There and Back Again

[Hans Welsh]

I had a previous account under the name of Morshead, long story short I passed in Paris, made it to Rouge in Aubagne, but was stopped literally minutes before boarding the bus to Castel. I was held back as a retardee for 3 weeks, I am not sure why I was held back they never let me know. After some time I realized the Legion and France as a whole was not for me, I enjoyed my time in the Legion but I decided that the Australian Defence Force would be much better in the long term. So moments before boarding the bus to Castel I requested to go civil, a decision I deeply regret right now but I know it will be worth it later on. That's that. If anyone wants I can answer whatever questions you have on the selection process, I did spend 2 months in the bloody thing.

 

[Joseph Cosgrove]

Hi Hans and welcome back to the forum.
• How long since you got out?
• Is there a swimming test?
• is there a tent test?
• What did you have for breakfast generally each day?

 

[Hans Welsh]

Hi Hans and welcome back to the forum.
• How long since you got out?
• Is there a swimming test?
• is there a tent test?
• What did you have for breakfast generally each day?

Its been about a day. There is a swimming test and there is a tent test, I don't know why they have them, my friend miserably failed the swimming and is now in Castel, and compared to my comrades I really sucked at the tent test yet I passed to rouge while they where sent home. For breakfast it was 1 bread and 1 hot drink.

 

[Joseph Cosgrove]

Hans, can you go into more details on the swim test and tent test? As for the breakfast, are you sure that it's just one hot drink? No choice, coffee, tea, drinking chocolate? Plain bread, no butter, no jam/jelly? Where are you now?

 

[Hans Welsh]

Hans, can you go into more details on the swim test and tent test? As for the breakfast, are you sure that it's just one hot drink? No choice, coffee, tea, drinking chocolate? Plain bread, no butter, no jam/jelly? Where are you now?

Swim: one cold Tuesday (always Tuesdays) they will select around 30 Bleus to march across the entire base for a swimming test. 2 laps making up 50 meters. I believe you get bonus points for using free style stroke. Everyone passed except my friend, but that didn't seem to matter in the long run.
Tent: at random times every day they will select 2 teams of 4-6 blues to construct a tent in 30 minutes, they give you helmets, probably just to screw with you. Nobody knew how to build the tents so it was a mess, my group did not even finish the test. A wide range of grades will be present, from corporals to lieutenants, they have clipboards where they constantly write stuff...
Overall neither of these tests seemed to count for anything.
For breakfast you have 1 bread (although the cool kids take 2 or 3) you may choose from hot chocolate, milk, coffee and tea. At your disposal is jam (strawberry, peach, etc.), honey, chocolate spreading, butter and sugar. Some days they will mess with you and make the hot drinks interdite.
As for me I am booking it back to Australia.

 

[GSP]

Tent: at random times every day they will select 2 teams of 4-6 blues to construct a tent in 30 minutes, they give you helmets, probably just to screw with you. Nobody knew how to build the tents so it was a mess, my group did not even finish the test.

Overall neither of these tests seemed to count for anything.

This pretty much supports what DCLXVI said about the tent test, being just some Cpl being bored and wanting to have a good laugh at blues.

 

[sexpert]

Maybe just to stop you getting bored & try to keep you on your toes...hence the Clip Boards ...etc.

 

[mark wake]

Swim: one cold Tuesday (always Tuesdays) they will select around 30 Bleus to march across the entire base for a swimming test. 2 laps making up 50 meters. I believe you get bonus points for using free style stroke. Everyone passed except my friend, but that didn't seem to matter in the long run.
Tent: at random times every day they will select 2 teams of 4-6 blues to construct a tent in 30 minutes, they give you helmets, probably just to screw with you. Nobody knew how to build the tents so it was a mess, my group did not even finish the test. A wide range of grades will be present, from corporals to lieutenants, they have clipboards where they constantly write stuff...
Overall neither of these tests seemed to count for anything.
For breakfast you have 1 bread (although the cool kids take 2 or 3) you may choose from hot chocolate, milk, coffee and tea. At your disposal is jam (strawberry, peach, etc.), honey, chocolate spreading, butter and sugar. Some days they will mess with you and make the hot drinks interdite.
As for me I am booking it back to Australia.

