Jocko Podcast 209 w/ Joel Struthers: The Crafty Rogues of the French Foreign Legion

2019-12-26T12:13:24Z

Join the conversation on Twitter/Instagram: @jockowillink @echocharles 0:0:0:00 - Opening 0:03:39 - The Foreign French Legion w/ Joel Struthers. Appel the book. 3:36:58 - Final thoughts and take-aways. 3:47:14 - How to stay on THE PATH. JOCKO STORE Apparel: https://www.jockostore.com/collections/men Jocko Supplements: https://originmaine.com/origin-labs/ Origin Jeans and Clothes: https://originmaine.com/durable-goods/ Origin Gis: https://originmaine.com/bjj-mma-fit/ 4:11:08 - Closing Gratitude.

AI summary of episode

Well one because it's made America You know, you know, you know, you know, you know, you know, you know, you know, you put that number one because there's some people that say number one It's the best functionality Just strength he's what mom was a Vietnamese well, there's think of all the American you know The American Service members that have got wives over the past however many years wives from Japan wives from the Philippines wives from Germany What we know the seal team used to be up in Scotland as much as guys that had wives from Scotland Like you put the eyes in the middle of these places well, they're gonna meet the girls That's what's gonna happen Roger, so so at least they had the fort you know fort thinking to think listen We got a protector guys. You know These guys jump out slack, you know kind of they got their jumpsuits on they grabbed the rigs and they're just kind of hanging out and It seemed to me that the NCOs y'all officers in the junior ranks were all kind of mingling which doesn't happen Typically or ever in a combat company and so I asked our corpile, you know who is who is that and he said the other was the GCP So that was the first time I saw something like something I didn't know about That's why I'm saying hey, I'm glad guys are gonna read this book, but you have to really read it and think about it You have to really try and think about it think about what you're saying Because man we are genetically programmed You're a certain way and that certain way is not always the best way That no exactly and so it's a name I mean the French foreign Legion there's obviously a reason That I've gotten there and life maybe some of my choices weren't the wise as so I need to start learning and you know Using this to my advantage not making the same mistakes all the time did you have like you said it was a captain that pulled you son tattoo. and you make something that will help everyone in the world Stay clean Very true also you we have YouTube channel you're interested in the video version of what we're doing here You're gonna see what Joel looks like You see what Joel looks like if you see what echo looks like in apparently echo Doesn't look like what he sounds like in the on a unlikely event You want to see what it looks like yes. It's just not a real fight has it's different and so the only way to Overcome that as you got it like overcoming that's why you hope the first fight you get in is with a guy that was an NCAA Collegiate wrestler or Golden Gloves boxer because You won't learn much you won't learn much you'll learn that you don't know anything Whereas if the first fight you get in is getting some drunk guy that's you know acting like an idiot who doesn't know how to fight cool Yeah, and what about like they like you mentioned earlier that the less of the Eastern block Guys would deserve because they're just used to a harsher lifestyle It seems like if I was an Eastern block guy and now I'm getting I think you say the pay is like 1200 bucks and a lot of something like that. cool listen my podcast it's seven hundred hours or whatever I can't it's not specific enough now there's lessons in all of them so EF online let's take the lessons Condense them now distilled them down so people can go through them in a timely fashion eight hours 10 hours of all-mind training where you're actually the other thing is that the podcast I know it feels like it might be interactive you might feel like you're sitting In between me and echo Right now listening maybe you want to chime in and tell echo like to make those excerpts a little bit shorter You probably aren't thinking that But you can't really interact with us Except for on the inner website. it's hard to even fathom that It's hard to fathom that I mean it's hard to fathom that like in America right thinking that the hundred and first airborne division Was gonna say okay, you know what we're gonna drop We're gonna do a parachute drop in deadwashing in DC when it take the White House and we're gonna get rid of the president I mean, that's that's what that's what there is basically exactly what this is doing what we're saying here Probably know you haven't So gaining to know other people's perspective or looking at things from other people's perspective is an important tool and what you're saying here You know focusing on human errors like people are gonna make mistakes. There's more aspects to it that are more similar to boot camp like you got to fill out a chip to go to To go on liberty or something like that, but this is leaning towards boot camp I mean this is like you know this is definitely then like a range of regiment range of regiment Yeah, sure just you know sure in a couple a little bit Cool in my opinion, please let us know via social media if you think an excerpt should be four minutes or 14 I'll say what I think and we all know what echo things and well I have my my Opinion has been refined recently. Okay, because I announced Delta 68 lightweight jeans with a little bit of stretch in them now The all origin jeans have a little bit of stretch in them, but the are Super comfortable little lightweight because I'm not a person that gets cold legs I know it's weird and I know it's a dichotomy that I want heavyweight Sure heavyweight sweatshirt heavyweight hoodie lightweight jeans, but that's how I am Here I am so check out the jeans and also we got supplements up there Which are important big time especially for longevity long list right true supplements big time to keep you in the game We were definitely weren't eating enough to compensate for the calories you're burning But that was also part of it trying to turn it to the right shape and reference the the deserters I think I mentioned that it seemed like it was more that the brits the Kiwis the Aussies the Western area You know the Non-eastern blockers ever were deserting and I think that's because that's something To have you have the evidies are at home or is Eastern blockers where they're gonna go you know they got no choice I mean obviously That's a rap on a huge part of your life and something that's left a huge impact on you I always remember cleaning out the final bits of my operational gear from my locker loading it into my van and driving off base for the last time and thinking well That was a stuff and I spent well kind of like you spent six years based out of course I spent 18 out of 20 years based in corn auto California and really probably Most of those years in like a span of like three or four buildings that were all right next to each other We went out nothing happened rolled back but even just the the The amount of vision that I had the amount of awareness that I had wasn't as good as it should have been You know, I was like a little bit too amped up and it's like okay, how can Talking about that hopefully guys can take a step back and be like all right cool look. You know I would say like if you're a okay high school athlete you'll be fine Like you don't need to be some superhuman because you just need to be able to do the stuff and then obviously If you got an aptitude towards running you're gonna be better that or opt to towards the obstacle course You're gonna be better at that I slowed right down looking into its parade square and passing The emotions I felt at that exact moment are difficult to explain We drove past checked into our Calvy hotel and spent the rest of the day Swimming at the beach the next morning after some delicious croissants Orange juice and two strong cafe crams for me At one of the citadel cafes we drove to the regiment Parked outside the regiments gates noting the new rep and Sydney a painted on its water tower I asked my kids what they wanted to do Visit the regiment or go snorkeling at the beach Perhaps they could sense the answer I was looking for the rep was in my past and the regiment was busy doing real work My focus now was on my son Carter and daughter Kyle and snorkeling Showed to Carter and co long live the Legion And that's how you wrap it up and I thought that that was that idea of Yeah, long live the Legion but at the same time you got your new focus now Which is your son and your daughter and I thought that that's a a lot of people have a hard time doing that Shifting their focus from their past to their present and then to their