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US Navy SEALS Physical Guide

Nije vodič Legije stranaca, ali je jako dobar i sve je detaljno opisano, pa tko ga želi imati tu je link:
http://rapidshare.de/files/2418895/EBooks_-_US_Navy_SEAL_Physical_Fitness_Guide.pdf.html

Ne znam dali ste znali, ali jedna od posebnosti Legije stranaca, tj.u njezine prošlosti su bile njene službene javne kuće koje su se zvale B.M.C. ili kako su ih Legionari od milja zvali Puf.U Legiji su u to vrijeme predstavljale jednu od važnih stvari. Nakon što bi položili prisegu i odradili kompletnu temeljnu obuku od 4 mjeseca koja se u to vrijeme odvijala u Bonafaciju (Korzika) Legionari bi za nagradu dobijali 8 žetona, tj. 4 žetona za žene (do žena se dolazilo kupovanjem žetona, a moglo se najmanje kupit 4 žetona koji bi u prosjeku koštali 45 franaka i sa njima se moglo provest sa ženom 20 minuta, a sa kupnjom većeg broja žetona npr. 16 i do pola noći) i 4 žetona za piće tj. za pivo koje su si također kasnije kupovali. Nakon što bi se uredili i došli u bordel Legionari bi u hodnicima birali s kojom će ženom biti pomoću slika koje su bile obješene na zidovima. Sa tim bi slikama dolazili do soba gdje su žene bile smještene, a prije nego što bi ušli pregledavao ih je liječnik jer se za bordel Legionar morao biti čist, uredan i zdrav, te pokazati sve što ima sa sobom.Tek nakon toga mogli su iči do žena i provest s njima vrijeme u ovisnosti koliko žetona posjeduju. Također je manje poznato da je i Gestapo (interni naziv za vojnu tajnu službu) koristio B.M.C. za provjeru legionara. Kad bi Legionar išao prvi put u B.M.C. i kad bi prvi put bilo sa ženom iz B.M.C.-a i nakon što bi završio s njom svaka od njih bi uzela unaprijed određeni forumular i popunila ga sa legionarovim podacima. Također bi opisala sva zapažanja i događaje,i dali je legionar pravio bilo kakve probleme ili pokazivao nastranost. Neki su čak spominjali da je legija na taj način otkrivala homoseksualne sklonosti kod pripadnika ili čak nastranost. Legija je u to vrijeme o svemu brinula pa i o ženama s kojima će Legionari bit jer su žene mijenjale svakih 6 mjeseci i sve su izvršavale redovne zdravstvene preglede, a i pravila o izlasku izvan vojarne su bila drugačija nego danas.

Koliko ste o tome znali ne znam, ali kako sam već prije svi pisao o povijesti Legije,o njenim regimentama i svemu ostalom što je čini jedinstvenom smatrao sam da se i o ovome treba nešto napisati jer je to jedna od stvari koja je legiju činila jednom od najspecifičnijih vojnih postrojbi u svijetu jer je praktički bila legalizirala prostituciju i u potpunosti vodila brigu o tome s kakvim će ženama bit njeni vojnici.
Posljednji B.M.C. je zatvoren 1994. u Francuskoj Gvajani, navodno zbog učestalih tuča legionara...

A typical day in Foreign Legion

6.00 am: The Section assembles in line in the corridoor for
the morning Appel. After a quick shave and a wash you
will get into Tenue de Sport (PT Kit). The room must be
tidied and the beds made. The beds are not made in the
normal way however. In the Legion the bed is stripped
every day and the blankets folded to an exact size and
placed one on top of another. These will sit at the end of
the bed with the Couverture (Top cover) underneath. The
sheets are folded and rolled in an exact manner to form a
sort of tube. These are then laid diagonally across each
other on top of the blankets to form a cross. This routine
does not stop at the end of basic training but continues for
as long as you reside on a Legion Quartier - regardless of
rank.

6.20am: The Section will be either marched or doubled
across to the refectoir for Le Petit Dejeuner (Breakfast).
This consists of a glass bowl of black coffee or drinking
chocolate. With this you receive half a baguette each and
some jam or marmalade. You will always carry your
issued Opinel (Pen-knife) which you use for breakfast.
You may only have ten minutes to eat this before being
assembled outside to to return to the block. You may
again either march or run back - dependant upon what is
on the agenda for the day and the schedule of timings.

6.30am: Corvet Quartier is next on the agenda. (Straight
line sweep around the building done by the complete
Company to pick up cigarette ends etc.) At the same time
as this, anybody wishing to go sick, reports to the Caporal
Chef down in the Company office. If the rooms are not yet
finished then one or two Legionnaires per room will
remain behind to finish them off. There will also be a
couple of Legionnaires left behind to carry out the Corvet
Chiot (Toilet cleaning duties).

7.00am: Rassemblement (Assembly) by Section, or, if it
is a Monday, it will be as a complete Regiment
(Reglementaire). The Caporal Du Jour will hand you
over to the Sergent and then if there is a senior rank
present you will be handed over to the most senior rank
present. From here you will normally go for a run.
Distance varying from four to eight kilometres.
(Incidently, you will always talk in Kilometres in the
Legion. There are approximately 1.6kms to one mile. Or
0.6 miles to one kilometre. Therefore, as an example;
eight kilometres equals approx. five miles).
Runs in the Legion never start very fast - a great emphasis
is put on warming up for at least the first kilometre or
two, and then it gradually gets faster. At the end of the
run there are usually exercises, rope climbing (always
without the use of your legs), pull ups and sit ups,
followed by stretching.
Periodically the Sergent will have you all straightening
each others spines. The method used, does, for the first
time sound like a very painful process. It can be a little
disconcerting when you hear your spinal column cracking
into line and the man doing it has only learnt the technique
thirty seconds previously. It is however a genuine
technique which was once used by osteopaths.

8.30am: Section arrives back at the block. The Senior
rank will dismiss you into the building where you can get
showered and changed ready for the Casse-scroute
(Snack). This will be probably a quarter of a baguette and
some pate. The Section will now be in Tenue verte (green
combats) for the rest of the day.

9.30am: There will now be a lecture on postings in the
French Foreign Legion. This may be taken by the Sergent,
Sergent Chef or the Lieutenant. The period will last about
one hour. After which you will be allowed outside for a
cigarette break for fifteen minutes.

10.45am: A second lecture will follow on French language
taken by the Lieutenant.

12.00am: The boots will be taken downstairs for a quick
polish before lunch. There will also be time for a quick
Aperitif before lunch.

12.30pm: The Section will assemble ready to be marched
across to the refectoir for lunch. The Section will almost
always march and sing their way across the Place D'arme
(Parade square). There may well be other Sections doing
the same thing.

12.50pm: Feeding time in the Legion is a very well executed
procedure. The Legionnaires form a long line from the
doorway up to the servery with a Caporal at the head of
the queue controlling the passage of troops. When the
head Chef calls out the word "Quatre" - the next four
Legionnaires walk past the servery, picking up a dish of
food each. Since all the tables are laid before the meal
with plates and all the cutlery, there remains only the food
to be collected. This makes for a very rapid feeding
system. In the space of only a few minutes literally
hundreds of Legionnaires can be seated and eating their
food without the hassle of a fifteen minute queue. At the
end of the meal the plates are left on the tables to be
cleared away by the Legionnaires on Corvet. (Which will
at sometime be you).

13.30pm: March back to Le Batiment (Building) to carry out
the Corvette Quartier once more. The rooms will also
have to be cleaned once more if they require it and the
boots polished.

14.00pm: The Section will be assembled and the Sergent will
brief you on what is happening in the afternoon. Today it
consists of being taken over to the Infirmerie for some
tests. These may be urine, blood, a chat with the Medecin
(Doctor), chest X-rays or whatever.