Sorry it didn’t work out for you. Stupid mind games that will lose them good people! I think you will be better off in the Aussie army. Best of luck!

 

[Joseph Cosgrove]

This pretty much supports what DCLXVI said about the tent test, being just some Cpl being bored and wanting to have a good laugh at blues.

I don't know about the bored corporal bit. If they are taking people during the day and there are different ranks looking on and taking notes, maybe they are looking for something. Although I have no idea what, I should imagine it is to see how you interact with different people. I wouldn't think the aim is to actually put the tent up, more likely are you willing to muck in and work in a team. I'd say as a test per se, that would be more suitable on a corporals course, to organize a group of fresh EVs.
The swimming, I'd say isn't about doing the 50 metres, it's probably to weed out those that are afraid of water. If you are scarred of being out of your depth, then it is ten times as hard to try and teach someone to swim and I'd say that in Castel they just wouldn't have the patience for it. We know for sure that there is a swimming test at the end of instruction. So anyone coming from a 3rd world, land locked country may have to stay behind if he cannot do the 100 metres and 10 underwater. And every chef de section wants to have the maximum recruits pass out and go to their regiments.

Saying that, all those who are on the forum have been suitably forewarned about the swimming test. No excuses for not taking lessons, even if it is from a friend.

 

[Rapace]

This pretty much supports what DCLXVI said about the tent test, being just some Cpl being bored and wanting to have a good laugh at blues.

Well... I got a strong impression that you misread what DCLXVI wrote, or you're confusing him with somebody else (maybe Le Petit Caporal?). DCLXVI on the contrary, assertively said that the story about these two new tests (swimming and tent mounting) was all plain bullsh*t ... Below the exact quote:

Again, no swimming test and no tent test currently in Oct. of 2018. And anytime you want to meet Rapace, name the time and place, I will be there. We don't need a forum to get our words to each other.

Anyway, so now, we've got the story confirmed by two recent candidates. Let's see how long those tests will remain in place. As we all know by now, the Legion selection procedures are never carved in stone.

 

[sexpert]

Instead of a tent test I'm surprised they don't test people for say fear of height. Maybe see who is not suited for Regiments where this might be an issue. I understand the teamwork thing & to see who can take charge though. I mean if they test for swimming why not working at heights?
I mean not just for the REP but also, don't know the Regiments name but they are in the jungle looking for gold smugglers... They showed them climbing a high Tower then they have to abseil down... I mean I could imagine some will not like it. This was them training. I mean I would cream my pants first time... Jst saying. Maybe in basic Training they check or see all this.

 

[Rapace]

I don't know about the bored corporal bit. If they are taking people during the day and there are different ranks looking on and taking notes, maybe they are looking for something. Although I have no idea what, I should imagine it is to see how you interact with different people. (...)

Well, to me that's pretty obvious... As you said, verifying how you behave and interact with others when it comes to executing a given task that requires cooperation. Are you a guy trying to help, are you a big mouth barking orders without knowing sh*t, are you more clever that the others, do you have a sense of organisation, do you start thinking before acting, etc. etc.
Typically the type of test that one would take in the corporate world. Now, whether this is relevant to Legion candidates or not, is another story, I have no opinion on that. Maybe they are just, for the moment, “testing the test”, to see if it brings any added value to the selection process, before deciding to keep it or not. We'll see.

 

[sexpert]

Stay in my tank I think...

 

[dusaboss]

Well, to me that's pretty obvious... As you said, verifying how you behave and interact with others when it comes to executing a given task that requires cooperation. Are you a guy trying to help, are you a big mouth barking orders without knowing sh*t, are you more clever that the others, do you have a sense of organisation, do you start thinking before acting, etc. etc. (...)

You took words from my mouth. Smart man could see a lot from that test. I would add that it shows practical intelligence which in some case do not correlate with IQ measured by standard tests.
Groups of how many are doing this task? Are you allowed to communicate in languages different than French?