future It's my fault so right now what I'm trying to do is explain to you that if you don't order it you won't get it and then If you do order it life will be good Leader substratages and tactics field manual we got the way the warrior kid books three two and one all out Teach your kids how to stay on the path we got the Mikey and the dragons If you want your kids to learn the most basic Foundational thing that they need to know as a kid how to overcome fear they can learn it right there Mikey and the dragons incredible feedback on that book all the time it is not rare That a grown human male or female Crys while reading that book you you had an emotional first Wasn't it it wasn't an outburst but wait your brother Jj was something was it your brother J Charles that Yeah, as you did worried about what the enemy was gonna do And I think when it's of soldiering, I don't know if that term even exists, but you got to think about you know the mistakes that others are gonna make not not just the enemy that's kind of the the early onset to Apel is a young man trying to figure out what he's capable of and who he is now It's weird to that you know you had your dad was a who's he say he was a full-karner like Retentic on a retired like some kids that are grow up in that atmosphere They become kind of on the straight narrow path and you know what I mean See and you just in a way is kind of the opposite of what we'd regard like stress like People gonna do it to release stress, but technically that's not what stress is like stress is just basically a sort of like Yeah You know the navy does that the navy has the navy can put you on bread and water Like it niss like right now There's some probably someone right now that's on bread and water for yeah, so doing something That's why I tried to get into that when I mentioned because as we say you know where young men you join There's certain things that you don't necessarily think about when you go there like oh, you know I want to join Legion be a soldier, but you're young men you got other objectives to at the end of the day and And that's why these you know what I've said before is like I think police should should train one one fifth of the time like a won't 20% of the time they should be training So five days at work cool one of those days you're just going through eight hours of training That and who would you rather have policing your neighborhood? everything's new But soldier at least some learning the trade and that's part of You know becoming a soldier and growing as a young man is You know you think okay, I want to be a soldier and you got these visions of things that you will be doing or want to do But life will check that and show you what you're you're made of and what you're capable of and that's what I'm I'm seeing What I'm made of what I'm capable of some of it's good some of this bad but growing up is learning and taking with that Or with from that what you can and are you just completely stoked at this point though? I'll be it you know, maybe my reaction wasn't textbook, but whatever and result was Successful and you know once once once you're once you're part of a little something then you're you gain that a little bit of traction with the team They start to know what you're made of and then continues on Yeah, that's good It has tracks Where whatever moment of weakness you are experiencing I will personally come through your headphones and help you overcome that moment of weakness by Speaking words into your ears and telling you to stay on the path And don't forget if you need a Visual representation of the path and a reminder to stay on it check out flip side-cam this dot com Which is run by my brother the code of mine where he makes things That are sometimes referred to as graphic art and you can hang them on your walls and they say things like good Or get after it or discipline equals freedom or you can tell the code of what you want As far as books go first of all the book that we covered today a pel Canadian in the French foreign Legion by Joel Strothers awesome book very cool I left out so many Good stories obviously, but it's a great book so you can pick that up click through the Amazon link also we got leadership strategy and tactic field manual Which you can actually order Now and you should order now because If you don't win it finally gets released you go. So it's almost like she had an emotional out Kind of like the jockel weight tea so good actually just so happens that I got the new shipment in So she might have been out of the game for a little bit you seem saying and then she gets you revisited it and then was like Had that I got to say it is refreshing the cans refreshing More refreshing remember when you were a kid and you drink gatorade? Here's the thing me saying emotional outbursts is like it's kind of misleading like you know when you think of your emotional I'll press it's like a bad thing almost So I finished a finished first And hats off to I mentioned Benny he was an ex British soldier served in Over in Ireland a good guy and he was my you know go to during training You know he had his History and stories and he had a bad knee so he decided at the end of your basic training You can decide to Call a quits and he did and we had a you know and I'm sure I'll go into at some point in Legion air, but that warred Algeria was vicious Yep, and it was a True like counter-insurgency going on and there was a lot of you know, there was there was The insertion tactics of you know booby traps and I E.Ds and things like that it was brutal. Yeah, and you just said You said you just said I didn't win which is which is like you're not gonna win that situation And that takes a that takes a little bit of insight to understand hey you can stand up You can bow up you can act like a tough guy you could even beat the shit out of him, right?

Most common words

Episode transcript

[00:00:00] This is Jocco podcast number 209 with echo Charles and me joccal willink
[00:00:05] Good evening, echo. Good evening
[00:00:09] We are crafty
[00:00:11] We are rogues. We are no ordinary men
[00:00:16] We've often got our black moods for we are Legionnaires
[00:00:22] In Tonkin the immortal Legion honored our flag at Tenguan
[00:00:27] Here is of camera on and model brothers
[00:00:33] Sleep in peace in your tombs
[00:00:38] Our ancestors knew to die for the glory of the Legion
[00:00:44] We will know to perish according to tradition
[00:00:50] During our far off campaigns facing fever and fire
[00:00:54] Let us forget along with our hardships death
[00:01:00] Which forgets us so little
[00:01:04] for we are
[00:01:07] The Legion
[00:01:12] And those right there are the verses
[00:01:17] To the famous song
[00:01:19] Le Boudin
[00:01:22] Which is I think the most famous of the songs of the French foreign Legion
[00:01:29] And the French foreign Legion is a
[00:01:34] famous
[00:01:36] Howlode military organization with a hitch a history steeped in traditions of bravery and courage
[00:01:43] And there's a lot of mistake around it
[00:01:48] It's also a very unique organization because the men of the French foreign Legion
[00:01:55] Generally are not French
[00:01:58] And one of their models which kind of reflects that is
[00:02:02] Lazyotatria Nostra which translates to the Legion is our fatherland
[00:02:14] And when I was a kid growing up I was always kind of you hear I heard about the French foreign Legion
[00:02:20] And there was definitely a reputation of the kind of the reputation is that
[00:02:25] You could be
[00:02:27] Just a criminal somewhere and a scape prison
[00:02:31] And get to France and you could join the French foreign Legion and that's what that's what the French foreign Legion was filled with
[00:02:38] So that always had that kind of
[00:02:41] Misty around it and or around it and I read a book
[00:02:47] A long time ago called Legionnaire by Simon Murray which is a
[00:02:52] Great book and gives an incredible account and Simon Murray is a fascinating guy and I read another book
[00:02:58] That was called mouthful of rocks
[00:03:03] Which was by a guy named Christian Jennings and that one was is actually from a guy that the main
[00:03:09] The main theme of that book was do not join the French foreign Legion
[00:03:13] He was a deserter who ended up leaving it but but those books definitely left an impression on me about the French foreign Legion
[00:03:20] But today we're actually going to review another book
[00:03:23] By a Legionnaire. It's called a pel
[00:03:28] A French a Canadian in the French foreign Legion. It's written by a guy named Joel Strothers
[00:03:36] And it just turns out that we are lucky enough to have Joel here with us
[00:03:41] To discuss his book and his
[00:03:45] Experiences as a Legionnaire so Joel
[00:03:49] Welcome to the show man. Thank you, sir. It's an honor. Joel. Yeah, thanks for coming down
[00:03:55] It's uh, how did you end up?
