How many years does it take to become a Caporal?

[Perun]

There are a few other incidents regarding deserters I recall being a part of but this one was a little unusual and combines some aspects of several of the more recent posts. In Guyane during Piquemal's time, a Sgt. and some Legionnaires deserted and I was drafted into the PM to help try to find them. I didn't drink much but I broke a number of other rules (like visiting Brazil via St. George..etc..) which one Adjutant knew about having seen me there but didn't say anything..meaning I could be trusted to follow certain rules and trusted to break others. Anyway, there was a small coup d'etat taking place in Suriname, Ronnie Brunswjick and company, and the deserters joined up with them "looking for some action." These were Brits and I think they all wound up dead. The German Sgt. who deserted was found at one of the Island's laying low..but not low enough..and was brought back. One of the punishments which was standard was march canard with a rucksack full of rocks for a few circuits around something or other. Believe me, this is nothing compared to life when the penal colonies were in effect. Remnants of what took place were still visible in the deep jungle as well as on of Devil's Island and the other Isle's de Salut...what a misnomer! Henri Charriere aka Papillon also wrote Banco. Some of the stuff he wrote was fantasy but what he endured was something else. French human nature, Khmer Rouge human nature (note the word Red is in French!!) etc.. people are people and some are just more nasty and evil than others.

I remember seeing your photos from Guyane in the gallery.

 

[Papillon]

Thank you i think i get that. Do not get me wrong i have seen some very bad injuries and deaths in my job, some so called killers would vomit!

Would vomiting not be a sigh of strength and emotions? I once witnessed a medic faint on arrival at a contact the guy that originally vomited put the field dressing on as he soon composed himself, medics and persons engaged in human recovery get hard wired via a different route in a clinical setting yes first responders see a different picture more like guys that have done active duty. Military personnel get hard wired but initial exposure to death via violence ( war) effects us all different till we become more accustomed to it. I’m quite at home with my normal day emotions and feelings and showing them I love life so if that’s a sigh of weakness then I can carry that sack my sack times have always been good, even after a 2x cases of Special Ks one to sit on one to put down the neck and take it from their.

 

[shirly]

Would vomiting not be a sigh of strength and emotions? I once witnessed a medic faint on arrival at a contact the guy that originally vomited put the field dressing on as he soon composed himself, medics and persons engaged in human recovery get hard wired via a different route in a clinical setting yes first responders see a different picture more like guys that have done active duty. Military personnel get hard wired but initial exposure to death via violence ( war) effects us all different till we become more accustomed to it. I’m quite at home with my normal day emotions and feelings and showing them I love life so if that’s a sigh of weakness then I can carry that sack my sack times have always been good, even after a 2x cases of Special Ks one to sit on one to put down the neck and take it from their.

Special Ks? A very insightful post.
Another important aspect to feelings is I have mainly always dealt with strangers but it must be different as a medic dealing with a man who might be your close friend.

 

[shirly]

There are a few other incidents regarding deserters I recall being a part of but this one was a little unusual and combines some aspects of several of the more recent posts. In Guyane during Piquemal's time, a Sgt. and some Legionnaires deserted and I was drafted into the PM to help try to find them. I didn't drink much but I broke a number of other rules (like visiting Brazil via St. George..etc..) which one Adjutant knew about having seen me there but didn't say anything..meaning I could be trusted to follow certain rules and trusted to break others. Anyway, there was a small coup d'etat taking place in Suriname, Ronnie Brunswjick and company, and the deserters joined up with them "looking for some action." These were Brits and I think they all wound up dead. The German Sgt. who deserted was found at one of the Island's laying low..but not low enough..and was brought back. One of the punishments which was standard was march canard with a rucksack full of rocks for a few circuits around something or other. Believe me, this is nothing compared to life when the penal colonies were in effect. Remnants of what took place were still visible in the deep jungle as well as on of Devil's Island and the other Isle's de Salut...what a misnomer! Henri Charriere aka Papillon also wrote Banco. Some of the stuff he wrote was fantasy but what he endured was something else. French human nature, Khmer Rouge human nature (note the word Red is in French!!) etc.. people are people and some are just more nasty and evil than others.

I am guessing they made an example of the Sgt as someone who has rank that deserts is not a good example for the men under his command. Did the Foreign Legion ever show a more compassionate side too? It can´t just be all out punishment.

 

[Papillon]

I am guessing they made an example of the Sgt as someone who has rank that deserts is not a good example for the men under his command. Did the Foreign Legion ever show a more compassionate side too? It can´t just be all out punishment.

