Who should NOT join the French Foreign Legion

Here are some kinds of people who should NOT bother trying to join the French Foreign Legion. 

This is mainly for those non-French, foreign citizens (read teens / youth wannabes) planning on traveling to France to join the Legion. 

Source: Pinterest

1. The physically weak 

This goes without saying, but should be mentioned nevertheless for the "I can scrape through" wannabes out there; please do not bother trying to get in.

The French Foreign Legion's official website site clearly mentions the minimum physical requirements you must be capable of to make the cut. 
My personal recommendation is, please don't join unless you can do at least x4 (four times the amount) of push-ups, pull-ups and what not mentioned there. 

Though I believe the minimum list of "sporting tests" seemed to have now been slightly relaxed, it is highly recommended for you to push your self to the limits and then beyond in running, swimming and other activities before you think about join the brutal training of the legion. 

Source: Pintrest

2. The mentally weak

Assuming you somehow, though most likely you'd be out if they smell a whiff of a mommy's boy attitude in you, you made it through the selection, apart from other minor factors, the main cause of attrition in the Legion is due to the psychological impact it has on young legionnaire wannabes. 

You will feel bored and lonely at solid part of the time you're there, this applies for the time you're there during selection as well as training later on. The legion may not have a bunch of homeboys you can quickly find and hang around with. This problem is less prevalent if you join your own country's army. 

You might be lucky to find a good bunch of guys from your own country in the legion or guys speaking the same language at least, who'd definitely help you with the horrible mental stress you'd be having the initial few months in the Legion. 

If you're the kind of teenager who is close with his family, having a girlfriend/wife and all that sweet stuff. Please don't even come near the recruitment offices. Your wailing and whimpering in the toilet and after lights-out will drain the morale of those around you as well. 

3. Having a scope of a good future. 

You're educated? Having even a little amount of money? An opportunity for a decent life back home? 

All these are indicators / signs that you should make better use of your head to secure a stable future in the civilian world, its a heck a lot better. 

If its the soldier life that fascinates you, please consider your own country's military. 

If your country's military is shite as some are in some third-world countries, it at times, is still better to consider joining there instead of the legion.

The legion is suitable for the following people:

• Ex-military (there are exceptions here as well)
• Men with minor criminal charges
• Hardened guys with a solid never-say-die & go-getter attitudes 

Now as a disclaimer for those keyboard warriors out there:

• Yes, there are educated fellows who still join the legion and end up with decent careers after the end of their contract.

• Even if you're "old," yes, you too can possibly make it through and have a successful career in the FFL

• Yes, You can end becoming a security contractor after your legion stint, but of course in some regiment that is worth something. This is very very rare though.

Source: Rand Corporation

As written by G. Pelham, Former GCP, 2REP 

(Source: Quora)

I saw a pretty derogatory answer on the legion, and I do not disagree. For many individuals coming from privileged backgrounds in Europe, having grown up cushy lives, been in decent schools, and having no other reason to join the legion except adventure. Stay away, you are not the right material, and you will not cope. The legion is not like any other army, you are ‘dirt’ you will be used to do all the dirty work of the French army, sometimes in battle, but mostly guard-duty, cleaning, and just being messed around constantly on some forsaken outpost in a place like Chad or Djibouti. 

For the first five years you can’t understand the legion ways, they seem antiquated, meaningless and illogical. climbing a mountain in Djibouti carrying white pained beach rocks from 20 km away in backpacks to build a perfect 2x2 m pyramid; then when it’s finished moving it to another mountain, and then taking all the rocks back to the sea and cleaning them of paint and leaving no mark you were ever there. Getting issued 1 cartridge, marching 40km to the shooting range, shooting then cleaning your rifle for 48 hours with no food or sleep. Ironing uniforms with the base of an aluminum mess tin filled with hot water after a three day march, and then putting on the dress uniform that you carried at the bottom of your pack and marching into barracks whilst singing about death and glory. 

I wanted to desert everyday for the first three years, but I was too proud and I stuck it out. One day I woke up went into a serious combat situation as a young corporal, some of my troops wounded, and civilians dead all around, and realized that the guys around me would follow me anywhere, would give up their lives for me, and we were a well-oiled fighting machine. I went on to serve in the GCP along side SAS, pathfinders and elite forces from around the world, and they acknowledged we were as good as the best of them, and capable of handling far more boredom, abuse, loneliness and lack of food, sleep and good equipment. I hear about hell week for the US SEALS, “one of the best, no disrespect”, a week of no sleep or food. We did months at a time of no sleep and food, it was just routine shit for us, and no you don’t sneak around a corner and steal some shut-eye, legion discipline is a lot more intimidating than being KIA. 