15.30pm: Lessons in drill. Droit droit (Right turn), Gauche
gauche (Left turn) and the demi-tour droit (About turn).
There may also be further lessons on La Presente.

16.50pm: The Compagnie will assemble together for the
march across for the Repas du soir (Evening meal)
sometimes known as La Soupe. Again you will sing. This
may again be preceeded by an Aperitif in the form of pull-
ups, press-ups and sit ups.

17.00pm: La Soupe. (Evening meal)

18.00pm: Les Chants de La Legion (Songs of the Legion).
For several hours you will be in a classroom singing and
reciting Le Code D'Honneur. There will be breaks every
hour or so. For this you will go out into the
corridoor/veranda outside and can smoke.

21.00pm: Apel du soir. This will be carried out by the
Sergent. If he is happy with the rooms and the turnout he
will say Bonne Nuit (Good night) which everyone shouts
back in unison - Bonne nuit Sergent! You can then get to
bed.

France's Unmusical Bugle
by Peter G. Kokalis

French soldiers refer to it as "le Clairon." But this bugle spits bullets. It is not a pretty weapon - in fact, it's downright ugly. Esthetics, however, are of small consequence in the design of efficient weaponry.
France's newest service rifle, the FA MAS (Fusil Automatique, Manufacture d'Armes de St. Etienne), has already demonstrated itself to be an effective and generally well-conceived piece of ordnance. First introduced in 1973 and subsequently modified, the FA MAS was adopted by the French armed forces and placed into production in 1979. Manufactured by GIAT (Groupement Industriel des Armements Terrestres) at their St. Etienne arsenal, a semiautomatic-only version of this interesting assault rifle has been imported in limited quantity by Century International Arms.
After generations of discordant calibers - such as the 7.5mm rifle and 7.65mm Long pistol cartridges - the French finally decided to play in NATO's orchestra and chambered the FA MAS for what is essentially the U.S. 5.56x45mm M193 cartridge. It differs only by virtue of its Berdan primed steel case. Compatibility with NATO has been served and France now has a cartridge with proven efficiency in causing casualties.
Hands-on use of this weapon has produced compliments - SOF's Paul Fanshaw, who employed the FA MAS rifle extensively while serving as a platoon sergeant in the French Foreign Legion, awards it a clean bill of health in all regards.
Of so-called bullpup configuration, the FA MAS measures only 30.28 inches in overall length. Complete with flash suppressor, the barrel is 19.5 inches long. Oddly cut with only three grooves, the rifling's rate of right-hand twist remains one turn in every 12 inches. An optional pitch of one turn in 9 inches is available as a compromise to accommodate the SS109 projectile. But in spite of its compactness, the FA MAS weighs 8.0 lbs. empty and minus the bipod - at the outer limits by today's standards. Steel parts are phosphate finished and the receiver has been anodized gray.
Firing from the closed-bolt position, the method of operation is by means of delayed blowback. While this principle smacks of Heckler & Koch (early prototypes of the FA MAS were pictured with the G3 bayonet), the delay system has been taken directly from the French AA 52 General Purpose Machine Gun.
A black plastic lower handguard, pinned to the barrel and receiver, extends back to the magazine well and cannot be removed. To accommodate the bullpup configuration, the trigger mechanism and pistol grip have been mounted to the lower handguard, forward of the magazine well. The ergonomically-designed pistol grip has three finger grooves and a storage trap which contains a plastic bottle of lubricant.
The sheet-metal trigger guard can be pulled away from its rear retaining pin and rotated 180 degrees for firing with gloves under arctic conditions. The trigger is connected to a long, thin strip of sheet-metal which rides in a slot on the right side of the receiver and reaches the hammer mechanism located at the rear of the receiver. Trigger pull-weight was a spongy and variable 8 to 9 lbs. on our test rifle. On the semiauto-only FA MAS, pressing the trigger draws this spring-loaded bar forward to pull both the primary and secondary sears away from the hammer's notch.
A spring-loaded, plastic catch in front of the magazine well must be pressed back to remove a magazine. Magazines are inserted by pushing them straight into the well. No rocking motion is required. There is no hold-open device. But who cares? Thirty million Kalashnikovs have been manufactured without one, as well as millions of G3s and Galils. And they all seem to do just fine in combat.
FA MAS magazines hold 25 rounds and, in my opinion, are superior to those of the M16 series. While not as heavy as Galil or Beretta Model 70 magazines, the sturdy steel bodies are straight-line, without any curvature, with substantial locking tabs punch-welded to the exterior, front and rear, Two-piece floorplates insure rapid disassembly. Only the follower is plastic.
Because the firing pin is withdrawn from the bolt face by the delay lever's rotating cross-piece, there is no need for a spring. Other components of the bolt group include a removable bolt head with a spring-loaded, centrally located "bump"-type ejector, and an extractor and dummy extractor plug.
Being a bullpup, the FA MAS can be modified to fire from either shoulder. To change the FA MAS from right- to left-hand ejection, withdraw the bolt head after removing its notched retaining pin on top of the bolt body, insert the extractor into the left side of the bolt head and the dummy plug into the right side. The extractor will now spin empty cases out to the left. Nothing else is required for left-hand ejection, other than to snap the cheekpiece onto the right side of the buttstock.
This checkpiece was neoprene-covered sheet-metal on early specimens. It is now a light plastic molding, but still quite comfortable. Both ejection ports are cut into the plastic buttstock molding - one or the other being blocked by the cheekpiece. A spring buffer in the top of the buttstock compresses about an inch before rebounding. To reduce costs, it has been eliminated on the semiauto-only version as its cushioning effect on the reciprocating parts is not required in semiautomatic fire. There is a stippled, neoprene buttplate with fixed sling swivels on either side.
The upper handguard certainly contributes more than its share to this rifle's grotesque appearance. It also acts as a carrying handle and protects the sights which rise 3 inches above the bore's axis. A lightweight tubular aluminum bipod has been bolted to a bracket under the handguard. The non-adjustable legs, with plastic feet, fold along the sides of the handguard when not in use. To employ, simply pull out on the leg and rotate to the extended position. This useful feature adds only 6 oz. to the overall weight.
Each FA MAS is equipped with a cleverly designed, ambidextrous web sling. The rear portion attaches, in the conventional manner, to either of the sling swivels on the buttstock. The front clips mount on either of the bipod legs' axis pins, which permit rotation of about 220 degrees and a wide variety of carrying positions.
A spare parts and cleaning kit is also included and it consists of an ejector and spring, extractor, dummy extractor plug, bolt-head retaining pin, plastic cleaning rod with brass tip, bore and chamber brushes, camel's hair brush and a really useful prismatic bore scope.
While bayonets have certainly become an anachronism on today's battlefield, armies continue to issue them. Little time was wasted on designing a bayonet for the FA MAS. What is essentially the MAS 49/56 (French army rifle which preceded the FA MAS) bayonet was adopted. Blade shape resembles that of the U.S. M4-M7 series of knife bayonets. Grip panels are black, uncheckered plastic. There are two muzzle rings. One fits over the flash suppressor, the other on the barrel collar. The rear muzzle ring diminishes the bayonet's value as a fighting or utility knife. The black plastic, locking scabbard has been riveted to a web frog in the U.S. manner.
Firing the FA MAS, or any bullpup assault rifle for that matter, can be somewhat unsettling the first time around. With your face directly over the action, fleeting thoughts of what might happen if the weapon self-destructs are bound to occur. They are but fantasies of course, and nothing we stuffed into the FA MAS brought us anywhere close to red-lining its engine.
Most of the firing sequences were conducted with Portuguese M193-type ball ammunition of 1982 manufacture (headstamped 'FNM 82-17'). What a pleasure it is to fire an assault rifle in this caliber and not have to contend with bolt-over-base stoppages such as those induced by an M16 magazine. There were no malfunctions of any kind.
Accuracy potential was more than acceptable. With winds gusting at 25 mph, 3 MOA, with horizontal dispersion only, was the best we could do at 100 yards.
Felt recoil was quite low, but the perceived muzzle blast, because of the bullpup configuration, was loud. Ejection patterns, which are either to the right or left in direction, varied from 10 to 20 feet from the rifle with a high trajectory for the empty cases. Some cases spun back to scuff the stock slightly.
While they have no heat shields, the handguards are far enough from the barrel to permit a substantial volume of air to circulate. Neither handguard overheated at any time during the test. Balance and handling charactefistics are excellent and the rifle can be shifted quickly to engage multiple targets.
The more I shoot it, the more this grotesque hunchback grows on me. Its unsightly geometry becomes quickly muted by its superb performance. Regardless of the U.S. military's antipathy toward them, bullpup designs will continue to proliferate as the quest for ever more compact individual weapons marches forward. Fit for anyone's front line, the FA MAS should give both the Austrian Steyr AUG and the British Enfield SA 80 a stiff run for the money.
Military organizations and law enforcement agencies can obtain versions with scopes integrated into the carrying handles, training rifles firing 4.5mm pellets by means of C0&sub2; and short-barreled models with 16.5-inch barrels. A new carrying handle that will accept any NATO STANAG scope is also under development.

