Plan B

Your mother can’t get through because you’re not answering the phone. Bill collectors start calling at 8 AM and go to 9 PM.

You don’t know what you want to do with your life.

Even if you did know, nobody’s hiring.

Hey, got you covered.

The French Foreign Legion.

Yep, they’re still around. And hiring.

That’s how they’re advertising—“A new opportunity for a new life”.


THE PROGRAM

---You pay transportation and visa fees to France. One advertised fare from Los Angeles to Paris (round trip) was $982 at the time of this writing.

---They give you free board, lodging and clothes during the evaluation process (varies from 3 days to 2 weeks)

---Training is 15 weeks

---Initial contract is 5 years


BENEFITS

---Paid $2,084 net a month when serving overseas in French territories (room and board provided)

---Annual leave 45 working days

---French citizenship if desired after 3 years service (sooner if injured in battle). (France is a country with national health care—where doctors still make house calls. Unbelievable.)

---They teach you French.

---Change of name possible if desired (until 2010 this was mandatory)


DRAWBACKS

---Initial training said to be “extremely stressful psychologically”

---Restricted to men (though one woman got in after the Second World War)

---Unlikely to become a commissioned officer (90% of these are drawn from the French Army)

---Accepts from ages 17 1/2 to 40

---Traditionally they’ve taken people with problems. Today they may be tightening up.

---You might die

LINKS

2007 Boston Globe story on the Legion

Video uploaded in 2007 (2:46)

Recruiting video (1:51)

The Elite Warrior (3:15)

Tougher Than the Rest (2:58)

Orchestra of the Legion (2:08)

Frank Sinatra (2:00)


Credit: Image