Macron the new president..

[Rapace]

Maybe she can fight for the 2% GDP Military Spending as agreed to in the NATO Treaty.

Maybe. But actually the real “Bossâ€￾ is the President. She can do her best to limit budget cuts, like her predecessor, Jean-Yves Le Drian, did (he's now the Minister of Foreign Affairs), but reaching the 2% GDP threshold is beyond her (or any other MoD's) control. Again, don't know how it is in other places, but in France, every time there's an issue with the budget execution and spendings have to be ‘trimmed’, the reflex of the bureaucrats from the Minister of Finance is always to start looking at the Defense budget. Go figure...

 

[USMCRET]

Yep Rapace, the Democrats here go after the Defense Budget and when the Republicans get in they repair and update defense

 

[SnafuSmite]

Maybe. But actually the real “Bossâ€￾ is the President. She can do her best to limit budget cuts, like her predecessor, Jean-Yves Le Drian, did (he's now the Minister of Foreign Affairs), but reaching the 2% GDP threshold is beyond her (or any other MoD's) control. Again, don't know how it is in other places, but in France, every time there's an issue with the budget execution and spendings have to be ‘trimmed’, the reflex of the bureaucrats from the Minister of Finance is always to start looking at the Defense budget. Go figure...

Well from the looks of it Macron is very pro military and has majority in Parliament so we shall see what happens, I'm tired of guessing what politicians are going to do.

 

[Joseph Cosgrove]

You're a bit unfair with Ms. Parly, Joseph. The good thing is that she's very well versed into the budget related matters and it is well known (at least in France, don't know in other places) that the primary role of the Minister of Defence is to ‘fight’ with the Ministry of Finance which is always trying to make cuts in the Defence budget. For the ‘technical’ matters, (s)he can always rely on the Joint Chief of Staffs (in French Chef d'État-Major des Armées, CEMA), currently Gen Pierre de Villiers.

Well the government has just dropped its obus de 155, 850 M€ cut in the Defence budget. This will imply pushing back resupplies and reprogramming changes/improvements in equipement to a later date. Flo Parly (Defence Minister, the one who worked at the national train system SNCF) says she finds it alarming that “our military will be ill equipped.â€￾

To give you a comparison the Interior Ministry budget will be cut by 526 M€. As far as I can tell the biggest axe is the Defence budget. Mme Parly has cancelled a meeting to discuss this with the prime minister.

There are promisses of increasing the Defence budget next year. But that is next year and that is a government promise.

At the same time the government is talking about bringing back national service. Not for 18 months, or 1 year or 10 months (guidelines of past national service) but for 1 month. The equivelent of 5 years training and kitting out of these one month warriors would buy 7 (seven) aircraft carriers.

 

[loustic]

Well the minister of Defence Sylvie Goulard (the lawyer) has stood down over allegations of skulduggery. She is being investigated for misuse of Euro parliament funds before taking up office.

She has been replaced by another woman whom likewise has absolutely no military experience, Florence Parly. Better known for her mismanagement of SNCF (train) passengers. If you have ever wondered why the passengers were kept in the dark during train strikes in France, then imagine what the new top dog in the military system is going to do. I'll give her six months, no more.

And why not a silly Norwegian while they are at it?

That's unfair : in France the "Ministre des Armées" has essentially administrative duties and not military duties. Macron seems to behave like De Gaulle and be THE man who takes the decisions.

Macron has not done his military service, but he is apparently to behave in a perfect military way : he keeps visiting soldiers and doing it well.

 

[loustic]

Maybe she can fight for the 2% GDP Military Spending as agreed to in the NATO Treaty.

President Macron has anounced that he is going to do that personally ! With his vision of the French republic (similar to De Gaulle and Mitterand), since the President wants it, it will be done !

 

[loustic]

At the same time the government is talking about bringing back national service. Not for 18 months, or 1 year or 10 months (guidelines of past national service) but for 1 month. The equivelent of 5 years training and kitting out of these one month warriors would buy 7 (seven) aircraft carriers.

Joseph, the basic idea is to give all young people some sense of discipline (a minimum in 1 month) and also to detect their problems : too many school leavers go undetected : these might be forced to go through the "voluntary military service" and learn their a real trade !