[00:03:58] Did you send me this book how did this connect? I did. I've uh, I've obviously watched your familiar with your
[00:04:04] Your history, your name and the the podcast and yeah, it was a hell Mary. I thought maybe a cinema book
[00:04:10] And maybe I you take interest in the uh in the subject matter
[00:04:13] Um, yeah, as you know marketing books these days it takes a lot of the efforts on the the right of themselves. They author so
[00:04:20] That was uh
[00:04:21] Yeah, my objective was it to get it to you and hopefully this would happen here we are and again
[00:04:26] I'm very appreciative. Yeah, no, it's a great book and I mean I've like I said
[00:04:30] Open it up the the French foreign Legion has such a mistake about it
[00:04:33] That the opportunity to sit down with someone that did time and
[00:04:37] And served and fought with the French foreign Legion seemed to me a awesome opportunity
[00:04:41] So um
[00:04:44] So yeah, that's that's where it starts and speaking of where it starts. Let's get to let's get to it, man
[00:04:51] Let's get to your start. Let's do it
[00:04:54] Do I say the word right a pal? Yep, that's a question a pill
[00:04:59] Which basically means
[00:05:01] It's what we get America we call quarters or like a
[00:05:04] A stand to attention the roll call yeah roll calls like that, but it doesn't it literally means stop your foot or something like that
[00:05:11] It could also be used as a call out
[00:05:13] um, double word
[00:05:16] Yeah, and eating you just yell a pal and then it comes and yeah, you're encounter four
[00:05:21] Okay, I don't got it and that's what it's
[00:05:23] Don't leave you so yeah for now check all right, so let's get to let's get to the book here a little bit
[00:05:27] You say my parents met as students at Canadian forces base
[00:05:31] Pettawaw Pettawaw and Ontario Canada and
[00:05:37] Started dating in grade 11 as a son of a fighter pilot in the Canadian Air Force
[00:05:41] I lived an inner-and-life style moving from one CFB to another
[00:05:45] 1989 when my father retired as the commanding officer of
[00:05:48] 441 tactical fighter squadron CFB cold lake Alberta
[00:05:53] We settled down in British Columbia Canada, so you grew up kind of military brat is what we call this right
[00:05:58] I spent most of my time in Germany
[00:06:00] I'd have flew the the 104 the the widow maker. Oh really yeah, and then retired as a full current or a leg-conalsory
[00:06:06] They see 0 for 1 F-18s
[00:06:08] So yeah, it was every three years we would move
[00:06:12] Did you have any brothers or sisters no said one solo operations loan wolf
[00:06:18] Probably explains a lot
[00:06:21] From my earliest days I remember being interested in everything in the military at school
[00:06:25] I spent most of my time in classes drawing castles tanks and airplanes
[00:06:28] Is there anyone that didn't do that echo way you might be the one
[00:06:31] I think I think doctors and lawyers were the ones you didn't I did that yeah, yeah, I mean it's just like tanks
[00:06:37] Air planes battleships still job pretty good just wars yeah, I trust you can
[00:06:44] I visited countless museums and castles and played an old trenches and bunkers all over Europe once I found a key
[00:06:50] In a tower of the wall city of the Moroffenburg in Bavaria
[00:06:53] I was certainly what opened a dungeon my fascination with the military deepened with age
[00:06:57] So did my interest in sports my mother was very athletic she enrolled me from an early age in soccer basketball judo swimming in hockey
[00:07:04] How much judo?
[00:07:06] No enough
[00:07:08] Good answer there can never be enough, but will you were you serious about judo?
[00:07:13] No hockey took over pretty much early on. Oh, that's right your Canadian. Yeah, it was just like hockey or nothing
[00:07:19] She was also an an avid animal lover and I became one to aside from my mother my role models were predominantly
[00:07:26] fighter pilots and soldiers my dad and his friends as well as his dad his friend as well as my friends dad's and my grandfather's
[00:07:35] Even my hockey coaches were soldiers the military was in my blood and you actually I skipped over it
[00:07:41] But you actually have deep military blood in your family and so that was seem like it seemed like you got those jeans
[00:07:48] Yeah, for sure I definitely in the DNA somewhere
[00:07:50] Yeah, yeah after my first season playing triple a hockey I was invited the Western hockey leagues
[00:07:58] Rijina paths try out camp
[00:08:00] But my parents didn't let me attend because my school marks were too low the fact that I had been expelled from
[00:08:05] High School for a week for fighting held help my cause so you were
[00:08:10] I'm taking it you weren't exactly the model of behavior as a child
[00:08:14] Um, yeah, I don't know I mean I wasn't a bad kid about seating but I think I hit an age as we all do where I started to try to push barriers and figure out what I was made of
[00:08:25] And being a hockey fan there were certain type players that I
[00:08:28] Respected or I wanted to emulate and I didn't necessarily have the the size or the chin to do so
[00:08:34] So my game kind of changed unfortunately for me, but yeah, that's kind of the the early onset to
[00:08:39] Apel is a young man trying to figure out what he's capable of and who he is now
[00:08:46] It's weird to that you know you had your dad was a who's he say he was a full-karner like
[00:08:52] Retentic on a retired like some kids that are grow up in that atmosphere
[00:08:56] They become kind of on the straight narrow path and you know what I mean and then some kids have a little bit of that
[00:09:03] Rebellion in them it sounds like you were a little bit more on the rebellion side
[00:09:07] Yeah, possibly
[00:09:09] But they they check that and I think deep down I knew what was I was wrong like I was braze properly had you know good parents
[00:09:17] But as you do you check you check yourself and you try to figure out what you're made of and
[00:09:21] Yeah, I figured out that that wasn't me. I wasn't you know
[00:09:25] About as per say
[00:09:27] Certainly wasn't gonna make the NHL with my my size of my hands of chin
[00:09:31] You you go on a little bit about this you know you talk about getting ejected for fighting a lot from hockey games
[00:09:37] And then you say that the trouble started when I was fresh out of Langley secondary school without hockey experience a loss of direction
[00:09:43] Amit's mix of immaturity trying to impress friends and girls and reacting to other idiots
[00:09:50] All took their toll. I was hanging out the wrong crowd and these so-called friends were leading me nowhere
[00:09:54] The final twist in my downward spiral came when I was confronted by a RCMP
[00:10:01] Real Canadian mountain police special investigation officer revolver drawn I
[00:10:07] Was lucky I didn't end up in prison. What what what happened check?
[00:10:12] I don't think the why matters or the what it's more the why it was it was nothing
[00:10:17] You know, I'm sure imagination to a flow. There is no it's not drug related. It's not you know anything
[00:10:22] But it was dumb enough that the police took interest in my
[00:10:26] My association with there's certain people and you know, I wasn't I wasn't charged or I think but it was it was a good kick in the ass
[00:10:34] Experienced sitting down with my father who was visibly upset at the fact that potentially I'd be going to jail
[00:10:39] ruin your life and that yeah
[00:10:41] That's some straight seeing that reaction was sobering I guess we'd be the word and from there I took took ownership and
[00:10:52] There you go good call. Yeah. This is this is a big point
[00:10:55] You know you say here I realized that I needed to change and fast so I contacted the Canadian Armed Forces recruitment center in Vancouver
[00:11:01] Unfortunately the Canadian Armed Forces were no longer accepting applicants for regular force infantry positions
[00:11:07] My only option was to join a Canadian reserve unit and hope to be at the front of the recruitment line when the regular forces started to expand
[00:11:15] so I mean you get to this point and this is
[00:11:19] Man, it's so
[00:11:21] You're lucky, right you're lucky. You're actually lucky that this guy drew down on you you're lucky that you did something bad enough
[00:11:27] To get you to a point where you said all right, this is not gonna end well and
[00:11:34] Not every kid gets that opportunity and it'd be nice
[00:11:39] if
[00:11:40] a kid like listening to this right now
[00:11:43] Can foresee that they're gonna end up in that position and just go okay
[00:11:47] You know what I need to do change. I need to make a change right now because I know man the best thing that happened in my life was joining the military
[00:11:54] I would have been a total loser. I would have just ended up
[00:11:58] Doing I was just doing dumb stuff and I would have just continued down that path and I don't know if I had a
[00:12:04] A moment in time like you did where I said okay, I got to stop this but I definitely looked around at the people I was hanging around with and said yeah
[00:12:11] This isn't gonna end up well
[00:12:14] It'd be nice if
[00:12:16] kids that are
[00:12:18] 15
[00:12:19] 16
[00:12:20] 17
[00:12:21] 18
[00:12:22] 19 years old instead of waiting for that moment to arrive
[00:12:25] Where they realize that a they're not as smart as I think they are and
[00:12:29] Be the direction that they're heading is not gonna end up well that they go, you know what?
