USMC does commando guyane obstacle course in over 7 HRS while FFl does in 45 min???

[Interested Guy]

Hi to all
this was mentioned before and i was just wondering about this.
The French Foreign Legion is no doubt a legendary force and very tough but the USMC are also supposed to be well trained. Then howcome there is such a huge difference in performance and whats the reason? Is the FFL too good or the USMC too bad or any other reason?
Your comments please.
Thanks for ur time.

[californiajai]

I could tell you the truth but i wont. I'll tell you what sounds good....The Legion is better overall. Better trained, better motivated. The Legion just works harder than anyone else is all.

Now the truth is this : the Legion practices the course all the time and knows all the techniques where the Marines do not know these techniques and has not trained for a year on the course. The Legion is used to the climate where the Marines are not. In Short, the Marines arrived unprepared and suffered for it! You will learn in the Legion i hope to never be unprepared. But i will say this...the Marines do not have the same level of fitness "overall" like the Legion. Its a sad truth. I know the Corps well.


Mle 187-828

[Interested Guy]

Thankyou Sir for ur prompt reply.
Just wondering r u in USMC now?
if so how did u get in after the legion?
Thanks for ur time.

[californiajai]

No, I served in the Corps when i was out of high school 17 years old till 19. i am in the Nation gaurd now an officer.

Mle 187-828

[Eagle eye]

Now the truth is this : the Legion practices the course all the time and knows all the techniques where the Marines do not know these techniques and has not trained for a year on the course. The Legion is used to the climate where the Marines are not. In Short, the Marines arrived unprepared and suffered for it!

Two obs: besides the Guyane obstacle course to be handled collectively, any platoon not used to the 'planche irlandaise' will get stuck in it for hours on end when this obstacle is taken individually. As you say it's all in the technique. The Marines fell into a kind of involuntary trap on attempting the Guyana assault course. But to their credit, finished the job in seven hours when many non-USMC platoons would have abandoned it. When did this event take place ? Let's not get fixated on an isolated event as a general reference on the USMC. This kind of event can be exploited for passive propaganda purposes.

Real live fire is the real reference. So, good luck to the USMC in Fallujah: EYES UP and watch your backs. Spare (if you wish) the not-so-innocent civilians who decided to stay behind in a combat zone (...). And spend some lead for me in any case !!!

[Fabtinus]

I sure hope that I can get into that traning ground when I join the FFL.

I sure hope that the USMC do kick ass, as I am just sitting on my sorry ass down here and do shit while that attack up there.

If only we Danes had the balls to do something, but no, we had 2 road bomb incidents and suddently we have to ride in "hard" vehicles instead of showing what we are made of

I can't wait to come home and join the FFL, the Danish army is so shitty and yes I know all about latrine cleaning and "corvée" as it is called in French . I just hope my education can come to good use in FFL as all I do down here is repairing AK47 and AKS that have been confiscated at car and house searches and you know what ? All that stuff have to be given back to the Iraqi police and Iraqi soldiers

I just hope that I can live up to it all

[Beau-Sheep]

Its easy, The USMC is full of testosterone pumped prickes with very little in the way of stamina, they aint team players they are all after their own purple hearts and they stink of fish!

Compare us to real soliders please, like British paras or British Marines, please do not compare us to the USMC PLEASE!!!!

[jock]

That's a pretty harsh comment considering what's going on in Fallujah today !
The USMC sure look like they are doing a good job today fighting street by street against heavy resistance from a fanatical enemy with kamakazie tactics . Kinda make what's going in in Cote D'Ivoire look a bit pallid. Well it will by the time the hollywood version comes out in a year or so ......
It's a hard job to compare the Legion to any other army due to their unique standing in the world of soldiering. Each to their own i guess.

[Beau-Sheep]

Look Jock the only reason they are there in the first place is because they never did the job right in the first place. Look at British controlled Basra compared to the US sector, both sectors started out the same why is one a hell hole and the other quiet?