 

[Le petit caporal]

Smart men will listen to our advice and can learn much useful info. Talk less and listen more.

@ Hans... Sorry things didn't go your way. Were you paid for your stay in Paris and Aubagne, if so, how much?

 

[Katalmach]

I had a previous account under the name of Morshead, long story short I passed in Paris, made it to Rouge in Aubagne, but was stopped literally minutes before boarding the bus to Castel. I was held back as a retardee for 3 weeks, I am not sure why I was held back they never let me know. After some time I realized the Legion and France as a whole was not for me, I enjoyed my time in the Legion but I decided that the Australian Defence Force would be much better in the long term. So moments before boarding the bus to Castel I requested to go civil, a decision I deeply regret right now but I know it will be worth it later on. That's that. If anyone wants I can answer whatever questions you have on the selection process, I did spend 2 months in the bloody thing.

If you don't mind, I would like to know how you made it to Rouge. My, and probably many others', primary concern when trying to join, is that our reason isn't good enough for the Legion. Getting a grasp of the kind of people who successfully join would be a good thing.

 

[USMCRET]

In the Marine Corps, failing swim qualification will get one discharged. Many have died exiting landing craft thinking they were in the shallows and it turned out they exited in a crater in deep water and they drowned.

The most basic Swim Qualification is: execute an Abandon Ship Procedure from a 3 meter platform (no flotation device).
Swim 25-yards across the pool any stroke, just don't drown. Then completely traverse the pool in Full Combat Gear: Fully Uniformed, Rifle, Pack, Flak Jacket, and Helmet.
Like Joe said some have a very hard time with this and they receive remedial swimming instruction, they are retested and if they fail, good bye. MARINE = AMPHIBIOUS

 

[sexpert]

Got to admit i don't swim as much as before. Was always with my two sons at the pool. Swim like a fish nah pretty much average. Passed our swimming Test. When a kid i went every Sunday to a Hotel Pool. They only let you in on a Sunday.

 

[GSP]

Well... I got a strong impression that you misread what DCLXVI wrote, or you're confusing him with somebody else (maybe Le Petit Caporal?). DCLXVI on the contrary, assertively said that the story about these two new tests (swimming and tent mounting) was all plain bullsh*t ..

I'm talking about the tent test, that he posted this

THERE IS NO TENT TEST LADIES. This random act of tent constructing comes at the random boredom of the CCH's over there, know for a fact because my personal friend and Bulgarian CCH of 21 years, whom i often go to Cassis with and eat together with in Aubagne at Le66. hE OFTEN JOKES about this fun escapade of boredom.

Which if i understand, he means that the tent test is just an act of bored of some cch's over there. Which doesn't seem to be to far fetched, since hans said that some people that failed the test got selected anyways
About the swim test, well there is not much to discuss. One poster comented about it for the time and then after few days of his post, the recrute site was updated with the "swim test", which seems to be must to know how to swim



But, then hans said that, his friend failed and the recruiters didn't mind..

Like Joe said some have a very hard time with this and they receive remedial swimming instruction, they are retested and if they fail, good bye. MARINE = AMPHIBIOUS

Well swimming is a very basic skills and i guess that anyone that wants to by in any military, should know how to swim... Even in our Army, it is a mandatory test to join, basic swimming skils. Like you said, "don't drown and reach the other side"

 

[Katalmach]

In the Marine Corps, failing swim qualification will get one discharged. Many have died exiting landing craft thinking they were in the shallows and it turned out they exited in a crater in deep water and they drowned.

The most basic Swim Qualification is: execute an Abandon Ship Procedure from a 3 meter platform (no flotation device).
Swim 25-yards across the pool any stroke, just don't drown. Then completely traverse the pool in Full Combat Gear: Fully Uniformed, Rifle, Pack, Flak Jacket, and Helmet.
Like Joe said some have a very hard time with this and they receive remedial swimming instruction, they are retested and if they fail, good bye. MARINE = AMPHIBIOUS

When I went in 2011, they also made us remove all combat kit while submerged. No breaths until the rifle, helmet and IOTV were removed. Have to admit, that scared the hell out of me