New Documentary "La face cachée de la légion"

[CanadianFFL]

Interesting documentary I had never seen before. I don't like the beginning very much, because they interview two guys, one who broke legion rules and bought himself a car and an apartment, and the other a deserter complaining about not being able to acces the money he made in the Legion after deserting. However, near the end of the documentary, they interview a former legionnaire from 2REP, who was shot in the balls by his Sergent for failing to respond to an order. This part is pretty shocking and I feel really bad for the legionnaire because it ruined his career, and he can't have sex without intense pain for 24 hours afterwards.

[video=youtube;OpRkZXLzwv4]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OpRkZXLzwv4&list=PLBB71F028E8EDC02B&index=1[/video]

(Check 34:14 for Legionnaire shot in the balls by Sergent)

I don't know if this documentary is 100% credible, but I think it's good to see both sides of the story, not just the documentaries that make the Legion seem like it's all sunshine and rainbows.

 

[Ground Pounder]

I always wondered what they were talking about in this documentary.

 

[Rapace]

(...) I don't know if this documentary is 100% credible, but I think it's good to see both sides of the story, not just the documentaries that make the Legion seem like it's all sunshine and rainbows.

This story about a legionnaire being shot... where it hurts most is true. It was of course done with a blank cartridge, not a live one. The culprit sort of ‘blew up a fuse’ and was badly punished. I think he was even kicked out of the Legion (not sure). Anyway, you're perfectly right, the Legion – like any organisation – has its ‘dark side’ (face cachée).

 

[sdelapresilla]

Documentary is amazing... Unbelievable story.

 

[mulgarat]

Browsing for videos and found this one, though the link appears broken the story mentioned above reminds us of something that happened in the 13eme around 86'. One of the Caporals in the Sniper Section woke up with a fire-mans axe embedded into his groin. One of the lads came in drunk, realised he hated the caporal. Grabbed a firemans axe from outside, went in and bought it down onto the Caporal's groin while he slept. Screaming, blood everywhere.
Then there was the fellow in the 2REP who crushed a testicle in a jump and at the hospital they decided to amputate and cut the wrong one off. The Legionnaire, a Brit went and found the Medecin-Chef responsible and beat him badly.
Scorpions placed in bivvie bags.... An Austrian Sergeant who got beaten to a pulp and had his ear bitten off by a Scot Legionnaire over an insult relating to Scottish pride and Bagpipes.
Definitely not " Les Enfants du coeur"....Sometimes Legionnaires bite back. Have no doubt fragging would have happened had war broken out.

 

[maim]

First story sounds familiar.

 

[mulgarat]

First story sounds familiar.

Weren't they both Brits? Might of been a personal dispute. Seems a bit shocking now but at the time it was "Yeah, so remember to sleep with one eye open, no big deal".
The one involving Gus and that Austrian Bayard was a classic. Afterwards a posse of Sergeants ambushed Gus and put in him hospital but they all got in the shit because they had hurt the CO's piper!

 

[Jefferson'86]

My old mate Dean put a tanker bar through my cheek and knocked out a tooth one night in the Picket Intervention bunker at Oueah that year. I was asleep when he hit me, which was de rigour for Escadron revenge attacks.

I jumped out of my rack and felt his second swing go just under my chin. He cocked back for a third go and Vallee' held the bar preventing him from having a third chop. I stepped into him and hit him in the face with a helmut and then we tore each other up a bit. We both drew consigne'.

Marty, I seem to remember Gal sticking you in the side with an opinel out in Ali Sabieh one night in '85 or 86... He ended up digging a large hole and then moving it around the camp.

Hansen and I golfed a few boo boos out of the back of the poubel simca with axe handles my first week there. One of my went off the cliff like a coyote vs roadrunner cartoon. He was royally phucked up.

Jewiss threw Detman off the roof of the two story barracks block for thieving from some guys on terrain, the day I arrived at Oueah. A/C Glaziou gave Detman 14 days for being a thief and Jewiss 5 days for littering...

Parkinson and Powells never came back from Djib City without scuffed knuckles.

Nobody batted eyelids at any of this in those days. One tough and crazy Regiment.

 

[Pimenta]

That's the whole documentary? It has a abrupt end, so I don't know if it's the whole thing or not.
https://youtu.be/5lQUXtIg65I


I also found this one while looking at the videos of the channel.
https://youtu.be/pl0h69se5ZQ

 

[loustic]

This story about a legionnaire being shot... where it hurts most is true. It was of course done with a blank cartridge, not a live one. The culprit sort of ‘blew up a fuse’ and was badly punished. I think he was even kicked out of the Legion (not sure). Anyway, you're perfectly right, the Legion – like any organisation – has its ‘dark side’ (face cachée).