ALGERIE 1831. - 1882. 844
ESPAGNE 1835. - 1839. 1103
CRIMEE 1854. - 1855. 444
ITALIE 1859. 143
MEXIQUE 1863. - 1867. 468
FRANCE 1870. - 1871. 930
SUD-ORANAIS 1882. - 1907. 655
TONKIN 1883. - 1910. 2064
FORMOSE 1885. 33
DAHOMEY 1892. -1894. 37
SOUDAN 1893. - 1894. 2
MADAGASCAR 1895. - 1901. 260
MAROC 1907. - 1914. 325
1ere GUERRE Mondiale 1914. - 1918. 4116
ORIENT 1914. - 1918. 815
MAROC 1914. - 1918. 348
TONKIN 1914. - 1940. 55
MAROC 1920. - 1935. 1496
SYRIE 1925. - 1927. 45
2eme GUERRE Mondiale 1939. - 1945. 9017
INDOCHINE 1945. - 1954. 10483
MADAGASCAR 1947. - 1950. 5
TUNISIE 1952. - 1954. 14
MAROC 1953. - 1956. 66
ALGERIE 1954. - 1962. 1976
MAURITANIE 1956. - 1957. 3
TCHAD 1969. - 1970. 8
ZAIRE 1978. 5
TCHAD 1978. - 1979. 1
LIBAN 1983. - 1984. 5
TCHAD 1988. 1
KOWEIT 1991. 2
YOUGOSLAVIE 1992. 4
CONGO 1997. 1

A post-office employee killed in a barracks of the Foreign Legion
Article published on January 05, 2006
Per Michel Samson
Source: LE MONDE
Cuts article: 256 words Extract

Patrice Pavani, post-office employee of Saint-Christol (Vaucluse), which worked each Monday morning for the second foreign regiment of genius (2. REG) of the Foreign Legion, was found died, in the evening of Monday January 2, in the office of the postal permanence of the barracks. He had been killed a few hours before, of a ball of small gauge in the head. The parquet floor of Carpentras opened an investigation of flagrancy for crime which it entrusted to the section of research of the gendarmerie of Marseilles. The autopsy of the body of this 41 year old man, post-office employee for nine years in the small village of Saint-Christol - 600 inhabitants -, had been to take place Wednesday January 4.

Vijest je malo stara, ali eto... Koga zanima ovdje ima originalni tekst na Francuskom jeziku:
http://www.lemonde.fr/cgi-bin/ACHATS/acheter.cgi?offre=ARCHIVES&type_item=ART_ARCH_30J&objet_id=929138

Kodeks Legije stranaca
Miro Kučić
SLOBODNA DALMACIJA

Znate li kada je posljednji put izvršeno javno pogubljenje izvan zatvora giljotinom - 1939. godine u Versaillesu. No, posljednji put uopće taj dražesni uređaj upotrebljen je u kulturnoj Francuskoj 1977., u vrijeme procvata nehumanog samoupravnog socijalizma u Jugoslaviji. Drugi, još dražesniji način koji je ta zemlja kolijevka europske kulture i civilizacije izmislila kao kaznu za one na smrt osuđene (često su to bili politički kažnjenici) bio je zatvor u Gvajani. Robijanje u tropskom paklu Francuske Gvajane bila je zamjena za smrtnu kaznu i bijeg od hladne oštrice giljotine. Polagano umiranje u zatvoru bez zidova u neljudskim uvjetima nazvano je "suha giljotina".
Treća stvar kojom se Francuska diči Legija je stranaca. Legiju stranaca osnovao je francuski kralj Luj Filip 1831., u vrijeme osvajanja Alžira. Ona je integralni dio Francuske vojske, a to su elitne borbene jedinice koje služe interesima Francuske bilo gdje u svjetu. Jedina je razlika što su njezini pripadnici stranci, dobrovoljci svih nacionalnosti, rasa i vjera. Tako je perfidno izbjegnuta mogućnost da Francuz po nacionalnosti izvrši bilo kakav prljav posao u svjetu, iako i ovi imaju francusko državljanstvo. Dobrovoljci se prijavljuju u 16 regrutnih centara u samoj Francuskoj, a regimente su smještene diljem svijeta, od Korzike do Francuske Polinezije. Sam način obuke, odnos unutar postrojbi, način ratovanja i običaji nisu se puno promijenili u 150 godina, osim što je dril prilagođen vremenu, a oružje do maksimuma osuvremenjeno. No, najinteresantniji je "kodeks časti" na koji se morate zakleti prije no što primite "kepi blanc". Kodeks se sastoji od 7 točaka od kojih su dvije bitne. Prvo, svaki ti je legionar brat po oružju bez obzira na nacionalnost, rasu i religiju. Demonstrirat ćeš to striktnom solidarnošću, znajući da se radi o članu porodice. Drugi je članak - misiju koja ti je posvećena obavit ćeš potpuno i do kraja, bez obzira na cijenu i žrtve. Ovaj je članak doživio izmjenu 2000. godine amandmanom "poštujući zakon, običaje ratovanja, međunarodne konvencije, ako je potrebno i po cjenu života". Drugim riječima, taj kodeks nije bio obvezan do 2000. godine, što znači da je pripadnik Legije izvršavao svoj zadatak bez obveze da poštuje međunarodno pravo.
Upoznao sam mnoge legionare. Mahom su to bili avanturisti, kao nedorasli momci pobjegli od kuće, da bi poslije višemjesečnog drila postali najamni ratnici. Zovu ih, a i oni sami sebe, "psi rata". Unajmljuju svoje ratničko znanje po svim bojištima svijeta, ali najdraža im je Afrika.

Ovo je samo jedan dio kolumne objavljene u Slobodnoj Dalmaciji. U daljnjem dijelu teksta se spominje Haaški tribunal, general Ante Gotovina kao optuženik i raznorazne političke teme pa mi se to nije činilo primjerenim staviti na blog koji je u prvom redu posvećen Legiji stranaca.
Tko želi pročitati cijelu kolumnu, može to učiniti ovdje: http://www.slobodnadalmacija.hr/20050301/kolumne01.asp

French Foreign Legion
From:Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The French Foreign Legion (French: Légion Étrangere) is a unique unit within the French Army since 1831. It is an elite rapid deployment force made up of foreign volunteers serving France.