[00:12:33] I need to kind of change direction here and boy the military offers especially I mean it's it's crazy too
[00:12:39] Like in Canada
[00:12:41] You can't even join regular force infantry. I mean let's face in America
[00:12:45] I'm not saying you can be they'll take anyone but if you want to be a grunt in the army or the Marine Corps
[00:12:51] Like there's a decent chance that you can do it. Yeah, fair one and this keep mine this is early 90s
[00:12:56] So nothing was going on the government at the time was you know checking their their budgets
[00:13:02] So it was cost cutting
[00:13:04] So yeah, there wasn't an opportunity to go right for us. There was other positions like a radar tech or 80
[00:13:09] But I wasn't you know, I'm for child a VHA's VHS tape of hamburger Hill and I watched the share of that thing and I was all about the infantry
[00:13:17] You know and my grandfather who's my dad's dad
[00:13:21] Third wave Juno Beach he had given me I didn't put in the book
[00:13:24] But he'd given me a jump smog from 100 first airborne
[00:13:28] Soldier pre-d day so when they're in England training and I wore I wore that and I think that was the
[00:13:33] The jump in me that you know, I mean I was but
[00:13:37] Yeah, I agree to your point the military certainly the Legion
[00:13:41] Got my shit together and that's a big reason for the book as I owe the Legion and France a lot for myself for
[00:13:47] How it it changed my life and that was my effort was to do so there give something back. I'll be at small
[00:13:52] It's certainly showed my appreciation so when you sign up you said you said you say I signed up with the Royal Westminster Regiment
[00:14:00] Westies based in New Westminster British Columbia
[00:14:03] The other Westies were assigned to support Canadian airborne regimen setting me on the path to become a fair trip or something
[00:14:08] I was interested in so this is you you're a reserveist. That's correct. You still go to boot camp
[00:14:13] Yeah, you do the same battle school basic is different, but you go into the same battle school
[00:14:17] And from there you'd support the PPC li if they had any taskings
[00:14:23] Overseas or whatever he would be that's the way the Canadian military was working
[00:14:26] They would be one third percent would be reservist militian in our case
[00:14:30] So that that was the objective and then if positions came available for a rig force
[00:14:34] You would be top the list to get into the get-in there and then they end up what they end up disbanding this regimen
[00:14:41] Yeah, so Somalia they're a Canadian airborne regimen. They had that incident in Somalia and it resulted in the mean
[00:14:48] Which incident? Yeah, they there was a
[00:14:51] They caught a local trying to steal food and it's either cap and he was
[00:14:55] I think it was four soldiers
[00:14:57] They tortured them and in the anti-Hey died and that got into the media and obviously as a result the government
[00:15:03] Disbanded the complete regimen
[00:15:05] So while that was happening all jump courses were put on standby and us as a regimen
[00:15:11] We were retasked to be anti-tank
[00:15:15] Basically which was a hard
[00:15:18] Moment for the regiment and what was an obviously appealing and for me that was you know, I was I was going
[00:15:23] That was a fun so you you mentally checked out
[00:15:25] And I called to actually I called the Marine Corps recruiter and
[00:15:29] Yeah, and the
[00:15:32] What they can Canadian student well at the time know you'd have to go through the whole process of applying for a green card
[00:15:37] So it take he said like two years man, huh? So I was like, you know, you're young and
[00:15:41] Zero patients two years is like the rest of your entire life. You can't ever wait two years
[00:15:46] But you could do it actually so if there's a young Canadian right now that's thinking Marine Corps
[00:15:50] Well, I think now it's a lot easier
[00:15:52] But again at the time there wasn't a lot going on so they're a little more selective, but yeah, that's what I was told two years minimum
[00:15:58] All right, so then you say during my time at P.P.C.L.I. Battle School one of our NCOs
[00:16:04] mentioned that a colleague of his had recently returned from France after serving in the French Foreign Legion's parachute regimen
[00:16:10] I was intrigued true. I'd heard of the Legion before but never really thought more of it or took it seriously to be honest
[00:16:17] But more recently the idea of being able to join an airborne regimen in a foreign country peak my sense of adventure
[00:16:23] Something that was seriously lacking in my life
[00:16:25] I eventually wrote to the French Foreign Legion's headquarters in France expressing my interest in joining this brought a quick reply from the Legion
[00:16:34] So so you wrote a you write them a letter. Yep, and then they write you back
[00:16:38] So I actually went down to the French consulate in Vancouver and
[00:16:41] Went to the front desk and asked the question kind of a strange look that I got back from the nicely, but they gave me an address and
[00:16:49] Yeah, I wrote a letter and letter came back with all the
[00:16:53] Information needed to to join so I read that a million times and
[00:17:00] Yeah, I was like I'm going
[00:17:05] How do you say the Legion in charge air in French?
[00:17:09] It's les gens et le tronjais. Oh god, I'm not even tried. I'm not gonna try it
[00:17:13] So the French Foreign Legion is no-no world over
[00:17:18] And fix in the poppy the minds and our images of Legionnaires wearing the characteristic white kept is that right kept
[00:17:24] Kepty caps trudging across African deserts on a merciless son to defend and outpost
[00:17:29] These men were petty thieves and criminals with dark paths as well as deserters from
[00:17:36] Foreign armies who had found a new home and
[00:17:38] Life in the ranks of the Legion some would call these men mercenaries what caught my attention?
[00:17:44] No, we're history books filled with black and white pictures of the legions first battalion
[00:17:50] a torn jadr they parachutists
[00:17:54] Nailed it so did you say be here to say bap that
[00:17:58] So the first bet and the second battalion a torn jadr
[00:18:04] They parachutists or second bap jumping in French in Do China
[00:18:10] The Legion I was interested in joining had evolved into a modern elite fighting force
[00:18:16] So I was racist and not willing to settle for average life my mind was made up
[00:18:20] I was going to join the French Foreign Legion
[00:18:23] Dad looked at me sternly and shook my hand. He wished me locks saying call us when you get the chance
[00:18:29] I made my way to the train station to continue my journey to Stratzburg France
[00:18:33] Second thoughts anxiety and excitement were fighting in my mind, but there was no way I was turning back
[00:18:38] And I always have to say this obviously I'm not reading this whole book right now. I'm skipping over big chunks
[00:18:44] Where you have really interesting details you kind of spell it out like your dad was
[00:18:49] airline pilots you had the opportunity to get over there and
[00:18:54] This is when you get and then the reason I think I highlighted this was because once again
[00:18:59] I think a lot of people that listen to this are
[00:19:01] Well, they're young
[00:19:04] Individuals thinking about joined the military. I was gonna say young men, but I just met a female in Australia
[00:19:10] That was like oh, I joined the Air Force because you're podcast. I'm in the Air Force right now
[00:19:13] She's like from listening to your podcast. I was like, well, that's awesome. So young people
[00:19:18] When they're thinking about joined the military and
[00:19:22] They have exactly what you have second thoughts anxiety and
[00:19:26] Excitement we're all fighting because you're excited to do it, but then you're scared you're nervous
[00:19:30] So
[00:19:32] There's I think I guess my point in saying this is that it's pretty normal to have those feelings true
[00:19:38] I'll be at I'm in France. I can't go home. So there's that difference
[00:19:45] If I may interject my grandfather my mum's dad who retired a three-star
[00:19:49] Before I left he
[00:19:51] He was my hero as I mentioned the other book
[00:19:55] one the DSO
[00:19:57] He had said to me are you sure any and when I said yes, I'm sure this is what I'm doing so well if you do go there and represent your country well
[00:20:04] So I always had that in the back of mind as you know as soon as I knocked on that door
[00:20:08] I was representing Canada somewhat
[00:20:12] And yeah, but I as I you know I mentioned the book I said there across the street for a good chunk of time looking at that door
[00:20:18] Thinking damn I've got myself
[00:20:21] Quite the situation here, but time to pull through
[00:20:25] Yeah
[00:20:26] You're at the Straussburg train station wave down a taxi driver and rusty French explain how good was your French?
