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3 weeks till I ship out

dusaboss

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Come on Buffalo (is it alright to shorten your name- I know that you allowed us to call you BuffaloBillCody, but will, no pun intended :D Buffalo be accepted?- anyway, it is rare that you will get much free time. Once you have finished your instruction, you will go to your regiment. From there one of the first and constant things that you will hear is 'forget about what you have learned in Castel'. You will go on continuation training almost immediately.
In the REP, even before you are allowed out into the town, with limited access to the foyer, you will start Jump training and an intense program of getting you fit. Once you are in your company, you will go on the company course or the section course. In between there are company exercises and regimental exercises and vigipirate/sentinelle. Plus you will have to take your driving course, whether you have a license or not, you still have to know the driving code and where to put in the brake liquid.
When you have all that under your belt, you can start looking at other courses, that is if your section isn't being sent on a commando course or you are due to go overseas.

BB Cody is cool, but Buffalo is kinda OK too. :)

Joe do you know how many jumps you had? Did you have any problem with knees or spine? Do you know other paras who had problems after career?
Landing with round, army parachute can be pretty bad to your joints.
 

Joseph Cosgrove

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BB Cody is cool, but Buffalo is kinda OK too. :)

Joe do you know how many jumps you had? Did you have any problem with knees or spine? Do you know other paras who had problems after career?
Landing with round, army parachute can be pretty bad to your joints.
I'm not sure how many, but I do know that I've got more than eighty, which counts as one point on your retirement "and what do points make...?" You have to do at least 7 each year. You are taught to land correctly to spread the impact throughout your body.
It's not just jumping which can do your back and knees in. Running with a rucksack with boots on. The obstacle course, jumping out of trucks etc. all take their toll.
I can't do things that I did when I was twenty, but I'm careful nowadays. When I go to the gym, I don't lift heavy weights and am careful of the movements.
 
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I have been doing martial arts since I was 8 years old and currently am doing Brazilian Jiu jitsu and boxing for the last few years, and am also very into Power lifting. Is there going to be any time to peruse any of these hobbies or am I S.O.L.? There is very little info on these things. Does the schedule you laid out apply into the weekends as well? Or is this a 24/7 365 schedule, no time to my self type of thing? I am ok if it is, I am just trying to know what I am getting myself into.
Thank you,
B.B. Cody
 
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I have been doing martial arts since I was 8 years old and currently am doing Brazilian Jiu jitsu and boxing for the last few years, and am also very into Power lifting. Is there going to be any time to peruse any of these hobbies or am I S.O.L.? There is very little info on these things. Does the schedule you laid out apply into the weekends as well? Or is this a 24/7 365 schedule, no time to my self type of thing? I am ok if it is, I am just trying to know what I am getting myself into.
Thank you,
B.B. Cody

I suspect that on completion of your basic training and once established in a unit you will be encouraged to participate in such activities.(y)
That was the norm in the RM in which I had the honour to serve.
Much better than play stations and video games whatever they are ?:unsure:
 

Joseph Cosgrove

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am I S.O.L.?
BBCody, I'm afraid you are S.O.L. whatever that means:unsure::love:
I think you will find that all the regiments have clubs. There will be boxing clubs, diving clubs, free fall clubs, you name it clubs. A lot of them are after working hours and one afternoon a month and Saturday and Sunday morning clubs. A lot of people on weekends go to the clubs, especially towards the end of the month, I don't know why.:rolleyes: The legion encourages this very much.

In fact if you have never dived before or done, say Judo, you can join one of the clubs and get civilian qualifications.
 
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Mr. Cosgrove,
Thank you for your response. I have my ticket to Paris on December 16th 2018. From everything I have read, the consensus is that i would have the best chance of getting in because of the time of year less people try to go. Hopefully this helps my chances 'cause I know that it will be more of a challenge due to the weather.
As far as being in the top 5 five, from your experience what type of fitness will I be coming up against. I can run 2 miles in 11 minutes 10 seconds, do 50 pull ups straight, 100 push ups, any number of sit ups requested of me. Do you think that these numbers will be sufficient to get myself into the top 5 five?
Thank again,
B.B. Cody.
You're fitness is extremely high. I was a body builder until a few months ago. I've been working my cardio and not lifting. I have dropped 18 pounds in two months. I'm London now waiting for my next flight. Hopefully we are the only 2 Americans
 

Joseph Cosgrove

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All the best Dax. Merry Christmas, if you don't get chance to write again. There's no point in me trying to give you any last minute advice. Just get on with it and again all the best.
As for being the only 2 Americans? :unsure:
At least I hope not.:whistle:
 
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All the best Dax. Merry Christmas, if you don't get chance to write again. There's no point in me trying to give you any last minute advice. Just get on with it and again all the best.
As for being the only 2 Americans? :unsure:
At least I hope not.:whistle:
I have a lay over here 14 hours 🙄 I'll take the last minute advice😁
 

Joseph Cosgrove

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If you go as soon as you arrive in France, make sure that you have had a very good meal at least one hour before knocking on the door. Be shaved, change your shirt and make sure that you have loosened your limbs up.
It may sound dumb, but don't forget that you have gone all that way to impress. Looking like you need a good night's sleep and not shaved isn't going to impress anyone.
However, turning up looking fresh and checking out where the nearest pull up bar is so you can show them how lucky they are to get Dax.McKnight in their ranks, will.
 
