This couldn't be in Aubagne. The pool is the municipal swimming pool for the public, which will explain why it can only be done on a certain day of the week.
I just told the truth, how it was my dream to be a soldier. From my experience practically all of the Rouges fit into the good boy category, no criminals, no liars, very few even had tattoos, most guys sat around 19 years old. The people they picked where usually middle class, where healthy and intelligent, it seemed that the people who were overly desperate where sent home. They seemed to like taking the shy nerdy guys who got along well with others, followed orders, weren't selfish and didn't have inflated egos.
They pay you at any random time during the week after you turn Rouge, sometimes they will you pay you a second time right before you go to Castel. I was in Paris for 1 week, but I don't think you get paid for Paris/Paradise. The pay is weird though, the Legion doesn't really tell you anything about it, the general consensus among the lads is that we get paid around 30 Euros per day.
Train to Marseilles then a bus to Aubagne. There where quite a few different nationalities present, the Latin Americans made up the largest group, Colombians, Venezuelans, Mexicans, Costa Ricans, Cubans, at one stage there where at least 4 separate Latin American mafias each with about 10 guys. Up next where the Moldovan's, Russians and Ukrainians, with a few Kazakhs, Mongolians and Poles mixed in. The Nepalese had a pretty big group going with over 10 guys. There was a small French mafia as well. At one point there was a large Madagascan group, a lot of Africans tried but only the Madagascans seemed to make it to Rouge, the only non-Madagascan African I saw make Rouge was a guy from the Congo. Not a single Australian, 2 Kiwis but they didn't make it. 3 Americans. 2 Brits but they didn't make it. The white South Africans, the Afrikaners, had quite a decent mafia of their own, every single one of them went Rouge. You had a small Hungarian mafia, a small Romanian mafia, there where a number of Brazilians and Portuguese that made up their own little group. And then there where the Moroccans and also the Serbians, but none of these groups made it. After that you just had a bunch of random nationalities, 1 Finn, 2 Thai's, 1 South Korean, 2 Germans, 1 Lithuanian, 1 Irish, 2 Swedes, 1 Dutch, 1 Bosnian etc...
Yes, every Monday the Rouges, along with some Caporals, led by an Adjudant, will go running into Aubagne to do a 4km run around a track. After the run we do pull-ups and squats. Also, if all the Rouges have some spare time a Caporal or a Caporal-Chef will do a little PT with us, this PT could be anything from rope climbing to full on workouts with a variety of exercises. Sometimes they will make you do pull-ups before dinner and lunch.
I forgot about that part, so true, had to release the Quick Straps move the pack around and use it as cover. It can be a bit stressful releasing the pack straps in the water, especially if one hangs up.