[00:20:32] I took at the Canadian military school system and his French immersion
[00:20:35] So I took which is basically half English half French. I took that to create it
[00:20:39] So I had a good base which I think was a huge factor in my decision to go that's a challenge
[00:20:44] It's if you don't speak the language in rusty French explain my destination in the driver the legions recruitment depot
[00:20:49] Look looking surprised he turned to me and asked are you certain? La Liseon is a tough life when I said yes
[00:20:56] He replied you crazy
[00:20:58] Then he turned back around put the car and gear and accelerated into Straussburg's evening traffic
[00:21:05] How proud were you to say take me to the Legion?
[00:21:08] I mean when I was a kid I remember we got this uh when we got done with the dive phase of seal training
[00:21:15] They gave us this little the US Navy qualified diver card and it and the specification
[00:21:21] I think it said
[00:21:22] 5320 which meant we were in still in training because 5326 would be year a seal
[00:21:28] But 5320 and then it said like in parentheses something like combat diver and so we got this card
[00:21:34] I mean I'm Nike years old and I pretty much thought I was a cool as a guy
[00:21:38] Like if somebody needed to see my ID
[00:21:40] Maybe I'd have to use that for that
[00:21:42] But even just that right there of yeah feeling how did that feel I think it was more thinking about what's what's coming next
[00:21:52] Gonna really give a shit about the touchy drum
[00:21:59] Me I wanted to impress that taxing
[00:22:02] Take me to the Legion
[00:22:04] Um, the yeah man when you're 1918 you're dumb. Well, maybe you were you sounds like you were supposed to be smarter than I was about
[00:22:12] I was 22
[00:22:14] I was a little bit older service for a little bit. But I wasn't I was still dumb
[00:22:17] Yeah, there's no question
[00:22:19] The Straussburg Legion recruitment depot was a first world war era whitewash three story building facing a large playground
[00:22:27] Partially abandoned barracks. It's now used as a post that recruitment the l'Aligion they call jac
[00:22:34] My saying that yes, sir
[00:22:36] With the cold war over there was no longer a need for the large military units and therefore sprawling military barracks
[00:22:43] The entrance to the PR LE was a metal door
[00:22:46] Set into a three meter high wall top of the razor wire a solitary light cleared down from above
[00:22:52] Inscribed on the door with three words
[00:22:57] L'Aigio patria nostra. How do you say that?
[00:22:59] L'Aigion patria nostra. Okay, the Legion is our father land
[00:23:05] Which is a which is a bold statement, you know, it's their way of saying
[00:23:10] You're gonna be from all these different countries and
[00:23:13] But those aren't those aren't your father land anymore your father lives are over the Legion. Yeah
[00:23:18] Sir, yeah, then you talked about your stalling sitting across the street looking at the door
[00:23:25] Knowing that after you go in there suck it up
[00:23:27] I just go for you. Game all this way, but yeah, I definitely how long do you sit there for?
[00:23:32] I think it was even more than an hour enough time to get bored sitting there
[00:23:37] Yeah last moments of freedom how much intel did you have not much because that was the issues is pre-internet really
[00:23:45] There was Legion air that you mentioned the book which had red and that was definitely a a big part of my joining
[00:23:51] I read them off full of rocks, but again as you mentioned, dessert didn't take into account
[00:23:55] That was just you know, so on writing their own narrative and then the history books
[00:24:00] You know seeing the the beps jumping into China and then Algeria that for me was the
[00:24:07] The main I guess history and knowledge that I could gain and from there was just mostly visually
[00:24:14] Not a cool ongoing. Yeah, it wasn't a ton of
[00:24:17] Of anymore what about intel as far as what the indoctrination phases were gonna be like I didn't know much
[00:24:23] Whatever the books talked about and all that being said Legion. I was a 60s
[00:24:27] That was the French endow China early F French Algerian war
[00:24:30] So time it passed, but I didn't know much. Yeah, that was the big
[00:24:34] Question mark is what comes next same for me. You're on a seal training nowadays
[00:24:38] Obviously you can pretty much observe seal training on YouTube
[00:24:43] You can see what's going on. I had no no zero idea
[00:24:46] There was one like 15 minute video that the recruiter would show, but it didn't show you very much
[00:24:51] And I don't know whether that's better or worse because you don't even know you just
[00:24:55] You just like you said you get ready to suck it up and just whatever they throw at me is fine
[00:24:59] You have
[00:25:00] You can't even look at the long term suffering because you even know what it's what's gonna come so
[00:25:06] And at that age we don't we don't think much far ahead
[00:25:08] Do he had just more action yeah, no, and I messed up as I was saying before we started recording like I didn't care
[00:25:15] Yeah, what they were gonna do to me. It didn't didn't matter
[00:25:18] Even if they were even if they were gonna kill me it was like, okay, well, bring it yeah
[00:25:23] At that point I didn't know too that this wasn't a given you don't just show up and join
[00:25:27] They take everybody there was a selection process. I think the big one for me was you know get in
[00:25:32] Because I didn't want to go back with my tail between my legs and getting in you know
[00:25:35] That would be a huge
[00:25:37] Yeah
[00:25:38] Yes, you know you don't want to see go back into your grandfather. Yeah, I didn't even get in the fridge for
[00:25:45] So here we go. I stood up enough stalling. I told myself I crossed the street walk to the door
[00:25:49] Ring the doorbell it didn't make any noise after what seemed like minutes a large man taller than me and a lot more imposing
[00:25:55] Dressed and khaki green army combat uniform finally opened the door
[00:25:58] Yes, I see my passport. I handed it to him you join Legion. He asked a broken English. We I replied
[00:26:04] He glanced at my passport again Canadian. We and
[00:26:07] So then you roll in and
[00:26:10] They put in a video cassette that was given you basically the outline of the Legion's history
[00:26:16] Yeah, they had a cassette for every language in the old VHS machine
[00:26:20] I will TV and he's set there for whatever took 25 minutes and he just watched their presentation on
[00:26:27] Well, you're both a join. Yeah, so that was actually my first real bit of
[00:26:31] Lessons on the on the totality of what the Legion was
[00:26:34] But in it there was you know shots of the the rep jumping and so I was just like yeah, that's we're good
[00:26:40] Let's I don't need to watch this tape. You got it. You're not gonna say shift to the
[00:26:44] No, you're gonna put it in
[00:26:48] Carries on a bit why do you want to join the Legion? I want a soldier. I replied
[00:26:52] No one can do a poker face like a foreign Legion recruitment enceo without speaking
[00:26:56] He placed a document in front of me that stated my acceptance into the prevolent to your face the legions initial five-year contract
[00:27:03] He motioned for me to sign it marking my first major step into the ranks of the Legion
[00:27:07] I was aware of the initial five-year commitment the letter I received from the Legion prior to flying to France clearly
[00:27:13] Outwind what was expected without hesitation
[00:27:16] I leaned forward and signed the document. It was September 8th
[00:27:20] 1994
[00:27:21] So there you go you're in
[00:27:23] Ish
[00:27:24] Well you're in for