Yes their is compassion in the Legion, I have experienced both, you mess up you take it on the chin and life goes on, if your young free and single intrenched in a culture of sun sand vine beer and tourists and brothels it’s odds on some guys are going to mess up just don’t moan about it and try and put the legion down at the core of any good organisation is discipline it’s not a magnet that draws you in its you self propelled asking to join!

 

[shirly]

Yes their is compassion in the Legion, I have experienced both, you mess up you take it on the chin and life goes on, if your young free and single intrenched in a culture of sun sand vine beer and tourists and brothels it’s odds on some guys are going to mess up just don’t moan about it and try and put the legion down at the core of any good organisation is discipline it’s not a magnet that draws you in its you self propelled asking to join!

was the food good in the Foreign Legion? Did you get enough to eat? what is that saying, an army marches on it´s stomach. They must have tried to keep people happy in other ways, not just brothels although i do understand this if you are somewhere remote.

 

[voltigeur]

was the food good in the Foreign Legion? Did you get enough to eat? what is that saying, an army marches on it´s stomach. They must have tried to keep people happy in other ways, not just brothels although i do understand this if you are somewhere remote.

No, not in my time. That is why you see some photos of legion hunting parties. Some of the prey was wild boar, domestic sheep, donkeys, chickens and cows.
There was a rumor in my squadron that the C.O. skimmed off the money supplied for food.
In that time each regiment got an X number of francs per legionnaire and the regiment had to get their own food supplies.
Later in 1962 I was sent to the ECS and became the driver for Captain Hoffman, he was the supply officer of the regiment.
One time we happen to drive past a farmer's potato field, he made me stop, went to the farmer and bought his whole crop of potatoes.

 

[Papillon]

was the food good in the Foreign Legion? Did you get enough to eat? what is that saying, an army marches on it´s stomach. They must have tried to keep people happy in other ways, not just brothels although i do understand this if you are somewhere remote.

I found in training that it was barley enough but got through!

 

[Fabrizio De Gregori]

One time we happen to drive past a farmer's potato field, he made me stop, went to the farmer and bought his whole crop of potatoes.

Wow that's a hell of a grocery stop!

 

[Kronenberg]

Back to the forum Shirly and Kro, give it a rest. Ignore each others posts, or at least refrain from digging at each other

That's no fun Joseph. Need a little bit of blood on the walls at least just for decor purposes

 

[jwaltos]

was the food good in the Foreign Legion? Did you get enough to eat? what is that saying, an army marches on it´s stomach. They must have tried to keep people happy in other ways, not just brothels although i do understand this if you are somewhere remote.

Lol..I was sometimes hungry enough to eat the Gauloise cigarettes but usually gave them away. Castel pif made a decent mulled wine in the mountains. For special occasions like training in the middle of nowhere/somewhere we got the "easy peel" tins with rice and pork or other mix in the tins. During the profonde we had rations in brown plastic for about a week which were high in calories..no cigarettes in these things! When I was in Puerto Rico with a few others during an exchange with the SEAL group there I couldn't believe my eyes when we went for "chow." Great food (not just good!) meats, breads, pastries, juices..etc... and this was for the regular marines. The Legion fare was more about nutrition. I remember the saying ..Legionnaires always looked fit because they were half-starved. That's an exaggeration but very few of us could be accused of over-eating. Yeah..Legion fare for us was mainly for sustenance..it was decent but not more than that...except at Christmas and Camerone when I remember someone bringing me lobster and other goodies when I was Cpl. de Jour and couldn't be at the tables with everyone.
To finish, when I went out on a weekend or week pass (after some extended promenade touristique) to Toulouse/Bordeaux/Paris..I always tried to find some of the best restaurants that I could afford and had some of the best gourmet meals ever.
Just thought I'd add this, I always foraged and always had decent fresh fruit wherever I was when in season..mountain fruit, cactus fruit, coconuts.... I also gave away chocolate. nougat and other things I may have squirreled away for a rainy day to any children I may have encountered. A couple of Afar children in Djibouti were skittish so I placed what I could spare in plain view for them and backed away. They came up and took it when they felt safe enough and I may have seen a smile but couldn't be sure...they were pretty quick.

 

[shirly]

No, not in my time. That is why you see some photos of legion hunting parties. Some of the prey was wild boar, domestic sheep, donkeys, chickens and cows.
There was a rumor in my squadron that the C.O. skimmed off the money supplied for food.
In that time each regiment got an X number of francs per legionnaire and the regiment had to get their own food supplies.
Later in 1962 I was sent to the ECS and became the driver for Captain Hoffman, he was the supply officer of the regiment.
One time we happen to drive past a farmer's potato field, he made me stop, went to the farmer and bought his whole crop of potatoes.