History
The French Foreign Legion was created by Louis Philippe, then King of the French, on March 10, 1831, to support his war in Algeria. Successive legions were also raised to augment the French forces in the Crimean War, in the Austro-Sardinian War and in Mexico.
Initially, the Legion proved to be an effective means for removing some of the more "undesirable" elements of 19th century French society, as its ranks were filled with cut-throats, run-aways, beggars, general criminals and unwanted immigrants. During its early period, the Legionnaire was very poorly trained and given only the most basic of equipment, clothing and food. He tended to be badly motivated - as his reasons for joining were desperation and self preservation rather than patriotism (he would most likely be running away from some grave problem in his life). Living and working conditions were terrible, and their early campaigns were typically bloody affairs. As a result, desertion has traditionally been a major problem for the Legion.
The task of forging a rag-tag band of poorly-motivated would-be warriors - from many different cultures - into an effective fighting force proved to be an immensely difficult undertaking. To accomplish this, the Legion quickly developed an incredibly austere code of discipline, far in excess of that of other contemporary units (even within their own French army).

Mexico
Main Article Battle of Camarón
It was in Mexico on 30 April 1863 that the Legion earned its legendary status. The small infantry patrol led by Capitaine Danjou numbering 62 soldiers and 3 officers was attacked and besieged by over two thousand Mexican infantry and cavalry units organized into 3 battalions, and was forced to make a defense in Hacienda Camarón. Despite the hopelessness of the situation they fought nearly to the last man. Danjou was mortally wounded in the defense of the hacienda, and the last of his men mounted a desperate bayonet attack. When the last three survivors were asked to surrender, they insisted that the Mexican soldiers allow them safe passage back home, to keep their flag, and to escort the body of the fallen Danjou. Upon seeing this, the Mexican commander commented, "these are not men, they are devils," and out of respect agreed to these terms.
Today the "Camerone Day" is an important day of celebration for the Legionnaires, when the wooden prosthetic hand of Capitane Danjou is brought on display.

Franco-Prussian War
During the Franco-Prussian War, the Legion attempted to lift the Siege of Paris by breaking through the German lines. They succeeded in taking Orléans, but failed to break the siege.
Colonial Warfare
During the Third Republic, the Legion played a major role in French colonial expansion. They fought in North Africa (where they established their headquarters at Sidi-Bel-Abbes in Algeria), Madagascar, and Indochina, where they participated in the celebrated Defense of Tuyen Quang in 1885.

The World Wars
In World War I the Legion fought in many critical battles of the war, including the Battle of Verdun. The Legion was heavily decorated for its efforts in the war.
The Foreign Legion was heavily involved in World War II, playing a large role in the Middle East and the North African campaign. The 13th Demi-Brigade was deployed in the Battle of Bir Hakeim. Interestingly, part of the Legion was loyal to the Free French movement, yet another part was loyal to the Vichy government. A battle in Syria saw two opposing sides fight against each other in a short engagement, and later on the Vichy Legion joined its Free French brethren.

Indochina
Units of the Legion were deployed in French Indochina and fought in the Franco-Chinese War, and one battalion was the key component in the celebrated defense of the fortress of Tuyen Quang when it was assaulted by Chinese troops many times its number.
Units of the Legion were involved in the defense of Dien Bien Phu and lost a large number of their men in the battle. Towards the desperate end of the battle, Legionnaires formed the bulk of the volunteer relief force which were delivered by parachute to the base.

Membership
While most of its commissioned officers are French, approximately 10% are former legionnaires who have risen through the ranks. The rest of the Legion is made up of men from a wide variety of nationalities, with French citizens representing 25-35% of the legionnaires. The foreign volunteers are primarily European. Before and during World War II, many Jews from Eastern Europe fled to France and ended up enlisting in the legion. Ironically, after the fall of the Third Reich, Germans (long a major presence in the legion) accounted for roughly sixty percent of the manpower, with many former German troops coming directly from WWII POW camps (Bernard B. Fall, a leading expert on French Indochina and author of Street without Joy and Hell in a Very Small Place, disputes this fact and claims that at most Germans only made up thirty-five percent of the Legion in the post-WWII period). The book Devil's Guard relates a former Waffen-SS member's brutal account of joining the Legion and fighting with fellow former SS against the Vietminh in Indochina. During the mid 1980s the Legion contained large contingents of British and Serbian nationals. Present day has seen a number of recruits from African countries.
The Legion's ranks historically tend to be filled with enlistees from countries undergoing some sort of crisis. In recent generations, however, many of those joining have come from middle-class backgrounds in stable prosperous countries such as Britain and the US (and indeed France itself).
Legionnaires can choose to enlist under a pseudonym ("declared identity") and a declared citizenship. This disposition exists in order to allow people who want to turn over a new leaf in their life to enlist. French citizens can enlist under a declared, fictitious, foreign citizenship (generally, a francophone one). After one year, legionnaires can regularize their situation under their true identity.
In the past, the Legion had a reputation for attracting criminals on the run and would-be mercenaries. In recent years, however, admission has been restricted much more severely and background checks are done on all applicants. Generally speaking, convicted felons are prohibited from joining the service.
After serving in the Legion for three years (out of a five-year initial enlistment), the legionnaire is allowed to apply for French citizenship. Furthermore, a soldier harmed in combat for France is also allowed to apply for French citizenship under a provision known as "Français par le sang versé" ("French by spilled blood").

Composition
Previously, the Legion was not stationed in mainland France except in wartime. Until 1962 the Legion headquarters were stationed in Sidi-Bel-Abbes, Algeria. Nowadays, some units of the legion are in Corsica or overseas possessions, while the rest is in the south of mainland France. Current headquarters are in Aubagne, France, just outside Marseille.
There are nine regiments and one independent sub-unit :
Mainland France
1st Foreign Cavalry Regiment (1er REC), based in Orange (armoured troops)
2nd Foreign Infantry Regiment (2e REI), based in Nîmes,
1st Foreign Engineer Regiment (1er REG), based in Laudun;
2nd Foreign Engineer Regiment (2e REG), based in St Christol,
1st Foreign Regiment (1er RE), based in Aubagne (Legion headquarters),
4th Foreign Regiment (4e RE), based in Castelnaudary (training);
In Corsica
2nd Foreign Parachute Regiment (2e REP), based in Calvi;
French Overseas Territories and Overseas Collectives,
3rd Foreign Infantry Regiment (3e REI), based in French Guiana,
Foreign Legion Detachment in Mayotte (DLEM);
Africa
13th Foreign Legion Demi-Brigade (13 DBLE), based in Djibouti.

Current Deployments
Operations exterieures (other than at home bases or on standard duties)
Martinique - (Protection) - 2e REG / 2e Compagnie, RCS;
Paris, France - VIGIPIRATE - 2e REI / 2 units, EM; 1er REG / 2 units;
Montpellier - VIGIPIRATE - 2e REI / 1 unit;
Perpignan - VIGIPIRATE - 2e REI / 1 unit;
Guyane - (Protection) - 3e REI / 3e Compagnie; 1er REG / RCS;
Côte D'Ivoire - (Intervention) - Operation LICORNE - 1er REC / 5e Squadron;
Mayotte - (Prevention) - DLEM;
Iles Glorieuses - (Prevention) - DLEM;
Djibouti - (Prevention) - 13e DBLE; 2e REI / CAC, RCS; 2e REG / 1er Compagnie, RCS;
Kosovo - (Intervention) - 2e REG / BATFRA.
Afghanistan - (Intervention) - 2e REG / URH;

Training Operations
2e REP - France (Corse) - Regimental Exercise
1er REC - France (Provence/Alpes-Cotes D'Azur and Languedoc-Roussillon) - Ex. Amphibie " Melaoria II"- Exercise "PC Garrigues "Palmex II";
2e REI - France and United Kingdom - La Courtine, Ex. Cambrian Patrol and CIECM;
3e REI - Guyane - Stage Combat en Milieu Equatorial;
4e RE - Exercise Antares with 17e RPG.