Further more, with the support and firepower the Marines have I am surprised that they are still fighting there at all. For me they should not even be there, they invaded Iraq and Afghanistan, despite the fact that 15 of the 19 terrorists from 9/11 were Saudi nationals. They are an invading force, the Iraqis have no WMDs but a shit heap of oil, let's put this conflict into context. What's happening is wrong and if the US wants to fight a pitched urban battle on the streets of Fallujah let them fight it alone! Let's see how good the Marines are, remember goose green? The argies were convinced the attacking force was five times the size it was, do not tell me about the Marines dudes, 10,000 troops is called overkill not fine soldiering. Basta!

[jock]

Well ok then . I'am not gona get involved in a political debate about the war in Iraq .

Any way been nice chatting but iam back off to Krgyzstan tomorow afternoon so this will be my last post untill Feb. Sure you will keep everyone entertained with stories of zapping booboos and praying for war untill then.

[ex devil dog]

This post is probably going to stir up a whole shit storm but let me put in my humble two cents. I spent 8 years in the USMC (6 years as a front line infantryman in a MEU and 2 years as a recruiter) so I would like to address a few of the previous posts.

Eagle Eye- Couldn't have said it better myself. I'm sure if the Legion had run the USMC jungle course in Okinawa the roles would have been reversed and it would have taken them much longer to finish than their USMC counterparts.
And it's true that you can play "what if" and who's more hardcore all day, but the real test does come when the targets start shooting back at you. I'm still in touch with some of my buddies who are in Fallujah right now, so I'll tell them to put some steel on target for you.

Californiajai- How did you spend only 2 years in the Corps? The contract is for a minimum of 4 with an aditional 4 years IRR. How you managed to spend time in the Corps, spend time in the Legion (I'm guessing that Mle 187-828 is a matricule), go to college and get a degree (the only way to become an officer in the US armed forces) and serve in the Army National Guard (what's your MOS that you aren't in Iraq now?)--man you've been a busy little beaver! Good for you!

And finally, everybody's favorite Beau-Sheep. Some soldiering experiences are universal and I laugh my ass off at some of your posts. I think you're wrong about your critique of the USMC. Let me rant a little here please....The USMC is the hardest branch of all of the US forces to gain entry into. As a former recruiter I know. Out of 10 applicants who want in the USMC only 3 are accepted. Out of those 3, only 2 will finish their 4 year contract--some desert, some break themselves and can't play anymore, some just can't hack it.
I would hold the USMC comparable to the Royal Marines, the British Paras, and to some extent the Legion. I have personally cross-trained with the Legion and they are damn fine soldiers, but I would rather have a motivated US Marine in my foxhole who made sacrifices to be there, than some knucklehead who joined the Legion because he only wants a shot at French citizenship or because he can't join his home country's military because he is a convicted felon----somebody who needs to have the shit beat out of him to get him motivated or to follow orders--I am in NO WAY saying that is the case for all legionaires. The Legion guys I met in Djibouti were switched on, professional, hard mother****ers and I'm not lumping all legionaires in with those type of people, but I bet you could name more legionaires who fit that bill than I could name Marines.

I don't want to write a book here so I'll keep it short on the rest of your post. I don't know a single Marine who is after a purple heart. You only receive the purple heart if you have been seriously wounded and you can't send Jesus anymore fresh souls. Also, I don't know a single Marine (except Lee Harvey Oswald) that doesn't live and breathe teamwork. You won't last long without it when the shit hits the fan.

As for the Marines in Iraq and Fallujah now, they are only following the orders given to them. The fault lies in American foreign policy and not the Marines abilities. If things go badly in the Ivory Coast, you wouldn't blame the legionaires, but the leadership that made bad policy and sent them there with no clear exit strategy and no clear rules of engagement.

[legion hopefull]

The argies were convinced the attacking force was five times the size it was, do not tell me about the Marines dudes, 10,000 troops is called overkill not fine soldiering. Basta!

One thing is for sure, Marines are the STUPIDEST branch of the of the US armed forces, what kills them is that they are overall not self-sufficient and need orders for everything. Rangers are the best the US has to offer, Marines are more man-power over skill.

I remember when I was in the US in my High School this Marine recruiter was trying to recruit me even tough I told him I was not American and dind't have a green-card, anyways he asked me from what country I was from and I told him "South Africa", his reply ? Is that a country ???

Oh yeah and the Rangers also have a REALLY catchy moto

"Rangers lead the way.
All the way."