 

[USMCRET]

Joseph, the basic idea is to give all young people some sense of discipline (a minimum in 1 month) and also to detect their problems : too many school leavers go undetected : these might be forced to go through the "voluntary military service" and learn their a real trade !

Loustic, I'd have to disagree with you on this one and fall in on Joseph. I understand where you are coming from and the benefits to some; but, the cost, and to tell you the truth, the aggravation for having to deal with the whinny B^&%$es or as we call them in the States, Snowflakes or your neck of the woods, the G20 Anarchist, in the ranks of the true professional Soldiers will be a huge problem. Can you imagine two or three anarchist in the company, a company of Legionnaires, what would happen to them and the price a CCH or Adjutant would pay for, let's say attitude adjustment?

It is just not worth it.

My personal opinion as a career Marine, with respect to yours of course.

 

[loustic]

Loustic, I'd have to disagree with you on this one and fall in on Joseph. I understand where you are coming from and the benefits to some; but, the cost, and to tell you the truth, the aggravation for having to deal with the whinny B^&%$es or as we call them in the States, Snowflakes or your neck of the woods, the G20 Anarchist, in the ranks of the true professional Soldiers will be a huge problem. Can you imagine two or three anarchist in the company, a company of Legionnaires, what would happen to them and the price a CCH or Adjutant would pay for, let's say attitude adjustment?

It is just not worth it.

My personal opinion as a career Marine, with respect to yours of course.

USMCRET, I respect your opinion but I have to disagree : I know of many cases of boys and girls who have been "saved" from being school leavers by a program created by the former French president : the "voluntary military service", lasting 6 months or 1 year depending on the cases. These young ones end upin most cases with a trade and a job !

I think the new president wants to build on this by forcing all young people to go through the gates of the barracks at least once in their life, and their to detect if they should not be sent "by force" if needed, to this "voluntary military service". I might be wrong, and in that case I would say "Au temps pour moi" since we don't apologize in the Legion, but I strongly believe that it will be very expensive but that it is part of the new president to better the French education system

Greetings ! With all possible forms of respects for a US Marine from a reserve CPL of the Legion

 

[USMCRET]

USMCRET, I respect your opinion but I have to disagree : I know of many cases of boys and girls who have been "saved" from being school leavers by a program created by the former French president : the "voluntary military service", lasting 6 months or 1 year depending on the cases. These young ones end upin most cases with a trade and a job !

I think the new president wants to build on this by forcing all young people to go through the gates of the barracks at least once in their life, and their to detect if they should not be sent "by force" if needed, to this "voluntary military service". I might be wrong, and in that case I would say "Au temps pour moi" since we don't apologize in the Legion, but I strongly believe that it will be very expensive but that it is part of the new president to better the French education system

Greetings ! With all possible forms of respects for a US Marine from a reserve CPL of the Legion

There's no doubt about the Discipline and you are right it will turn others around. The Vietnam war left such a bad taste in the mouth of the military because most were problems.

There is a program run in the US it's Called the Youth Challenge Program (YCP) and it is for the people you describe, young men and women whom drop out of high school and they have discipline problems. Well they volunteer for the YCP and it is a Six Month Program and the National Guard of the US runs it like a Boot Camp. If the kids are successful and they pass the High School Equivalency Exam, their they awarded a General Education Diploma, it is not the same High School Diploma a regular student would earn. I have seen case where they had teens that dropped out of school in the 6th grade (12-13 Years Old). Of course they come from troubled homes but in some instances their parent are great and the kid is a little drug addict or thief. Of course, most of these kids are permanently disqualified for military service. For a while we recruited and took in some of these youths; however as a whole it was not successful, they had issues.

Stay Safe, I know how much you relish putting your uniform on and serving every chance you get. Remember stay at Tactical Alert, Finger Straight and Off the Trigger, but be ready in an instant to flip the selector switch from safety and send rounds down range! Remember one of our Marine Corps (Unofficial Mottos) "Kill them all and let Gods sort them out."

