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What is "basic training" like ?

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repman86

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I thougt it was standard in the army to have a pistol, or is it only for the officers? What about grenades, it is necessary to know how to use them.

The Officers only, incase they have to kneecep the odd sloucher, you don't have to know the drills for a grenade but it does help:confused:
 

repman86

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Regards his question about a sidearm, as a Milan operator(after he completes training) you carry the Milan System as your primary weapon and your secondary ''was;; the 9mmPA. your loader no2 and your chef de group carried the Famas.
 
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core

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How much does a MILAN weight unloaded and loaded.
 

repman86

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How much does a MILAN weight unloaded and loaded.

Give or take a couple of ounces ? the post weighed 12kg. the missile tube weighed 11,3kg, first day of stage milan was 8km with your equipement(webbing/2-3kg) - sac a dos, 12kg + milan post 12kg, + 9mmPA - weight(**** all)
your loader carried his kit, famas + sac a dos + 1z milan tube,
your chef d' piece carried his kit, same as above loader and off you all went on a jolly good jaunt
There is no way out gents, whether your heavy weapons/fighting coy/radio op your all going to carry kit, the bigger the gun the harder you feel :D git some mutha f---
 
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repman86

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Give or take a couple of ounces ? the post weighed 12kg. the missile tube weighed 11,3kg, first day of stage milan was 8km with your equipement(webbing/2-3kg) - sac a dos, 12kg + milan post 12kg, + 9mmPA - weight(**** all)
your loader carried his kit, famas + sac a dos + 1z milan tube,
your chef d' piece carried his kit, same as above loader and off you all went on a jolly good jaunt
There is no way out gents, whether your heavy weapons/fighting coy/radio op your all going to carry kit, the bigger the gun the harder you feel :D git some mutha f---

Sorry core I should take a few kliks back a bit, ypu won't really touch any other weapon system apart from the Famas until you complete basic training, thats my problem, Im a red over green, I try and get too far ahead of myself sometimes.
 
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andy bannerman

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In my opinion WORRY more about SELECTION THAN actaully getting to basic.Whatever the legion want you to know you`ll be taught just like any other mil unit.And just like mon adj said it`s not about the guy who think`s he`s rambo or van damme .
It`s about the guy who will go about doing his job quietly and without question because he was told too. About the guy who WILL NEVER QUIT .He won`t complain even if he has good reason .He will follow the chain of command and execute thier orders to the best of his ability .
 

suttongm

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get in then worry about the rest. oh wait it will happenso fast there is no time to worry. Just go.
 

repman86

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Day by Day, what will happen will happen, one step at a time. learn how to iron crease into your tenue, practice on your mums blouses, she will be happy with all the fashionable lines you put in them. instead of using a washing machine wash your mums best dresses with a good old scrubbing brush and bar of soap this should please her even more and when she throws you out you know its time to join up cause you'll be ready and your mum can buy a new wardrobe without worrying about all the scorched iron marks and soap stains on her sunday best:D:D
 

FINN'79

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It`s about the guy who will go about doing his job quietly and without question because he was told too. About the guy who WILL NEVER QUIT .He won`t complain even if he has good reason .He will follow the chain of command and execute thier orders to the best of his ability .

We have a word for this in finnish: "SISU"...doesn't really translate to english, but what is mentioned above pretty well describes it. And a curse word (or whatever it's called) that accompanies this: "PERKELE"...in times when needed, this is either said aloud or in ones head...in this case the latter is probably better :D And the most likely situation where it would be used is there instead of complaining:
He won`t complain even if he has good reason .

But I'm still worrying about the selections...
 

Eagle eye

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According to someone I know just out of 2 REP Senior NCO's and Officers do all the map reading in the FFL. Legionnaires are considered too stupid to be allowed anywhere near a map!...
...it's quite simply a matter of control....However, whilst with the 2eREI rotating company in Mayotte in 1982, a Sgt Field** was replaced by a 2eme classe legionnaire to get the platoon out of a deepest forest track....
 

Tom_G

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Been AWOL for awhile......BUT
This post ought to be a sticky. Directed mainly toward those that think somehow they are going to Castel and come out four months later some kind of uber-soldier/spec ops killing machine. Learning French is a good starting point and if you are like me it was hard (the language). I was a prior military NCO (and a good one) but this was a whole new world (a strange one-but cool). In a way I am glad now there was no Internet with all the crazy shite rumors and goggle commando opinions. Just went and learned and if you have any sense of commitment you stayed.
Easy peasy
G




First of all welcome to the forum and incidentally your first “broadsideâ€￾:)

Let’s think a bit… Hmmm… Do you really think that the Legion hires people from all over the world, speaking different languages, coming from different social and economic backgrounds, and that we start by teaching them explosives???

No !!!!!!

The basic training is exactly what the name says it is. BASIC !!!!!! VERY BASIC !!!!

Basic training is aimed at changing a person from anywhere in the world, into a basic soldier that is capable of functioning in a Legion regiment. With functioning I mean that he is capable of getting up in the morning and knowing what to do, that he is capable of understanding BASIC orders, and execute basic soldering tasks. THAT IS ALL!!!

After basic training you will be able to maintain your weapon (to clean it and understand if it is malfunctioning), to hopefully be able to shoot with it, in other words to operate safely on a shooting range (something that is not always so obvious). You will be capable of doing some VERY BASIC combat missions (the first missions in your miserable career). Se poster and Se déplacer (remember the little presentations I posted earlier??). For the moment most of you guys don’t even understand the meaning of the two little French words. How are you going do be “big Rambosâ€￾ if you don’t understand the most BASIC of the BASIC missions?

You will learn about radios, but you will not be any transmissions specialist, you will be a standard stupid (that has everything to learn) legionnaire. You will be able to change the batteries, change the type of antenna, turn on the bloody thing before setting a requested frequency, but THAT IS ALL!!

You will most of all, learn to clean and clean again. Simply because that is one of the most important BASIC MISSIONS!!
You will learn how to do your personal maintenance; that means cleaning your ass and your uniforms, as well as how to put them on and what to wear at a given moment.
You will learn how to run and how to walk for miles. Sure you know already, but you do not know how to do it while keeping your mouth shut and without asking stupid questions.

You will NOT learn much about combat, simply because the group (yes the group, you as an individual has no whatsoever value) is too stupid to understand the simplest basics of infantry operations.

Military life starts with BASIC training and a large majority of the future legionnaires (yourself included) are completely incapable of absorbing more than the simple basics for the first 16 weeks.

Forget the explosives, forget the fancy combat missions, forget all the crap that your miserable little brain has seen on TV.
 

serge

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One of our Sergeant instructors said to us as we prepared to leave Castel for Calvi way back in the spring of 87, (rocks chair, cackles and hacks up a tabaccy grolly into the spitoon)...........

"Don't think of this as the end of training, it may be the end of instruction but for you boys' training has just begun"

And guess what youngsters that gnarly ole Sergeant was right.

(well hes' probably gnarly and old now)
 

joette ✞

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Been AWOL for awhile......BUT
This post ought to be a sticky. Directed mainly toward those that think somehow they are going to Castel and come out four months later some kind of uber-soldier/spec ops killing machine. Learning French is a good starting point and if you are like me it was hard (the language). I was a prior military NCO (and a good one) but this was a whole new world (a strange one-but cool). In a way I am glad now there was no Internet with all the crazy shite rumors and goggle commando opinions. Just went and learned and if you have any sense of commitment you stayed.
Easy peasy
G

I agree Tom..a sticky it is!
 
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