[00:27:27] For if you make it through the selection phase. Yeah, correct. Yeah, that's just a little bit
[00:27:31] Yeah, yeah, and the weird thing is you're in I mean we'll talk more about it
[00:27:37] But there's people deserving all the time like just like just leaving. Yeah escaping basically
[00:27:44] Which is kind of funny. Yeah
[00:27:47] Because any and you know you
[00:27:50] Well cover it, but
[00:27:52] You don't want a guy that that wants to leave. You don't want a guy that's not doesn't want to be there to be there
[00:27:56] No, and they've been doing this for a long time
[00:27:58] They know what it takes and the right type of candidate to choose so that's the first step
[00:28:02] They look at the basic information that they have and they go from there and they've been fairly successful
[00:28:08] Oh, what they do? So
[00:28:10] So now you go to Obanya Obanya Obanya
[00:28:12] Oh, buying. Oh, buying. So they do a pre-medical exam prior to that
[00:28:16] So they really check the sound of body and all that kind of stuff to make sure that you physically fit and then off you go to Obanya
[00:28:22] And did you say did you say broke like if you had broken bones you couldn't join? Yeah bad teeth was a big one too
[00:28:27] Yeah, they look for the basics and he scars showing your previous injuries when you mean bad teeth like crooked teeth
[00:28:34] Yeah, I don't know what exactly look for but they spent a lot of time
[00:28:36] We send a dentist chair and they go they go at it and guys were were cut because they had teeth now
[00:28:43] I don't know if that shows bad bone structure bad DNA or it's gonna cause them problems down the road where they have to do dental work
[00:28:50] But especially overseas. I think that's they take teeth into consideration
[00:28:54] Oh, yeah
[00:28:55] Yeah
[00:28:57] So now you end up in Obanya correct. I'm getting there, right? That's correct. Yeah
[00:29:03] We joined groups of volunteers from other recruitment centers numbering well over a hundred and lined up in single file on the parade square
[00:29:09] opposite the basement entrance of a single story building
[00:29:12] Our wallets money and watches were taken away and sealed inside individually labeled
[00:29:16] Manila envelopes closed and shoes were also taken from us and stored either in military duffle bags or if deemed adequate
[00:29:22] Arceviline bags we were then issued personal toiletries t-shirts a pair of white sports shorts
[00:29:29] Socks underwear a single towel and a small padlock for a personal locker in the barracks rooms
[00:29:36] Those without proper running shoes were handed hard sold a deedess runners
[00:29:41] Around us men were speaking in a variety of languages unfamiliar to me all orders were another information
[00:29:47] We're given in French and quickly translated to out to the others by those who understood
[00:29:53] So this is your kind of a standard boot camp scenario. We're gonna get rid of your
[00:30:00] Get rid of your individuality somewhat still at the recruiting phase
[00:30:05] So we're not even when you do get chosen you go off and do your basic which is four months at another regiment
[00:30:09] This is just screening really get a still screen. Yeah, so all the different recruitment
[00:30:14] Sites of the heaven France they all ship the volunteers to O'Buyne and then there they
[00:30:20] They start doing their triage basically would be the right word and from there they'll do their
[00:30:25] selection background checks more medical stuff physical fitness
[00:30:29] Reviews and from there they'll pick their their Legionnaires
[00:30:33] Or to be yeah to be attempted correct. Oh the final phase of the evaluation referred to as the Gestapo was the most discussed among potential recruits
[00:30:41] The officer and NCOs conducting that this phase were from the Legionnaires
[00:30:46] Internal security
[00:30:48] This immediately dispelled one of the Legion's greatest myths no questions asked in fact the Gestapo asked plenty of questions and dug deep clearing our names through
[00:30:56] Interpol so that what I was saying earlier about how you could be this random criminal and just go join the French foreign Legion in your past as race
[00:31:02] It's not like that apparently not anymore originally back when it was initially
[00:31:06] Designed it was to have soldiers to go to France as your rework that word French so they would take whoever they could or
[00:31:14] They would give criminals the opportunity to not serve the time and prison and join the Legion
[00:31:18] But you know as the Legion grew and became a little more professional and a part of the French military
[00:31:24] Then it was it was a different system they basically selected what they could the best of what showed up
[00:31:30] So this is the the process they start doing there
[00:31:32] Through background checks and make sure that you you need a valid passport obviously
[00:31:37] No major criminal fences and then have the physical
[00:31:42] Attributes to make a good soldier and they take one in one in 12. I think when I was there
[00:31:47] One in 12 applicants get through now. It's more 115. Wow. Yeah, so that's one in 12 that actually show up. Yeah, correct
[00:31:54] Yeah, the biggest groups hailed from the former eastern block countries Russia Poland Ukraine
[00:32:02] Romania hung hungry Slovakia and Czech Republic. We commonly we commonly refer to them as a
[00:32:10] Comunists the communist
[00:32:12] Which I got to take out of this is what the United States so the walls come down
[00:32:15] There's a lot of guys coming down to join just to get a I'm yield ticket and to get out of tough times up up across the
[00:32:21] field wall yeah
[00:32:25] When they get done when you get done do you do you become a French citizen when you're done you can apply
[00:32:31] I didn't for example, but yeah, you can apply it's not a given if you're injured in battle
[00:32:36] You are given French citizenship
[00:32:38] But yeah, most of the people will apply after five years and they're pretty they're pretty good at it issuing
[00:32:44] Three weeks in it was a great relief that I was called out of the ranks with several others and issued secondhand combat pants jacket
[00:32:51] About boots our heads were shaved and we moved to a cramp smelly building in the volunteer compound which
[00:32:57] Which we spent our time trying to clean a few days later
[00:33:01] We were several of us from the group were issued a red plastic epilet
[00:33:07] We were now rouge signifying that we had passed the Legion recruitment process and we were bound for basic training now known as
[00:33:14] Lays aruges
[00:33:16] We passed individually before a kernel in the regiments HQ to sign our initial five-year contract with the Legion
[00:33:24] We also received our Legion service numbers mine was
[00:33:28] 1-8-5-6-8-9
[00:33:31] Yes, so we're through so I'm in and that was probably the worst part of my experience in the Legion. I thought it was about experience
[00:33:37] But that was definitely the the least enjoyable. We're just the whole yeah the atmosphere and processing if I don't know what prisons like
[00:33:43] But that was kind of my my go to experience yeah, you know, they're just a bunch of me the heads around everyone's kind of you don't know what's happening
[00:33:50] Yeah, it was taking one out of every 12. Yeah, yeah, and then every day
[00:33:54] There'll be a roll call the yellow and a whole bunch of names and those guys you're out you just go off to the side to go back and get your kit and those send you back to your original
[00:34:03] Spot that you applied and that's it you're done so every day you'd be in roll call and you've just hoping your name didn't get going and how long was this time period?
