also had some rank which helped and we were starting to get into things.

Back in France at HQ I was getting torn between marrying my French girlfriend and making the Legion my life or leaving and becoming the body guard I always wanted to be. The body guarding won out, at least for a time.

Some days...no matter what regiment I was in I wanted to not get out of bed (never wanted to desert though..not one time)...usually due to fatigue or having to do some parade ground bollocks. Other days I just lapped it up...days when I'd go on patrol with the military police, days bodyguarding the Colonel of the regiment during special functions...days on special assignments with the MPs and days such as the one on a rescue mission to get civvies out of Yemen during a civil war breakout. (even though my arse was rubbed raw from bouncing round in a zodiac for five hours over the gulf and five hours back...ouch!!)

The parts people enjoy are the training and the courses and camping etc. The days most of hated were the days when they'd find shite for us to do...painting rocks white, sandpapering lockers and painting them, doing room inspections etc. Not really different from any job. Ask cops and they almost to a man hate paperwork and notifying families about death...they universally love car chases, foot chases and shoot outs.

Not really that different in the Legion.

Nick

You where a tattooist as well at one point weren't you Nick?

How did that come about?

While we;re on the subject Nick. You;re meant to be able to climb a rope without using your legs... I never could manage it with my legs.. was there a trick or am I just weak?

Due respects to Nick, but just as another perspective for the young and impressionable wanting to get very 'warry' with the Legion...

My brother's mate joined the Legion for the experience and was in 2nd REP. He found it too much like being in prison and not enough like being in an army doing fighting stuff...not that they don't get the chance to do that, just not while he was there. So my brother and his mates smuggled him out of France.

He then went on to more military stuff in UK forces, so the experience didn't put him off entirely from the army life.

Then again my best mate spent 3 years as a squaddie in a northern UK regt and found it just like being in prison too. However, that might be more down to his own personal issues at the time too!

There's a technique for climbing the rope with your legs...not a trick.

It's called the foot lock method and is a little complicated to describe, though I'll try.

Jump up and grab the rope with both hands and pull yourself as high as possible. Lift both your knees as high as you can and make sure the rope runs inside your left knee, across the shin, and outside your left foot.

Reach down with your right foot and pass it behind the rope so it now sits on your right instep. "Pull" the rope up with your right foot so it passes under your left foot, up the inside and then plant it on top by standing on it with your right foot. The rope is now locked between the arch of your right foot and the instep of the left. Stand up, reach up with the hands and repeat the process.

I learnt this method in the Aussie Army, the Legion insists on doing it with arms only. Typical military nonsense. If I ever needed to climb a rope in a wartime situation I would have 100 pounds of kit on (at least) and that 'arm only' method done in gym shorts and t-shirt wouldn't work. I wouldn't be able to do the footlock method because nobody ever taught it to me.

Nick

Yep,

I owned a tattoo shop...Charlotte's number one for eight years in a row.

How did it come about? I could always draw so I figured if I could learn how to tattoo I could make some extra money when I went back in the Legion.

I met a tattoo artist body guarding a rock band who said he'd teach me the ropes. I practised in England for a while on my girlfriend's brother and his mates. When I went back to the Legion though, despite telling me I could come back anytime in four years and pick up my old rank, they told me I'd have to start over.

I said no thanks (figuring the five years was worth something) and ended up working for him over here for a summer while I figured out what to do next. The rest, as they say, is history.

Nick

Nick,
If I wanted to read a book in regard to the French Foreign Legion what would be your advice?

Simon Murrays is still one of my favourites though remember as you read it Simon was in back in the sixties. Still a great book though.

I haven't really read any others by people who were in there that I've thought were any good. I'm about halfway through mine so maybe you could wait for that.

If not, there are always the ones about the Legion by Authors who write about the subject. A good one of those is "The Making of a Legionnaire" by Peter McDonald.

Nick

Tell you what, let us know when your book is finalized and I'll be one of your first customers. No bullshit.