I jumped from a super-frelon on one occasion, door opened, and it was a ten to fifteen meter drop, pitch black. (wrong side door opened, de-bussing at night from the HCL that was trying to edge in close to a steep mountain, and off load us). Myself and one other legionnaire looked at the sergeant, looked down, and jumped before they realized, and closed the door. They came looking for the dead bodies, nothing broken we landed between the boulders. Point being, neither of us was stupid and didn’t realize we’d probably die, but we were not going to refuse too jump and face legion discipline. 

So, if you have nothing to loose, young South Africans, and other nationals who are tough and can take pain, and most important there’s no future back home, and the legion is a window of opportunity to make a new life, take it and stick it out, never give up, don’t try to analyze too much, be humble, be quiet do your job, and one day the Legion will turn you out as a fine soldier, and a good human being with high morals and values. 

I add another great thing about the legion is that you serve with some guy who doesn’t talk much, one day as young soldiers coming under intense fire, he just calmly takes control and leads you through it; later you find out he was SBS and one of the highly decorated veterans of the Falklands. A slightly pudgy ginger haired guy, no-one would ever have looked at twice. Bravery, honor and camaraderie is not determined by your stature and most certainly not by your gob.

Another account by an anonymous writer 

(Source: Quora)

I’m going anonymous for this one as it will doubtless ruffle some feathers. The one thing you should absolutely know is that in all probability you are making a huge mistake. Probably the biggest mistake you've ever made in your life. The Legion is not what you think it is. It's not an elite fighting force like some would have you believe. The training you will receive is on a par with a conscript army from the 1980’s and will in no way prepare you for anything like real combat. But that’s not what the Legion is for. The Legion is there to soak up the bullets that would otherwise cost the French Government votes. After all, who will parents blame when their sons are coming home from places like Indochina, Algeria, Chad, Iraq, Afghanistan and Mali in bodybags? As an American Adjutant once told me, “Why would they care? My momma don’t vote in France.” The Foreign Legion is simply an expendable force and always has been throughout it’s history. This is the reason that it’s most glorious moments have been it’s defeats, like Camerone.

As I said, the training is abysmal. A good 40% of the guys in my training company were unable to shoot a rifle properly, and the famed “Esprit de Corps” was virtually non-existent. What we had instead was gangs made up of different language speakers and very rarely was there any intermingling between them. The Russians, Uzbeks, Ukrainians (this was before the Crimea) and certain Latvians, Lithuanians and Estonians made up the largest group and they were not fond of Westerners in any way. A lot of them were petty criminals who were on the run in Russia and some were rumoured to be Russian Mafia. All were pretty much scum. Then you had the Poles, a big group, mostly the dregs again, but some good soldiers. Then you had the Mafia Anglais, the English speakers, from all over. The UK, Ireland, US, Canada, Australia and even some of the non native English speakers who didn’t have much truck with their own. Each group had their own way of doing things and in a lot of ways, they were like I would imagine prison gangs would be. Oh, and if you’re Black, just forget it. The racism is ridiculous and as a black man, you will be ostracised and probably beaten. I will never forget the night all the NCO’s came to our room in the training block and beat the everloving crap out of one of the recruits from Senegal just because he was seen talking to a white girl on one of the rare times we were allowed out of camp.

The officers are shit. There is simply no other word for it. They are disinterested at best and downright hostile towards those under their command at worst. In my entire time there I met one officer that I would consider competent and worthy of a leadership position. Every other officer was awful. We were told that the cream of Saint Cyr was posted to the Legion and if this is true, the French Army may as well throw the towel in now as they haven’t a hope. Lunchtime for them was getting hopelessly drunk for three hours and stumbling back across the road to camp to berate the Legionnaire who was unlucky enough to be on gate guard duty at that time. I once saw an officer beat a Legionnaire to a pulp in front of his visiting Grandparents and then attempt to attack the Grandfather when he tried to intervene. I’ve also seen a Sergeant beat an American Legionnaire so badly he collapsed his chest and would have killed him only for us threatening to bayonet him unless he stopped. The Legionnaires crime? He had his beret tipped too far back on his head. The Sergeants punishment? Nothing. Absolutely no punishment whatsoever. For nearly killing someone under his command he didn’t even receive a reprimand. I was sentenced to 30 days in the regimental prison for threatening a superior though.

Anyone who even contemplates joining the Legion should have his head examined. Almost every country in the world has an army and I’m pretty sure yours does. Join that instead. Or go to America and join the Marines. They accept foreigners too. The British Army accept recruits from the Commonwealth countries and Ireland. If none of those works out, then give up being in the military. But whatever you do, do not join the Legion. It sucks.

EDIT: Just to clarify a few things guys. I was in from 1999 to 2004 and served in the “elite” regiment, 2eme REP, 3eme Cie. All of these things happened either in training or at Calvi during those years. These are by far not the most serious incidents that happened during my time there, they’re just the ones I personally witnessed. I don’t want to mention things I heard or that were witnessed by others as I did not see them with my own eyes, but there were far worse things going on.