[Eagle eye]

I'm still in touch with some of my buddies who are in Fallujah right now, so I'll tell them to put some steel on target for you.

This is a welcomed occasion. Please go right ahead and do so.

The fault lies in American foreign policy and not the Marines abilities. If things go badly in the Ivory Coast, you wouldn't blame the legionaires, but the leadership that made bad policy and sent them there with no clear exit strategy and no clear rules of engagement.

Let's hope there's a clear exit strategy for both militaries.

Any way been nice chatting but iam back off to Krgyzstan tomorow afternoon so this will be my last post untill Feb. Sure you will keep everyone entertained with stories of zapping booboos and praying for war untill then.

Enjoy the trip.

Ex Marine Dog I wouldn't agree with what you say about legionnaires except each outfit has its pride from REP to REI and other even as former legio, who moved to new horizons and challenges. USMC and the FFL have different traditions and therefore different pride. Mutual respect can exist and certainly with the non-francophone component of the FFL.

Beau-Sheep please show some restraint.

[californiajai]

Ex-Devil Dog,

I'll make this as short as possible, its rather long normally. First i served only two years in the Corps because the Marine Corps had not honored their contractual obligations with me (I won't get into that). I decided to join the Army (active duty) while in the last bit of my Marine service. I did my two for the Army...Giving me 4 Active years total. At which point i asked for IRR (Inactive Ready Reserve) and high tailed it to France. I served my 5 years +3 months with the Legion. When i returned to America i went to CWU (Central Washington University) joined AROTC (because i was prior service i was only required to do 3rd and 4th year), went to school for 2 years and received my degree "Associates". Upon completion i was branched into Psyops-although i wanted MI. I was still required to attend other officer courses after school, however i had arranged to work for a NG unit in Seattle. This is where i am now. I did serve in Iraq, but only for ten months, my promotion is what caused me to return, sort of. My unit is still out there, at least half are. See i was advanced party for my unit, all advanced party elements came back early. I was our units XO but he returns soon and i am transfering to California. In 2006 i will be able to resign my commission if i so choose, which i will. I am 31, not in great fitness right now, but getting back to what i was is gonna be rough. I really hope this answers your question, it is a valid question. I cannot offer anything more in the way of info, only because i would like some of my life kept a secret, just some. In the Corps i was an 8151.

Mle 187-828

[Eagle eye]

Ex-Devil Dog,

I'll make this as short as possible, its rather long normally. First i served only two years in the Corps because the Marine Corps had not honored their contractual obligations with me (I won't get into that). I decided to join the Army (active duty) while in the last bit of my Marine service. I did my two for the Army...Giving me 4 Active years total. At which point i asked for IRR (Inactive Ready Reserve) and high tailed it to France. I served my 5 years +3 months with the Legion. When i returned to America i went to CWU (Central Washington University) joined AROTC (because i was prior service i was only required to do 3rd and 4th year), went to school for 2 years and received my degree "Associates". Upon completion i was branched into Psyops-although i wanted MI. I was still required to attend other officer courses after school, however i had arranged to work for a NG unit in Seattle. This is where i am now. I did serve in Iraq, but only for ten months, my promotion is what caused me to return, sort of. My unit is still out there, at least half are. See i was advanced party for my unit, all advanced party elements came back early. I was our units XO but he returns soon and i am transfering to California. In 2006 i will be able to resign my commission if i so choose, which i will. I am 31, not in great fitness right now, but getting back to what i was is gonna be rough. I really hope this answers your question, it is a valid question. I cannot offer anything more in the way of info, only because i would like some of my life kept a secret, just some. In the Corps i was an 8151.

Mle 187-828

I find your military path fascinating. In fact, you need to become a living Legion legend in the USA: like in a Legion Hall of Fame. Stay alive, now.You should remain in California for the rest of your days - and with US Army captain rank.
Hell, yes...former Legios on this board (who are certifiable sane) would want a beachside bunk to do some surfing when in your neck of the woods. Meet some of the Californian girls and romp with them in the Pacific wash and so on .

Ex devil Dog,
It's interesting to know what are the USMC infantry, armour, artillery and air force provisions and configurations available in numbers, scale and dimensions. Just the info for public consumption. Any intertesting URLs ? Thnxs in advance