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If you go as soon as you arrive in France, make sure that you have had a very good meal at least one hour before knocking on the door. Be shaved, change your shirt and make sure that you have loosened your limbs up.
It may sound dumb, but don't forget that you have gone all that way to impress. Looking like you need a good night's sleep and not shaved isn't going to impress anyone.
However, turning up looking fresh and checking out where the nearest pull up bar is so you can show them how lucky they are to get Dax.McKnight in their ranks, will.

I've been traveling since 5pm on Wednesday. I have a hotel booked for 3 nights so I can show up early Monday morning. From my understanding Monday is the best day to show up yes?
 
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Should I give them my prior US army discharge papers work or Army honor grad, and volunteer fire fighter paperwork? Or should I just go in demonstrating my military baring and let them guess?
 

Joseph Cosgrove

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Dax, a word of advice here. And anyone else who is going to join on a Monday.
First of all it's after a weekend. Alright, you didn't need me to tell you that:rolleyes:. We may be talking hangovers here.
Secondly, Monday morning is the weekly company/regiment run. Why wait in a holding room while everyone is getting their showers and eating their casse croutes?

Monday morning : as from 10:00 onward.

BTW, set your watch to local time. I've read it's a good way of getting over jet lag. When it's 06:00, try and go for a crap. 11:30 go for a beer:) Just joshing. 12:00 eat etc. and the 22:30 night night.
 
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Dax, a word of advice here. And anyone else who is going to join on a Monday.
First of all it's after a weekend. Alright, you didn't need me to tell you that:rolleyes:. We may be talking hangovers here.
Secondly, Monday morning is the weekly company/regiment run. Why wait in a holding room while everyone is getting their showers and eating their casse croutes?

Monday morning : as from 10:00 onward.

BTW, set your watch to local time. I've read it's a good way of getting over jet lag. When it's 06:00, try and go for a crap. 11:30 go for a beer:) Just joshing. 12:00 eat etc. and the 22:30 night night.
And for the second question. Don't be shy
 

ricktn40

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Welcome to the forum BuffaloBillCody, and thanks for allowing us to call you that:). When are you thinking of going? As Papillon says, if you can afford it then go for it. Age isn't on your side, even though there will be others in that same age group, you will have to be in the top 5 during the fitness tests.
The legion is the ideal place to start a new life, but first of all you have to get in.
 

Le petit caporal

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My son has recieved his appointement with the army recrutement office (9 months waiting. .and that's just the first of more to come)
He was giving a list of documents to bring
Amongst, swimming cerificats of various distances (swimming is compulsary in French schools) Me, like a twat, I binned them
He now has to make an appointement with the public swimming pool and get tested by the monitor, who will supply him with the said certificat stamped
Ok, it's not the Legion but for candidats presenting to the Legion. ..bring all proof of your skills and competances
First aid is another good one to have
 

ricktn40

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And for the second question. Don't be shy
Joseph I do not want to discourage the guy.By the way Welcome to the Forum. Buffalo Wild Bill !. I thought so many people are trying to enlist in the Legion that they can hand pick now. When I enlisted. Of course they hate Yanks. But if you did not have any type of drug charge you were in. Has the Legion become more strict on backgrounds. I am all for the guy getting a new life. Now the Gestapo interrogation took about three hours. I guess I screwed up when I said I used to sniff farts out of seat cushions when I was a kid.
 
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My son has recieved his appointement with the army recrutement office (9 months waiting. .and that's just the first of more to come)
He was giving a list of documents to bring
Amongst, swimming cerificats of various distances (swimming is compulsary in French schools) Me, like a twat, I binned them
He now has to make an appointement with the public swimming pool and get tested by the monitor, who will supply him with the said certificat stamped
Ok, it's not the Legion but for candidats presenting to the Legion. ..bring all proof of your skills and competances
First aid is another good one to have
I only have Combat Life Saver (CLS) which is only a 40 hour US Army course, and a civilian cpr cert.
 

Le petit caporal

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You have them with you, if so, that's good
Still not a gaurentee tho
Do 7 pull ups ?
You have to shine better than others
Avoid physical contact with others (hand shaking and crap) It's the flu season and the last thing you want is a Gastro or a cold
 
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