skb12172 wrote:The younger brother of a guy I work with apparently did this. Supposedly, after one 5 year term you earn the right to live in France as a citizen. Also, after 3 consecutive 5 year terms, you earn a retirement pension. I wonder why you don't hear more about people joining up. I mean, it's not for me, but especially in this recession, you would think they would have an abundance of takers. Comments?
Flirted with the notion back in about '87. I went as far as taking an extended leave from HM Forces and nipping over to a place just outside Paris. Back then, you could get a 1 year passport, and being as this was the only other form of photo ID I had, I had hidden my HM Forces ID in my shoe. I ended up knocking on the gate of a big fort at the very end of the Paris metro line.
Having been searched, questioned, searched again, and questioned and yet even more searching, my Forces ID was found and I was told to piss off back to Blighty, leave HM Forces, and come back if I still wanted to be in the legion. So I headed back to my unit, tail between my legs to face the music (and do a few weeks on punishment detail for being AWOL(ish)).
Why did I go? Because I was fucking bored. I was a well trained soldier with seemingly then no chance of action. Being a cold war warrior was soul destroying, which is why I dug working in Ireland so much.
Am I glad I didn't make it? Yup, dam right I am. When I went, a mate of mine came too. He was a Para, and unknown to me was actaully on the run for an attempted rape. So when I was told to go away by the legion, he was also told to go too (guilt by association). I went to Blighty, he couldn't so headed to Meseille, to join 2ReP. He made it in, ended up even more bored, being fucked about even more, so yup, he and a bunch of guys legged it to be mercenaries in the Balkans. There was a British contingent fighting there, and he did well. He fought in a few sieges, saw too much action, ended up be given citizenship of whatever shithole he was fighting in, and became a cop there. And he went mad. Ended up back in the UK, doing time for his crime, and last I saw him, he was arguing with himeself at a bus stop.
So to answer the question in short: Boredom, escape, new life/second chance, adventure.
Cheers- Rusty