Notable Members of the Légion Étrangčre
Capitaine Danjou
Milorad Lukovic
Dimitri Amilakhvari
François Faber
Ante Gotovina
John F. "Jack" Hasey
Ernst Jünger
Pierre Koenig
Arthur Koestler
André Lalande
Raoul Lufbery
Hélie de Saint Marc (former resistant deported to Buchenwald, participated in the Algiers putsch)
Pierre Messmer
Simon Murray
Cole Porter (falsely claimed to be a member while living as a playboy in Paris)
Alan Seeger
Susan Travers
HRH Peter I of Serbia
HRH Prince Aage of Denmark
HSH Prince Louis II of Monaco
James Waddell of New Zealand, Lt-Col during WWI

The Legion in popular culture
The existence of the French Foreign Legion has led to a romantic view that it is a place for a wronged man to leave behind his old life to start a new one, but also that it is full of scoundrels and men escaping justice. This view of the legion is common in literature, and has been used for dramatic effect in many movies, not the least of which are the several versions of Beau Geste. The Legion is also depicted in the U.S. comic strip Crock and the UK comic strip Beau Peep.
There is a French song made famous by Edith Piaf called "Mon Legionnaire", about a woman's longing for an embittered Legionnaire with whom she had a brief affair and who refused to tell her his name. Another of Piaf's songs was "Le Fanion De La Legion" (The Flag of the Legion), describing the heroic defence by the garrison in a small Legion outpost attacked by Saharan tribes. Both songs were written by Raymond Asso, a Foreign Legion veteran who was Piaf's lover in the late 1930's.
The Foreign Legion adopted still another Edith Piaf song as their own, "Je ne regrette rien" (I regret nothing), during the 1950s when members of the Legion were accused (and not without reason) of atrocities and war crimes during the Algerian War. Today it is still a popular Legion 'chant' sung when on parade, adapting it to their unique marching cadence of 88 steps to the minute.
Ante Gotovina's biography The General, written by Croatian writer Nenad Ivankovic, is mainly about Gotovina's life in the Legion.
In the 1960s, the British boys' comic Eagle featured a popular adventure strip called Luck of the Legion, set in the classic period before WWI, of soldiers in blue coats, white kepi covers, white scarves and white trousers marching across endless desert under the gaze of treacherous Arab warriors.
The Foreign Legion of the WWI period was also portrayed in The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles.
Most recently, the Legion was revealed in a contemporary (July 2005) documentary Escape to the Legion, commissioned by the British television channel, Channel 4. In this four-part series, 11 volunteers with Bear Grylls explored the myths, romanticism and rigours of basic training in the French Foreign Legion.
Additionally, Legion of the Lost an autobiography by Jaime Salazar published in 2005, chronicles his experience as an American citizen who joined the legion out of boredom and disenfranchisement from white collar America.
Legionnaire, starring Jean-Claude Van Damme, depicted the Foreign Legion's battles against Algerian berbers. In the 1990 film Lionheart, Van Damme stars as a Legionnaire who deserts in order to help his sister-in-law and niece after his brother is killed.
The Mummy, starring Brendan Fraser, begins with Fraser's character, Rick O'Connell, a member of Foreign Legion and fighting in ruins of Hamunaptra (City of the Dead).
The 1939 comedy, Flying Deuces is one of the most popular films to star the duo Laurel and Hardy. The film begins with the pair joining the Foreign Legion and much of the comedy comes from their experiences. Laurel and Hardy had made an earlier comedy set in the Foreign Legion, Beau Hunks, in 1931.
"March or Die" (1978), (also known in France as "Marche ou Creve") stars Gene Hackman as Colonel Foster, an embittered Legion veteran of the Legion's heroic RMLE who returns to Algeria from the Western Front shortly after the end of WWI. He is ordered to chaperone an archaeological expedition into hostile Arab territory. The film also stars Max Von Sydow, Catherine Deneuve, Terence Hill and Ian Holm.
In science fiction writer Jerry Pournelle's "Future History", involving a future soldier of fortune named John Christian Falkenberg, there is a central role to the CoDominium Navy, which fights on all kinds of planets far away in space, and which had been created out of the French Foreign Legion and still keeps many of its traditions such as the aforementioned "Camerone Day".
Pournelle's fellow SF writer David Drake, the author of the Hammer's Slammers series, also bases his mercenary unit off of the French Foreign Legion. More specifically, the Legion after the Second World War, when most of its members had fled from persecution from the Allied War Crimes Commission.
In Savior, Dennis Quaid is a former Legionnaire who has become a mercenary for the Serbian militia. Before joining the French Foreign Legion, he was Joshua Rose and an U.S. Marine on embassy duty in Paris. His wife and son are killed in a cafe bombing by an Islamic terrorist. In a fit of revenge he storms into a mosque and shoots worshippers. In order to avoid arrest he joins the Foreign Legion. He soons tire of the boredom of peacekeeping and leave the Legion to become a mercenary.
Snoopy, from the Peanuts comic strip, often imagines himself as a member of the Foreign Legion, usually defending or reclaiming Fort Zinderneuf.
In a French sci-fi comic Aquablue, the hero, Neo, must defend himself and his people against the Légion, an Earth Special Force which has exactly the same uniform as the Légion Étrangere.
The indie-rock band The Decemberists wrote a song called The Legionnaire's Lament about a homesick legionnaire during the first world war.
Frank Sinatra performed a song called "French Foreign Legion" about joining up if a girl doesn't marry him.
In the manga and anime, Area 88 the protagonist, Shin Kazama, was tricked while intoxicated into joining the French Foreign Legion to serve in a mercenary airforce in the fictional Asran Kingdom of North Africa. The office that handled his contracts was located in Paris, France.

- 1er régiment étranger (1er RE) stationné a Aubagne (800 hommes) - 1. regimenta stranaca (zadužena za selekciju i mali dio obuke)

- 4e régiment étranger (4e RE) Régiment de formation stationné a Castelnaudary (570 hommes plus stagiaires) - 4. regimante stranaca (zadužena za temeljnu obuku.)

- 2e régiment étranger de parachutistes (2e REP) stationné a Calvi (Corse) (1234 hommes) - 2. padobranska regimenta stranaca

- 1er régiment étranger de cavalerie (1er REC) stationné a Orange (950 hommes) - 1. oklopna regimenta stranaca

- 1er régiment étranger de génie (1er REG) stationné a Laudun (1000 hommes) - 1. inžinjerijska regimenta stranaca

- 2e régiment étranger de génie (2e REG) stationné a Saint-Christol (870 hommes) - 2. inžinjerijska regimenta stranaca

- 2e régiment étranger d’infanterie (2e REI) stationné a Nîmes (1300 hommes) - 2. pješačka regimenta stranaca

- 3e régiment étranger d’infanterie (3e REI) Stationné a Kourou (Guyane) (250 hommes Légion et 380 tournants). Il est l'héritier du Régiment de marche de la Légion étrangere - 3. pješačka regimenta stranaca (stacionirana u Francuskoj Gvajani, štiti europsku stanicu za svemirska istraživanja, ujedno i prekida lance krijumičarenja.)

- 13e demi-brigade de Légion étrangere (13e DBLE) stationné a Djibouti (740 hommes dont 580 Légion) 13.polu-brigada Legije stranaca (stacionirana u Djibouti-u, pozvana od strane njihovih vlasti da štiti granice i spriječi terorizam)

- Détachement de Légion étrangere de Mayotte (DLEM) stationné a Dzaoudzi (240 hommes) - (jedinica koju čini mali broj većinom starijih Legionara koji su raspoređeni ovu jedinicu zbog jedne vrste poštede)

Ovdje dolje je naveden primjer plaća u pojedinima regimentama Legije stranaca, koje naravno ovise i o činu, a i o tome da li ste na teritoriju Francuske ili u prekomorskim zemljama.

