Maybe that wasn't your intention, but the result is there. You came on his thread, told us your hard luck story and basically said that la Légion will save you from this hard life by giving you a second chance, and in the process telling us what a great guy you are and how hard it is to walk away from your familly. You (with your wife) decided to have kids. You should at least make sure that they are looked after and are missing nothing.If that is indeed the case, I can say I had no intent to steal his thread and I offer my apologies to him. I actually feel as if I am adding to it. See, my reality, the reality that is a “cathartic process of purging†as Chas puts it, is the reality that leads me, and only me, to the Legion. What leads the next 10 guys will be 10 different stories. There is no universal reality that leads one to the Legion. The Legion is surrounded in myth and legend and the ‘don't join, don't go’ concept is largely based on ignorance. For the guys that come out of the Legion saying it is a waste of time there are many who were saved by the Legion. For me, in my cushy American abode, the Legion is extending a hand and giving me a chance where others are turning their back. That is a reality for me, all of what I said is my reality, and many will, rightly, disagree because - again - my reality ain't universal. All I did was express my reality. I don't feel as if I stole his thread.
You say that what you're going to try to do is probably harder than “taking a bullet for your kids.” I'll call bullshit on that one. Walking away from anything (especially something that even the experts say was very hard!) is very easy to do.
Also, potential candidates with a family (wife and/or kids) are considered risks whatever the candidate says that he thinks about his family. That's normal and logical. The guy with a family has potentially a problem that the guy without the family has not, you can't change that.
So, the Legion are going to save you by giving you a second chance at life? What happens if they don't want you?