It Sounds like you were lucky to get one hot meal. I am sure they get fed better now otherwise more would run away, also in more recent pictures I have seen more than one well built soldier serving in the Legion.

 

[shirly]

Lol..I was sometimes hungry enough to eat the Gauloise cigarettes but usually gave them away. Castel pif made a decent mulled wine in the mountains. For special occasions like training in the middle of nowhere/somewhere we got the "easy peel" tins with rice and pork or other mix in the tins. During the profonde we had rations in brown plastic for about a week which were high in calories..no cigarettes in these things! When I was in Puerto Rico with a few others during an exchange with the SEAL group there I couldn't believe my eyes when we went for "chow." Great food (not just good!) meats, breads, pastries, juices..etc... and this was for the regular marines. The Legion fare was more about nutrition. I remember the saying ..Legionnaires always looked fit because they were half-starved. That's an exaggeration but very few of us could be accused of over-eating. Yeah..Legion fare for us was mainly for sustenance..it was decent but not more than that...except at Christmas and Camerone when I remember someone bringing me lobster and other goodies when I was Cpl. de Jour and couldn't be at the tables with everyone.
To finish, when I went out on a weekend or week pass (after some extended promenade touristique) to Toulouse/Bordeaux/Paris..I always tried to find some of the best restaurants that I could afford and had some of the best gourmet meals ever.
Just thought I'd add this, I always foraged and always had decent fresh fruit wherever I was when in season..mountain fruit, cactus fruit, coconuts.... I also gave away chocolate. nougat and other things I may have squirreled away for a rainy day to any children I may have encountered. A couple of Afar children in Djibouti were skittish so I placed what I could spare in plain view for them and backed away. They came up and took it when they felt safe enough and I may have seen a smile but couldn't be sure...they were pretty quick.

You sound like a very Kind man. It must have made their day getting chocolate. Well done !

 

[Chas]

You sound like a very Kind man. It must have made their day getting chocolate. Well done !

In my days but not Legion our food was not too bad albeit rationing had just ended. Best food or scran as we called it was in the RAF. On board ship we ate the same food as the matelots. They prepared it and it was not too bad. In the Corps we had our own cooks. They were all commando trained and in a crunch could fight as infantry men. The food was very good in my opinion when I was in the ranks. Army food was very poor both in quality, quantity and preparation. Our RM ration packs 12 men or 24 were not too bad, edible and we often swapped items. I liked babies heads (Steak and Kidney puddings) tinned cheese, biscuits, jam, sardines, boiled sweets and nutty. We also had sugar, tea and coffee sachets

 

[voltigeur]

It Sounds like you were lucky to get one hot meal. I am sure they get fed better now otherwise more would run away, also in more recent pictures I have seen more than one well built soldier serving in the Legion.

We did get hot meals, but they had very little nutritious value.

 

[Papillon]

We did get hot meals, but they had very little nutritious value.

Quite a lot of monthly income was spent on food in the foyer 2x cases of Special K and a cooked chicken under the Kepi, Sorted
Company mass also did a bit of food but tried my best to stay away during the day as they also served alcohol I was never-one to pass on a all day session however hard I tried

 

[Le petit caporal]

We always completed our daily rations with extras, from our own pocket

 

[Papillon]

We always completed our daily rations with extras, from our own pocket

Can you remember your first introduction to when the Legion says it’s time to Celebrate I was gob smacked when I saw the tables full of booze! Any land the Legion own they grow grapes on it, they could turn that land over to food and supplement the diet but Celebrating would be sh$t having a salad and a bread stick!

 

[Gallowglass]

Can you remember your first introduction to when the Legion says it’s time to Celebrate I was gob smacked when I saw the tables full of booze! Any land the Legion own they grow grapes on it, they could turn that land over to food and supplement the diet but Celebrating would be shit having a salad and a bread stick!

Christmas 1991 during basic at Castel. Massive spread of food and booze including lobster for everyone. At one stage I lobbed an orange down the foyer in the hope of a food fight. That went down like a lead balloon with a Cpl from another platoon wanting to punch my lights out. My Sergent Chef intervened but then threatened to do the same as Christmas is such a big deal in the Legion. Point taken! Later on one of my mates was so drunk the same S/C told me to keep and eye on him and if he gets out of hand "fill him in for his own good" Yes sir! Evening ended with a Yank hoovering up all the unopened wine bottles and asking me to stash them in my locker. Good times!

 

[Papillon]

The one thing the Legion can do is put on a good spread and drink for an occasion or celebration and by god occasions and celebrations can be for all manner of reasons, Long live the traditions of the Legion I say as I always found I did less jail time if it was an official piss up that I messed up at, than just messing up down the town!