Examples of wages (per month)

1° RE – AUBAGNE
Legionnaire – 10 months – 1033 €
Legionnaire 1°cl – 03 years – 1037 €
Corporal – 03 years – 1055 €
Senior corporal – 10 years – 1224 €
Sergeant – 07 years – 1285 €
Staff sergeant – 10 years – 1556 €
Adjudant – 17 years – 1752 €
Regimental sergeant major – 21 years – 1904 €

2° REP – CALVI (CORSICA)*
Legionnaire – 10 months – 1289 €
Legionnaire 1°cl – 03 years – 1293 €
Corporal – 03 years – 1311 €
Senior corporal – 10 years – 1494 €
Sergeant – 07 years – 1494 €
Staff sergeant – 10 years – 1779 €
Adjudant – 17 years – 1992 €
Regimental sergeant major – 21 years – 2154 €

3° REI – FRENCH GUYANA**
Legionnaire – 10 months – 1306 €
Legionnaire 1°cl – 03 years – 1311 €
Corporal – 03 years – 1334 €
Senior corporal – 10 years – 1570 €
Sergeant – 07 years – 1570 €
Staff sergeant – 10 years – 1884 €
Adjudant – 17 years – 2122 €
Regimental sergeant major – 21 years – 2306 €

13° DBLE – DJIBUTI***
Legionnaire – 10 months – 3968 €
Legionnaire 1°cl – 03 years – 3972 €
Corporal – 03 years – 3988 €
Senior corporal – 10 years – 4354 €
Sergeant – 07 years – 4354 €
Staff sergeant – 10 years – 4587 €
Adjudant – 17 years – 5188 €
Regimental sergeant major – 21 years – 5318 €


* Parachute bonus
** Overseas allowance (French territories)
*** Overseas allowance (abroad)

Na ovoj slici možete vidjeti gdje je raspoređena pojedina regimenta.

AUBAGNE
Quartier Viénot BP 38
13 998 MARSEILLE ARMEE
TEL : (33) 04 42 18 12 57



Dakle, ovo je karta Aubagne-a sa putokazom kako doći do ureda Legije stranaca. U ovom centru se ujedno obavljaju svi pregledi i testiranja, bez obzira gdje se prijavite i ako prođete "predselekciju" ovdje će te završiti. Naravno, možete se i ovdje prijaviti.

Što ponijeti sa sobom?
Sve što donesete sa sobom biti će Vam oduzeto, dok se ne utvrdi da li ste sposobni za Legiju i da li ste njima potrebni. Jedine stvari koje možete ostaviti sa sobom su: toaletni papir, pribor za brijanje, sat, donje rublje, čarape, francuski riječnik. Nije preporučljivo nositi neku skupu odjeću, jer ako Vas ne prime, na nju možete zaboraviti.

Uvjeti za prijem?
- min. 17 - max. 40 godina (za maloljetnike je nužna suglasnost roditelja ili zakonskog staratelja ovjerena od nadlezne institucije)
- valjan identifikacijski dokument - putovnica
- potrebnu psihofizičku sposobnost za bilo kakve uvjete života i rada
- znanje francuskog jezika nije uvjet
- bez obzira na bračno stanje, Legija stranaca smatra da je kandidat neoženjen u trenutku pristupanja

Gdje da se prijavim?
Paris
FORT DE NOGENT
94120 FONTENAY SOUS BOIS
TEL (33) 01 49 74 50 65

LILLE
Rue Princesse
59 998 LILLE ARMEE
TEL : (33) 03 28 36 08 72

NANTES
Quartier Desgrées du Lou
110, rue Gambetta
44 998 NANTES ARMEES
TEL (33) 02 40 74 39 32

STRASBOURG
Quartier Lecourbe
1, rue d'Ostende
67 000 STRASBOURG
TEL : (33) 03 88 61 53 33

AUBAGNE
Quartier Viénot BP 38
13 998 MARSEILLE ARMEE
TEL : (33) 04 42 18 12 57

BORDEAUX
260, rue Pelleport
33800 BORDEAUX
TEL (33) 05 56 92 99 64

LYON
Quartier Général Frčre
69998 LYON ARMEES
TEL (33) 04 37 27 26 50

MARSEILLE
La Malmousque
Chemin du Génie
MARSEILLE 13007
TEL (33) 04 91 31 85 10

NICE
Caserne Filley rue Sincaire
06 300 NICE
TEL (33) 04 93 80 59 06

PERPIGNAN
Caserne Joffre rue Jean Vielledent BP 917
66 020 PERPIGNAN
TEL (33) 04 68 35 05 38

TOULOUSE
Caserne Pérignon, avenue Camille Pujol BP 22
31 998 TOULOUSE ARMEES
TEL (33) 05 61 54 21 95



Znanje francuskog jezika?
Nije potrebno znati francuski jezik. On se uči tokom obuke, ali ukoliko naučis dovoljno francuskog za komunikaciju prije odlaska, puno će ti pomoći u obuci, i mogućnosti za napredovanje.

Kako izgleda selekcija nakon dolaska u centar za novačenje?
Prva tri tjedna Legija će nad Vama obaviti niz testiranja i provjera, nakon kojih će odlučiti da li ste "sirovina" pogodna za daljnju obradu ili ne. U toj fazi bit cete podvrgnuti:

- testiranju zdravlja
- testiranju psihičkog stanja i stabilnosti
- testiranju fizičke snage i izdržljivosti
- sigurnosnoj provjeri
- dva razgovora (intervjua) - testiranje zdravstvenog stanja podrazumijeva kompletan zdravstveni pregled (strukura kostiju, gipkost, očni pregled, sluh, analiza krvi i urina itd.)
- testiranje psihičkog zdravlja odvija se putem dva testa od kojih i test inteligencije
- sigurnosnu provjeru provodi Beaureau Des Statistiques de la Legion Etrangere – BSLE, popularno zvan GESTAPO. Taj odjel Legije će vas podvrgnuti čitavom nizu pitanja o vašem životu prije, o prijateljima, školi, motivima stupanja u Legiju, prijestupima ili eventualno kriminalnoj prošlosti. Taj odjel je iznenađujuće dobro informiran i zbog toga se muljanje ne isplati, pogotovo ako niste dobar muljator.
- intervju (dva intervjua) se odvijaju najčešće s caporal-chefom (prvi) i majorom (drugi). Pitati će vas o vašim motivim pridruživanja Legiji.
- testiranje fizičke snage i izdržljivosti se sastoji u sklekovima, trbusnjacima, čučnjevima i trčanju. Od kandidata se ocekuje bar trideset sklekova i po pedeset čučnjeva i trbušnjaka. Trebate u 12 minuta pretrcati 2800 metara ili više.

Sadašnji Cooperov test je nedavno zamjenjen sa Luc Legerovim testom (zovu ga i Beep test).

Više info na:
http://www.brianmac.demon.co.uk/beep.htm
[LINK=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sportacademy/bsp/hi/in_the_gym/html/default.stm
[LINK=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sportacademy/bsp/hi/in_the_gym/html/default.stm
http://www.defence.gov.au/army/1_19RNSWR/fitness.htm
http://www.topendsports.com/testing/beephome.htm

Beep test?
Ovaj test određjuje maksimalnu aerobnu izdržljivost kandidata. Test je razvio Leger 1982. god. Sve što trebamo za test je CD ili audio kazeta sa snimkom beep testa, CD player ili kazetofon i dva čunja u razmaku od 20 metara. U testu se trči izmedu dvije linije (čunja) u razmaku od 20 metara. Test se primjenjuje na zatvorenom prostoru i brzina kandidata u testu je određena intervalima zvučnih signala na CD-u ili kazeti. Početna brzina kandidata je 8 km/h i brzina se povećava tako što se smanjuje interval izmedu zvučnih signala. To se zove slijedeća razina i on završava sa istekom jedne minute.