 

[loustic]

Stay Safe, I know how much you relish putting your uniform on and serving every chance you get. Remember stay at Tactical Alert, Finger Straight and Off the Trigger, but be ready in an instant to flip the selector switch from safety and send rounds down range! Remember one of our Marine Corps (Unofficial Mottos) "Kill them all and let Gods sort them out."

Thanks for these comments, USMCRET. Be sure there will be NO problem with me, nor with the men I have now the honor to lead ! After all I have been trained as legionnaire (and so are they). Moreover, I have been trained as REPMAN and sent to Mali in January 2013 ! Unforgettable experience for the boy I was then ! I think that with you, I don't need to say more.

 

[IrishHermit]

I have seen case where they had teens that dropped out of school in the 6th grade (12-13 Years Old). Of course they come from troubled homes but in some instances their parent are great and the kid is a little drug addict or thief. Of course, most of these kids are permanently disqualified for military service. For a while we recruited and took in some of these youths; however as a whole it was not successful, they had issues.

Many years ago I read an article by a Marine Corps officer who wrote that recruiting kids from juvenile court was a major mistake. If they were getting into legal trouble before they went into the military, most likely they would get into trouble while in the military.

 

[dusaboss]

Many years ago I read an article by a Marine Corps officer who wrote that recruiting kids from juvenile court was a major mistake. If they were getting into legal trouble before they went into the military, most likely they would get into trouble while in the military.

That depends. Yes there is kids who have that predisposition for trouble making and they will probably do bad things whole live. There is also other category of kids who make some bad decisions, been surrounded with wrong people and if chance is given they can do good.

 

[SnafuSmite]

That depends. Yes there is kids who have that predisposition for trouble making and they will probably do bad things whole live. There is also other category of kids who make some bad decisions, been surrounded with wrong people and if chance is given they can do good.

Gotta agree with you Dusa, you hear about it quite a few times, for example Andy McNab, he was a delinquent youth and joining the army gave him a purpose and direction, he ended up being one of the highest decorated soldiers in the entire Brit Army at the time of his leaving. I am a firm believer in conscription or its equivalent, especially in today's times when social media and political correctness are the agenda, you don't have to be a combative but you could potentially do community service type things, build houses in rural areas, run soup kitchens and so forth all under the guise of the military thus improving the military's view amongst the left wing liberals that wanna annihilate the defence budgets, it's a win win for all.

 

[loustic]

Many years ago I read an article by a Marine Corps officer who wrote that recruiting kids from juvenile court was a major mistake. If they were getting into legal trouble before they went into the military, most likely they would get into trouble while in the military.

I was a kid "from juvenile court" !

I am a legionnaire !

 

[IrishHermit]

I was a kid "from juvenile court" !

I am a legionnaire !

If I may ask a question. You were arrested, tried, convicted, then given the choice between going to jail or joining the Légion? I did not know that this was done in France. Thank you.

 

[loustic]

If I may ask a question. You were arrested, tried, convicted, then given the choice between going to jail or joining the Légion? I did not know that this was done in France. Thank you.

I was in Canada. The problem with "the law" was not very serious since I was only 14. My father was a police officer and gave me no choice : he insisted that the Judge tried me as an adult and gave me the maximum possible penalty : 5 years ! First in juvenile prison, and the rest in real adult prison.

 

[SnafuSmite]

I was in Canada. The problem with "the law" was not very serious since I was only 14. My father was a police officer and gave me no choice : he insisted that the Judge tried me as an adult and gave me the maximum possible penalty : 5 years ! First in juvenile prison, and the rest in real adult prison.

Bloody hell

 

[Hansenmann]

I was in Canada. The problem with "the law" was not very serious since I was only 14. My father was a police officer and gave me no choice : he insisted that the Judge tried me as an adult and gave me the maximum possible penalty : 5 years ! First in juvenile prison, and the rest in real adult prison.

That's tough, I knew a guy who completely avoided prison because he was younger than 18, even though he assaulted another guy who had to be admitted to the hospital.

 

[voltigeur]

If I may ask a question. You were arrested, tried, convicted, then given the choice between going to jail or joining the Légion? I did not know that this was done in France. Thank you.

This was done a very long time ago. Even in my time, they did not do that anymore.