[00:34:11] It took about a month for this to happen now
[00:34:17] It varies and then there's another you say at this point a Legion myth was dispelled
[00:34:22] for a short administrative period of time we were
[00:34:27] Olm's songs norm men without names and those who needed an alias would be provided with one
[00:34:32] And so that so you used to be that you could just go in there and change your name and it sounds like you still could if you wanted to
[00:34:40] Yeah, but it's not mandatory exactly so for the Eastern countries
[00:34:44] It's illegal for them to serve in a foreign military
[00:34:47] So for that reason the legal issue them a false name
[00:34:50] Typically a Swiss based on a Swiss passport Canadian passport and
[00:34:54] They use that for a duration of their career before they can go through an administrative process to get their name back
[00:35:00] In my case I was Canadian that's not an issue so I kept my name
[00:35:07] So but if the country finds out what that name was and they call an astleagent is you know Simon Murray
[00:35:14] In your ranks thought off to say yes
[00:35:17] So it's up to you to the main tandy and a minute. You guys would be the work
[00:35:22] It was a lot of me how quickly I'd become detached from my previous life and tethered to a new one that was still being shaped while cleaning the center
[00:35:29] Two guys in our group were caught speaking Polish to each other although talking in any language besides French had been accepted over the past few weeks
[00:35:36] We soon learned that it was no longer tolerated to demonstrate his displeasure a corporal need one of the polls in his midsection and then ordered him to do pushups while he was doing pushups the corporal
[00:35:46] Kicked him in his ribs demanding that he pick up the pace
[00:35:50] This was our first taste of the legions discipline and a revelation
[00:35:54] Indeed, so yeah our corporal's a sergeant and our corporal showed up from the catch-brem
[00:35:59] Allure which is the training regimen that will be going to and this is them taking us for run and
[00:36:05] Or take us out and that's where we see the first sign of what's to come
[00:36:10] It was interesting. I thought it was actually kind of kind of cool
[00:36:13] I don't know that sounds right, but it's more like yeah, this is you know yeah my experience in Canadian military was was good
[00:36:18] But it wasn't
[00:36:20] Tough if that's the right word and this seemed to me like the right attitude and plus you just spent like
[00:36:26] Whatever three or four weeks in this kind of jail scenario and
[00:36:31] Not doing any real training and all of a sudden it's starting it's starting exactly so you got momentum
[00:36:35] It's you're going you're in the right direction. So it's it's all good is it?
[00:36:40] Interesting that
[00:36:43] That that's just in your mind you're thinking right on
[00:36:47] Because that's what I'm saying good. I'm like yeah, or especially if they deserve it. Yeah, yeah, well for sure
[00:36:53] Yeah, and it's as I said they they know what to do and this is how they weed out the
[00:36:57] The week or those that aren't meant to be there if you can't handle
[00:37:01] Need of the gut and some kicks of the side, you know, look at you in the trenches and shit goes wrong
[00:37:07] Yeah, we're good at you in life as that
[00:37:10] Oh, yeah
[00:37:13] Awesome now
[00:37:15] Let's see I think this is when you get to a castel correct saying that right yep
[00:37:19] So the castel is this is where sort of where's starting that is the drill train
[00:37:23] Yeah, great basic training our first lesson in how life would be as a recruiting castel came via a ritual known as a pal
[00:37:31] All 25 of us lined up in the hallway along the wall shoulders touching
[00:37:34] We then countered off in French each yelling the number the next number in succession
[00:37:38] To ensure all section members were present and accounted for the corporal per proud up and down the ranks and
[00:37:44] Flicting immediate punishment in the form of a slap to the face or a need of the stomach if there was a miss count at one point
[00:37:49] Alistair after receiving a verbal lashing and a hard open-handed slap across the face for getting his number wrong said to the corporal
[00:37:56] But I don't speak French corporal. I couldn't help but laugh just a little
[00:38:00] It's the French foreign Legion after all. I was damn lucky to have basic French knowledge on my side
[00:38:05] A pal would become a routine in our our lives. It's intent was to quickly identify anyone who might have decided to
[00:38:12] Desert it was also a fast and effective way to gather a section together to issue orders our first morning a pal
[00:38:19] Alistair and a Norwegian were missing
[00:38:22] Deserted apparently they had jumped the regiment wall just hours prior this seems strange to me like what had they been expecting with basic training
[00:38:29] They hadn't even lasted 24 hours in castel
[00:38:33] Morning new to night our section now 23 men would form up and march from the company barracks to the mess hall
[00:38:39] A corporal would set the pace calling out the slow Legion pace at 88 steps per minute
[00:38:45] During the first few days are attempt to maintain the timing as well as the proper intervals between our rows were
[00:38:51] Ragged in hindsight. It was comical the other corporals positioned at our size attempted to instill order by yelling at us and hitting anyone who fell out of step
[00:39:00] Whether being struck and shouted at helped anyone improve was debatable
[00:39:06] So this is where it kicks off and if you see the French foreign Legion marching you guys march at
[00:39:13] 88 beats per minute, which is which is like a third maybe or a quarter slower than the normal yeah correct march
[00:39:20] Yeah
[00:39:21] Is that is that harder
[00:39:23] Is that out of sync with normal walking pit is yeah, I think that's the challenge as you got to slow yourself down
[00:39:29] Yeah, and then they introduce the music we'll get there. Yeah, yeah, when it wasn't possible for us to do a single more push up
[00:39:39] The again I'm fast forwarding, but when it wasn't possible for us to do a single more push up
[00:39:43] We were made to assume stress positions in push-ups stance knees off the ground with our asses in the air
[00:39:49] Anyone who faltered and dropped was kicked until he managed to regain its his stance
[00:39:54] Yes, so there's nothing mean about it
[00:39:57] They're just trying to figure out whether or not you want to be there and if you don't well, you know
[00:40:01] Well that being said you you got to do your your four months of basic
[00:40:05] You can decide to leave at the end of basic, but they're they're definitely putting up the pressure on early
[00:40:10] And if people deserve they they know but they don't you've done them a favor really
[00:40:16] Yeah, yeah, made it easy for them exactly the punishment's varied and largely came down to the corpals imagination
[00:40:23] Which I can only imagine what that what that ends up looking like
[00:40:31] So then he what when did you go to the farm when does that happen? Once we were we had 50
[00:40:36] The next group showed up so I think it was there for a couple weeks before we were a
[00:40:40] Complete section and then off you go so then you go to a place called the farm and here
[00:40:44] You say the next four weeks would be our first real challenge in basic training
[00:40:47] It's supposed to weed out anyone deemed unfit for the Legion
[00:40:50] We would be presented with our white capies only when we completed the farm and that was super foreign to me coming from the Canadian system
[00:40:57] I'll be a short
[00:40:58] You know they'd say we're you guys we go into the farm for a month. I was like you know what and
[00:41:03] Yeah, it was it was definitely an eye opener, but effective well what what part was an
[00:41:08] Was strange to you well just the term farm like I was what you know where you go farming
[00:41:13] Okay, and then we show up and it actually looks like a French farming building and
[00:41:17] Landscape around it, but it's an effective tool you're there for a month and you just get beasted on and they
[00:41:24] Show you the way of of the Legion Aaron if you can hack it good for you if not
[00:41:29] If you go how often are people quitting?