Kandidati koji izvode test trebaju kaskati u mjestu ako dođu do linije prije zvučnog signala (ne brže ili sporije). Rezultati se izražavaju u razinama (stage) i moze se uzeti u obzir i 1/2 razine.

Test završava kada je kandidat udaljen od linije dalje od 3 metra u dva jednaka zvučna signala.

Vrlo je važno da su CD ili kazeta ispravni, tj. da daju signale u pravilnim razmacima. To se treba provjeriti mjereći 1 minutu na početku kazete ili CD-a.

Gdje mogu naci zvučni signal za Beep test?
http://www.defence.gov.au/army/1_19RNSWR/1_19_Fitness/b-test.mp3


Prosječna dob kandidata za Legiju?
Prosječna starost kandidata za Legiju je 23 godine, ali nije iznimka i da "stariji momci" od 38-39 godina uđu u Legiju bez ikakvih problema.

Koji činovi postoje u Legiji stranaca (francuskoj vojsci)?
http://www.armyrecognition.com/europe/France/Uniformes_insignes/Grades/Grades_Terre_France_diaporama.htm

Koja se puška koristi u Legiji?
FAMAS (Fusil d'Assaut de la Manufacture d'Armes de St-Etienne), kalibra 5.56mm NATO (.223rem), težina 3.61 kg (bez spremnika), 25 metaka u spremniku.
http://world.guns.ru/assault/as21-e.htm

Koje dokumente da ponesem sa sobom?
Putovnicu, vozačku dozvolu, diplomu završene skole, fakulteta, tečaja, potvrda o odsluženom vojnom roku (ukoliko si služio, nije potreban odslužen vojni rok, potvrda treba radi dokaza da nisi dezertirao iz svoje vojske) i svaki drugi papir koji moze potvrditi tvoju kvalifikaciju u nečemu što bi Legija mogla iskoristiti.

Mogu li se prijaviti ako imam dosje u policiji?
Legija moze prijeći preko sitnih krađa i kriminala. Ubojstva i silovanja nisu tolerirana. Ukoliko imate dosje u policiji - nemojte lagati, jer će oni saznati za to!

Da li postoji godišnji odmor u Legiji?
Da. Prve godine on iznosi 20 dana, druge godine 35 dana, treće godine 45 dana... godišnji odmor se može koristiti SAMO na području Francuske. Odlazak u drugu zemlju tijekom godišnjeg odmora je zabranjen, osim ako imate posebno odobrenje.

Kolika visina je potreba za Legiju.
Nije važna Vaša visina.

Što ako imam naočale?
Legija Vas može primiti, ali isto tako to može biti razlog da budete odbijeni. Ukoliko nosite leće, ponesite i naočale sa sobom.

Što ako imam ravna stopala?
U zavisnosti koliko moze utjecati na Vas tijekom obuke, i da li ste podložni povredama stopala pod velikim pritiskom. Može biti razlog za odbijanje.

Što ako imam seksualno prenosivu bolest?
Nećete biti primljeni.

Što ako imam tetovažu na tijelu?
Možete biti primljeni. Legija će pregledati sve Vase tetovaže i slikati ih. Ukoliko tetovaže imaju nacionalni, rasistički karakter koji moze smetati drugim legionarima biti će te odbijeni.

Što ako imam pokvarene zube?
Svi zubi moraju biti popravljeni i ne smije biti karijesa. Minimalno trebate imati 75% zubiju.

Da li je život u opasnosti tamo?
Zavisi u koju regimentu odeš i gdje će biti raspoređena ta regimenta. Da, život ti moze biti u opasnosti.

Koliko su šanse da te prime?
Neki kažu da bude primljen jedan od deset, ali prema nekim novijim infomacijama jedan od dvadeset. Ljudi se šalju kući zbog malih stvari. Pokvareni zubi, prijašnje operacije (pogotovo koljena, nogu...), teški lomovi, fizički nedostatci, slab vid (nije obavezno, neki se prime i sa naočalama), bolesti tipa bronhitisa.

Iako postoje brojne, često pogrešne, predrasude o ovoj elitnoj jedinici, Legija stranca (Legion Etrangere) je sastavni dio Francuske vojske i predstavlja najobičniju profesionalnu borbenu jedinicu koja koristi istu opremu i naoružanje, te sudjeluje u istim misijama kao i ostale jedinice Francuske vojske. Jedina razlika u odnosu na ostale formacije je ta da su njeni pripadnici stranci, ili točnije rečeno, dobrovoljci svih nacionalnosti, rasa i vjerskih uvjerenja, ali ipak odani cilju služenja interesa Francuske, bilo gde u Svijetu.

Povijest i tradicija
Francusku legiju stranaca osnovao je francuski kralj Luj Filip, 10. Ožujka 1831. godine sastavljenu od dobrovoljaca starih od 18 do 40 godina (tako je i sada), koja je odmah poslana u misiju osvajanja Alžira. Ova misija, kao i sama jedinica je trajala sve do 1835. godine, kada je Aližir pao u ruke Španjolaca. Nakon toga, jedinica u ovom obliku je ponovo formirana, te stjecala brojna borbena iskustva; Alžir (1855.), Italija (1859.) i Meksiko (1863.) gdje se odigrala jedna od najimpozantnijih bitaka koje je vodila Legija stranaca. Naime, 30. Travnja 1863. na hacijendi "Camerone" pokraj grada Puebla , 3 časnika i 62 legionara pružila su otpor daleko nadmoćnijim meksikancima (oko 2000 vojnika). Nakon cijelog jednog dana žestokih okršaja poslljednjih 5 preživjelih legionara postavilo je bajonete na svoje puške i krenulo u juriš.
Od tada, naziv ove bitke ponosno nosi svaka legionarska zastava, simbolizujući borbu "do poslednjeg čovjeka". Od tih prvih dana, pa sve do danas, jedinica je prošla brojna ratišta i bitke čuvajući interese Francuske republike. U nastavku dajemo vam kronološki pregled nekih od najbitnijih borbenih aktivnosti:
1914. I. sv. rat, legija borbeno angažirana u Francuskoj
1939.-1945. II sv. rat, borbeno angažiranje u Norveškoj, Libiji, Tunisu, Italiji i Njemačkoj
1945. početak rata u Indokini (bitke kod Phu Tong Hoa i Dien Bien Phu-a)
1954. povratak u Alžir, kao sigurnosne snage stalno prisutne sve do 1962.
1962.-danas.: nakon napuštanja Alžira, regimente su razmeštene u Džibuti, Madagaskar, Tahiti i Francusku Gvajanu
1969.-1970. dve regimente angažovane u operacijama u Čadu
1978. oslobađanje nekoliko stotina Europljana od sigurne smrti u Zairu
Danas - angažiranje u mirovnim misijama širom Svijeta
Od svojih početaka pa sve do danas, svi pripadnici Legije (od Generala do vojnika) odani su samo jednoj - da služe Francuskoj profesionalno i dobro. Tradicija ove jedinice izražava se kroz više aspekata: posebne uniforme, posebne pjesme i koračnice, izdvojene nastupe na paradama i posebne ceremonije svojstvene samo Legiji. Svečana uniforma je bijela sa svečanom bijelom „Kepi“ kapom. Boje legije su crvena i zelena, a preuzete su od Švicarske garde koja je bila u službi francuskog Kralja.