The story is true but the culprit was only punished by the legion : 20 days “de tauleâ€￾ but he got another contract. The Legion also tried to negate the whole story and created all kind of problems for the wounded legionnaire when he wanted to complain. Finally, the case went to court (civilian court according to French law) and the culprit was sent to jail (real jail) for 4 years. He appealed this sentence and the higher court gave him a much lighter sentence. The wounded comrade ended badly and miserably his life and finally became even a thief for lack of funds. This shocking story is a very rare case of the Legion not taking care of one her legionnaires in order to hide the crime (I chose this word purposely) committed by a slightly higher ranking legionnaire : the culprit was sergeant leading a stage caporal where the wounded comrade was a trainee.
I know the story because it happened in 2 REP and I am not proud of these facts associated to my former regiment.

 

[Martin Scott]

My old mate Dean put a tanker bar through my cheek and knocked out a tooth one night in the Picket Intervention bunker at Oueah that year. I was asleep when he hit me, which was de rigour for Escadron revenge attacks.

I jumped out of my rack and felt his second swing go just under my chin. He cocked back for a third go and Vallee' held the bar preventing him from having a third chop. I stepped into him and hit him in the face with a helmut and then we tore each other up a bit. We both drew consigne'.

Marty, I seem to remember Gal sticking you in the side with an opinel out in Ali Sabieh one night in '85 or 86... He ended up digging a large hole and then moving it around the camp.

Hansen and I golfed a few boo boos out of the back of the poubel simca with axe handles my first week there. One of my went off the cliff like a coyote vs roadrunner cartoon. He was royally phucked up.

Jewiss threw Detman off the roof of the two story barracks block for thieving from some guys on terrain, the day I arrived at Oueah. A/C Glaziou gave Detman 14 days for being a thief and Jewiss 5 days for littering...

Parkinson and Powells never came back from Djib City without scuffed knuckles.

Nobody batted eyelids at any of this in those days. One tough and crazy Regiment.

You didnt have all the fun some right charlies got theres in Orange on more than one occassion.

 

[maim]

Yup Gallacher shivved me during siesta on a stage sniper after a particularly boozy midday session. I was trying to crack him with a piquet. Didn't realise until Charlie Roberts mentioned that my towel was getting wet and red.

The fire axe attack after an altercation in town when a particularly agrieved scot from 3 3 13 waited until another certain person had gone to bed. On the wall at the end of the block were the fire tools, the fire axe was removed and the pointy bit was duly driven into the poor unfortunates thigh. No lights, missed his balls.

 

[mulgarat]

One tough and crazy Regiment.

Thanks for the memories fellas.
No wonder it was called the "Screaming Mad 13 and a 'alf Ivrognes Brigade".
Marty did you manage to get a T-Shirt before Adj Bailey had to put them to the torch after that big night out with the Royal Marines?

 

[maim]

I did, don't have it any more sadly, around the time we were admonished by the Colonel for chanting kill kill kill while thumping our riot shields with pick axe helves during anti riot training out the back of our block! PC was always there, for twats in ivory towers.

 

[Pimenta]

Still looking the channel playlist, found this one about the 2rep

https://youtu.be/ryLAeuyqZ1I

 

[Martin Scott]

Weren't they both Brits? Might of been a personal dispute. Seems a bit shocking now but at the time it was "Yeah, so remember to sleep with one eye open, no big deal".
The one involving Gus and that Austrian Bayard was a classic. Afterwards a posse of Sergeants ambushed Gus and put in him hospital but they all got in the shit because they had hurt the CO's piper!

We heard that in Orange,

 

[maim]

And then Gus slashed his pipes to bits, go figure

 

[Joseph Cosgrove]

I don't know if this video has been posted before on here but it shows the REP and others in Mali. Sorry if it has. It's in French but for those who are going to join, you will be watching films and documentaries about the legion in French whilst waiting for interviews etc. And for those who watch this ,"Deuxième REP" shouldn't be so hard to understand.
One point worth noting is the fact that the SIRPA journalist (French army) says they are patrolling in temperatures of around 60 degrees. Oh that Celsius by the way.
https://youtu.be/hNf9SLn70LU

 

[mulgarat]

I did, don't have it any more sadly, around the time we were admonished by the Colonel for chanting kill kill kill while thumping our riot shields with pick axe helves during anti riot training out the back of our block! PC was always there, for twats in ivory towers.

Remember that. Played enemy party on one of the days, think it was Gibson who grabbed us and beat us to the ground with his matrac before laying the boot in. Was it Duffy that had a "Belfast flashback" and went berserk, tore his short off and ran off screaming?

 

[maim]

That would be Duffy, Sklenak made me take him to bed during Christmas reveille in 2006 I think, smashed the room up accidentally by falling into the first double bunk, shitting himself, rolling around in it and then making shitty little paw prints all over the walls trying to get up. Thankfully it wasn't my room.
I reckon it was probably Gibbo, crazy bastard.
Do you remember Smithy, he got pissed out of his tree one morning and no one could find him. He'd managed to crawl up onto the top of the cassiers in the back room and slept until Sklenak dragged him down around 1500 hrs!
Do you remember the infamous congo. Lear and I came back from town around 0200 to see about 15 anglophones congoing around the parade square of the 3 13 stark naked sporting hard ons, you can't make this shit up!