French Foreign Legion
Elite volunteer soldiers
The French Foreign Legion is a branch of the French Army open to foreign recruits, known for rigorous training, tough deployments, and offering enlistees a fresh start regardless of their past.
Legionnaires traditionally serve under assumed identities and can earn French citizenship through service.
The Legion appears in popular culture as a refuge for men escaping trouble: He joined the Foreign Legion to forget her.
Voluntary entry into service
- anonymityUnknown identity state
- volunteersUnpaid willing workers
- second chanceRenewed opportunity after failure
- new identityAdopted alternate persona
deserters · refugees · misfits · recruitment center · no questions asked · reinvention · runaways · outcasts
To leave behind completely
- SaharaLargest hot desert
- MoroccoNorthwest African kingdom
- AlgeriaMaghreb nation, largest African
- North AfricaContinent's Mediterranean coastal region
fortress · outpost · exotic · escape · reinvention · anonymity · new identity · second chance
Kinship among men
- esprit de corpsShared pride among members
- comradesClose allies in cause
- solidarityUnity among allies
- loyaltyFaithful commitment to another
bonding · initiation · code of honor · mutual trust · unit cohesion · fellowship · band of brothers · sworn loyalty
Colonel-led military unit
- infantryGround combat troops
- battalionMid-sized military unit
- garrisonStationed military force
- deploymentOrganized distribution of resources
uniform · green beret · parade · march · barracks · arsenal · tactics · reconnaissance
Elite unconventional warfare troops
- commandosElite assault troops
- combatArmed hostile engagement
- valorCourage in danger
- braveryBoldness before danger
paratroopers · GCP · mountain warfare · jungle warfare · combat divers · demolition experts · sharpshooters · rapid deployment
Developing abilities through practice
- regimenPrescribed course of treatment
- obedienceCompliance with authority
- drillHole-boring device
- rigorStrict, thorough precision
punishment · forced march · endurance · corporal punishment · desert training · sleep deprivation · physical conditioning · mental toughness
enlistment
Voluntary entry into service
- anonymityUnknown identity state
- volunteersUnpaid willing workers
- second chanceRenewed opportunity after failure
new identity · deserters · refugees · misfits · recruitment center · no questions asked · reinvention · runaways · outcasts · stateless
desert
To leave behind completely
North Africa · fortress · outpost · exotic · escape · reinvention · anonymity · new identity · second chance · romanticized
brotherhood
Kinship among men
- esprit de corpsShared pride among members
- comradesClose allies in cause
- solidarityUnity among allies
loyalty · bonding · initiation · code of honor · mutual trust · unit cohesion · fellowship · band of brothers · sworn loyalty · mess hall
regiment
Colonel-led military unit
deployment · uniform · green beret · parade · march · barracks · arsenal · tactics · reconnaissance · fortification
special forces
Elite unconventional warfare troops
bravery · paratroopers · GCP · mountain warfare · jungle warfare · combat divers · demolition experts · sharpshooters · rapid deployment · counterterrorism
training
Developing abilities through practice
rigor · punishment · forced march · endurance · corporal punishment · desert training · sleep deprivation · physical conditioning · mental toughness · subordination
- French militarychasseurs, gendarme, cuirassiers, dragoons, hussars
- French WarfareNapoleonic Wars, Franco-Prussian War, Imperial Guard, marshals, generals
- hired fightersmercenary, soldier of fortune, gun for hire, hired gun, sellsword
- Mercenariesmercenaries, mercenary, hired guns, hired gun, soldiers of fortune
- WWII ForcesWehrmacht, Red Army, British Army, US Navy, Royal Navy
- French IndochinaIndochina, Saigon, Tonkin, Hanoi, Tonkinese
French Foreign Legioncitizen army
Armed civilian defense force
home guard · citizen soldiers · national guard · conscript army · militia
French Foreign Legionconscript army
Troops raised by compulsion
citizen militia · reserve units · civil defense · reserve forces · peacekeeping force
French Foreign LegionPeace Corps
Federal volunteer service abroad
national service · civil service · coast guard · search and rescue
French, foreign, legion, France, Frenchman, Frenchmen, Frenchwoman, Frenchwomen, foreigner