Život u legiji stranaca
Uvjeti za prijem u jedinicu su vrlo jednostavni i jasni, morate imati između 17 i 40 godina života, morate imati neki od važećih identifikacijskih dokumenata, te morate biti fizički u dobroj kondiciji kako bi mogli da izdržite buduće napore. Francuski jezik, koji je službeni jezik Legije, se uči tokom faze privikavanja, a gotovo svi pripadnici jedinice nakon prve godine potpuno ovladaju jezikom.
Prijem potencijalnih novaka vrši se u 16 centara za novačenje koje se nalaze širom francuske. U ovim centrima za novačenje vrše se prve provjere i testiranja, prvenstveno medicinske prirode. Nakon ovih pregleda, novaci se šalju u centar Aubagne (15 km istočno od Marseja), gde se nalazi glavni stožer i zapovijedništvo Legije stranca. U ovom centru novaci se podvrgavaju raznoraznim testovima, ispitivanjima i intervjuima, koji traju oko tri tjedna. Ukoliko zadovolje sve postavljene uvjete, potpisivanjem petogodišnjeg ugovora novaci postaju i zvanično legionari.
Mnogo više o samom procesu prijema i uopće o životu i radu u Legiji stranaca možete pronaći na adresi http://www.foreignlegionlife.com, i to iz prve ruke, a kuriozitet predstavlja i primjer pravog ugovora koji potpisuju legionari (sa prijevodom na engleski jezik).
Nakon potpisivanja ugovora, iz centra Aubagne, legionari se šalju na osnovnu obuku u glavni trening centar Castelnaudary, 50km od Toulousa. Ovdje se vrši osnovna obuka koje se sastoji: u stjecanju snage i izdržljivosti, ovladavanju rukovanjem raznim vrstama oružja, preživljavanju u terenskim uvjetima, učenju posebne koračnice i sl. Non-stop tokom ove faze obuke vrše se i testiranja fizičke snage, a neka od njih su: 8 km marširanja sa ruksakom težine 12 kg koje mora da se završi za 1 sat, trčanje 12 minuta (sve iznad pretrčanih 2800m je dobar rezultat), penjanje uz uže bez korištenja nogu, trčanje sa vrećom pijeska teškim 40 kg u roku od 20 sekundi i sl. Kod ovih testova nema palih, odnosno bez obzira da li novaci mogu da zadovolje postavljene kriterije ili ne, nakon osnovne obuke nastavit će treninge u svojim borbenim regimentama. Nakon završene osnovne obuke legionari se raspoređuju u neku od 11 jedinica Legije stranaca.

Obuka
Svaki legoinar bez obzira u koju regimentu je raspoređen prolazi kroz razne vrste borbene obuke. U dvije padobranske regimente, osnovnu specijalističku obuku predstavlja padobranski tečaj koji traje 3 - 5 tjedana. Za tih par tjedana, obavezno se obavi najmanje 6 skokova, nakon kojih legionari dobijaju svoja "krila" (padobransku značku).
Svaki od legionara tokom svoje karijere mora proći najmanje jedan specijalistički "commando" tečaj (trajanje 3 tjedna) koji se održava u nekoliko centara širom Francuske. Ovu obuku sačinjavaju slijedeće vještine: obuka u penjanju, postavljanje zamki i eksploziva, ručne tehnike borbe, metode borbi u gradskim područjima, veslanje, plivanje u moru bez prsluka sa borbenim rancem i puškom...

Naoružanje

FAMAS
Osnovno legionarsko naoružanje predstavlja automatska puška FAMAS kalibra 5.56 mm (Fusil Automatique Manufacture d'Armes de St Etienne), dizajnirana početkom 80-tih, te načinjena od plastike i fiberglasa. Vrlo je slična engleskoj automatskoj pušci, s tim što je dosta lakša i prepoznatljiva je po dugačkom rukohvatu za lakše nošenje. Puška je sposobna za pojedinačnu paljbu, kratki rafal od 3 metka, te kontinuirani rafal, a izbacivanje čahura može se podesiti i na lijevu i na desnu stranu. Također, može ispaljivati ručne granate i anti-tenkovske projektile od 500 grama. Slično pušci M-16, vrlo je osetljiva na prašinu, pijesak i druge nečistoće, pa zahteva odgovarajući tretman.

Snajperska puška FR F-2
Sastavljena od modernih kompozitnih materijala, zamijenila je staru FRF pušku. Ovo je snajperska puška kalibra 7.5 mm, osnovnog dometa 600 metara, koji se dodavanjem bipod oslonca može dodatno uvećati. Oružje je opremljeno teleskopskim ciljnikom za dnevnu svijetlost, a može se dodati i noćni ciljnik za upotrebu u mraku.

89mm LRAC
Ručni raketni bacač LRAC 89 težak 8kg djeluje na daljinama od 100 do 600 metara, a poslužuju ga dva borca. Projektil koji lansira ovaj bacač sposoban je da probije 40mm čelični oklop na daljini od 300 metara. U Legiji se također koristi i verzija kalibra 120 mm koja može da probije bilo koji oklop, na manjim udaljenostima.

Zanimljivosti
Svaki legionar ima pravo na godišnji odmor u trajanju od 15 dana (u prvoj godini ugovora), dok je taj odmor čitavih 45 dana u petoj godini ugovornog perioda. Tokom odmora legionari ne smiju napuštati teritoriju Francuske i moraju da se javljaju svojoj jedinici.
Plaće u legiji su strogo definirane i nisu nikakva tajna. svaki legionar uvijek znak koliko je zaradio i koliko može da očekuje. Plaća se isplaćuje jednom mjesečno i to u gotovini, dok je zabranjeno otvaranje bilo kakvog tekućeg ili sličnog bankovnog računa. Ukoliko to želi, pripadnik ove jedinice može da dobije bankovni račun o kome se brine sama jedinica. Mjesečna primanja se kreću od 975 eura za običnog legionara, i idu do 1372 eura za legionara u činu caporala. Visina plaće ovisi i od jedinice, odnosno regimente u kojoj legionar služi, kao i od borbenog djelovanja. U slučaju da je njegova regimenta angažirana u nekom borbenom okruženju, plaća mu se može i udvostručiti.
Jedan od najvećih problema, sa kojim se inače suočavaju i druge vojne jedinice u svijetu, je problem dezertiranja. Ovaj problem je posebno izražen u Legiji stranaca u kojoj godišnje dezertira oko stotinu vojnika.
Nakon najmanje tri godine odanog služenja Francuskoj, svaki legionar može da zatraži dobijanje francuskog državljanstva.

Legionarska očekivanja
Prije svega, svaki legionar je dobrovoljac, koji se svojevoljno priključuje ovoj vojnoj jedinici, prihvaćajući sve obaveze i rizike. Najčešće u legiju pristižu ljudi koji na neki način bježe od svoje prošlosti. Generalno, novaci se priključuju jedinici najčešće zbog osobnih ili obiteljskih kriza, ili zbog neprilagođavanja socijalnim ili političkim promijenama u njihovim rodnim državama. Upravo u prilog ove konstatacije idu masovna kandidiranja dobrovoljaca iz Španjolske (nakon građanskog rata 1939.), zatim novaka iz istočne Europe nakon 1945. godine, te sa prostora bivše Jugoslavije - početkom rata 90-tih godina prošlog stoljeća. Iz drugih područja Svijeta, u Legiju stranaca uglavnom dolaze ljudi iz srednje klase koji su nezadovoljni svojim životima i koji u Legiji traže avanturizam.
U budućnosti Legija stranaca će biti sve manje angažirana u borbenim misijama, prije svega zbog smanjenja kolonijalnih aspiracija Francuske (koje vjerovatno nikada neće biti ugašene), a sve više u mirovnim operacijama širom planete.