[00:41:32] We had a handful probably ever week one or two would dessert
[00:41:37] Yeah, and it was kind of as I mentioned kind of an understood thing if it's not for you
[00:41:42] Just or if you go if the John Darm's pick you up they would you know be sent back to the Legion they do their time in the jail and then they don't release them
[00:41:50] It's not like there's so any criminal I asked back to it
[00:41:53] Yeah, it's just part of the system. You eat out the week and they started to build that a
[00:41:57] teamwork here based on this kind of thing back to the book any error collective or individual resulted in shared punishment
[00:42:04] We were only as good as our weakest members so those who were stronger had best help the last capable
[00:42:09] But those of us who were stronger and more capable soon lost patients when the guys making our days a lot harder
[00:42:14] It wasn't long before a clear hierarchy of ability became evident within our group
[00:42:21] Sayin
[00:42:22] The really a trying to figure out who's supposed to be there the tough routine brought the expected result
[00:42:31] During our first week another Britain on Australian and New Zealander from the latest group to join. We're missing at morning a pel
[00:42:37] Once again the realization that they had deserted struck me as odd the corpus reactions were minimal
[00:42:44] Ultimately no one wants a deserter in the ranks and
[00:42:49] Then you could get to this we were broken down into by-nomes. Did my say that right beat them be norms yeah
[00:42:56] or groups of two
[00:42:58] This is a tradition that they've come back to the Roman legions whereby two soldiers were designated to guard each other's backs and battles and in seal training
[00:43:07] We have swim buddies which is the same thing like in the Marine Corps and the Army I think they call them battle buddies, but yep
[00:43:13] So that's another word for you need a you need a you need a swim buddy you need a partner. Yep at all the time
[00:43:21] You had another partner at all time and that was hunger hunger was a constant companion
[00:43:25] The combination of physical fitness long hours in the classroom and seemingly ended anglic endless pushups took its toll on everyone
[00:43:33] How much did you guys eat enough?
[00:43:35] We were definitely weren't eating enough to compensate for the calories you're burning
[00:43:39] But that was also part of it trying to turn it to the right shape and reference the the deserters
[00:43:45] I think I mentioned that it seemed like it was more that the brits the Kiwis the Aussies the Western area
[00:43:49] You know the
[00:43:50] Non-eastern blockers ever were deserting and I think that's because that's something
[00:43:54] To have you have the evidies are at home or is Eastern blockers where they're gonna go you know they got no choice
[00:43:59] So it's a it's an effective system, but it's not perfect because you know potentially losing good soldiers
[00:44:04] But they're just not ready to put up with certain bullshit
[00:44:09] Early on and now we get to I think what well
[00:44:14] Marching songs marching songs are an important legion tradition and throughout its history
[00:44:18] Regiments have marched into battle singing most songs tell the stories of former campaigns and battles
[00:44:24] Although I respected the legit legion's history
[00:44:26] I dislike singing as it was completely alien to my concept of what soldiering should be
[00:44:32] My previous exposure to army life had been an entirely different experience
[00:44:37] So you guys are singing he songs and here's an example
[00:44:40] I won't do the French version. I'll read the English being the translation against the vets against the enemy
[00:44:46] Wherever duty calls soldiers of France soldiers of the country
[00:44:49] We march toward the front Legionnaires the battle that begins places enthusiasm encourage in our souls
[00:44:57] It may rain grenades and gravel our victory will be sweeter
[00:45:00] But if death strikes us down if our bloody fingers stiffened on the ground one last raid fair well and tomorrow
[00:45:08] We will wish to train despite the bullets and the shells under fire and bombs
[00:45:12] We will advance toward the same goal ignoring the call of the grave
[00:45:16] Roger, no, I I should talk it, but I respect it and it has its place and its purpose and it's effective
[00:45:24] And that's you know, that's the history of the Legion. So it's it's what they what they do and what they use
[00:45:31] They I mean this there's what do they call that there's some there's some thing
[00:45:38] Where you say the same thing over and over again?
[00:45:40] Certainly yeah, and you start to believe it. I believe it's just called straight up brainwashing
[00:45:47] But yeah, that's that's what they're doing right you're singing these song the cadence is that we used to sing
[00:45:53] We sang some cadences that were completely
[00:45:57] Not okay
[00:45:59] meaning they were just over the top with
[00:46:02] Just wrong and they don't do many more. It's been interesting when I went back and I talked to guys like oh
[00:46:09] You guys still sing that cadence kind of thinking to myself. They probably don't and they don't there's cadences that they
[00:46:14] Banished because they were so bad
[00:46:17] But they're still cadences that you sang and like things like this. Hey, this is what we do but it builds cohesion
[00:46:23] Right, there's the teamwork it's learning figuring it out together
[00:46:27] You know
[00:46:28] Pulling along the weakest link
[00:46:30] But when you do finally get it you start marching together collectively as a group there is that pride like yeah
[00:46:35] We nailed us and we got it and it's effective and as I mentioned we we march into the into the regiments for
[00:46:41] weeks later as a cohesive group in step
[00:46:44] Seeing them in the right tune and it's impressive that they can do that in a short amount of time with you know
[00:46:50] All these different nationalists and people don't speak French they have different alphabet like it's it's an effective system
[00:46:56] Yeah, yeah, no the the the learning French part has got a huge yeah, I'm supposed to be the Russians
[00:47:01] I mean they different alphabet we had Koreans. I mean I had it easy and I and I say that having that base made it
[00:47:07] Hell of a lot easier for me. I have to worry
[00:47:09] But I could just focus on the the soldiering and the not getting beasted on how good does someone's French get in four weeks or I guess now
[00:47:16] It's been a week
[00:47:17] Weeks that they've been here depends on the individual obviously there's some that pick it up quicker than others
[00:47:22] If you're cleaning toilets all the time and work in the kitchen you might want to put a little more effort into it
[00:47:26] There's certain nationalities like the Romanian so they have that lot in base that pick it up quite well
[00:47:32] And yeah, it's down to each individual to put in the time and effort
[00:47:36] What about just fast forward real quick three years down the line does everyone food in French?
[00:47:41] Yeah, quicker than that. Well, that time you're done basic you have in that part of their their
[00:47:46] The system within those four months you have a basic level of French before you can go to the the next step to your regiments
[00:47:53] And that'd be said about third of the the men in the ranks are also French
[00:47:58] So what they'll do is imagine the book is they'll put those who speak French
[00:48:01] You'll be a be-in-one with a non-French speaker and you have to assist and if they're not pulled so what did they class you as?
[00:48:08] Yeah, I was given that so I was given
[00:48:10] A couple of angle phones a Brit to help out and if they're not pulling their weight I'm cleaning toilets and working to get you with them
[00:48:17] So the owners is there to to get them along even with the Brit you guys have a common language because you can transfer to English
[00:48:23] Yeah, right, but you could be with a Korean that speaks knowing English and then yeah tough
[00:48:28] It's just
[00:48:30] When you'd be in the classroom with Sergeant Schmidt that we mentioned there are others and they would just teach you to fork fork
[00:48:36] Look at figure out fork if you don't you know the old open hand would come and you'd learn fork
[00:48:43] Fuck
[00:48:45] We're good to know you think it's a wrong choice
[00:48:49] Yeah, you say it seemed like we spent more time singing than soldering each song as songs to the tune match at the slow-paced of the Legion's March and
[00:48:56] In some cases secondary singers are assigned specific tenor courses filling in the background
[00:49:01] Most of the recruits agreed that Legion training was far from what we had expected the emphasis on singing the constant hunger
[00:49:08] That nodded our guts didn't help we were blissfully ignorant of the fact that this was all part of the training
[00:49:13] Things improved somewhat when we started concentrating on elementary combat skills
[00:49:19] We also started marching for several hours a night
[00:49:22] Compute as a complete section with our FA. How do you what do you say there?
[00:49:26] Famous so you say for moss from us from us from which is your weapon webbing and backpacks
[00:49:33] With each passing march the duration extended until we spent most of a night marching passing through local villages
[00:49:41] Force and fields I enjoyed the marches and didn't find them too difficult
[00:49:44] But some of the guys developed large blisters from the friction of our stiff stiff leather boots
[00:49:50] Nobody showed them much sympathy suffer in silence. That was the attitude cumulative
[00:49:54] Fatigue meant we were usually in a state of semi sleep
[00:49:59] Simply following the man in front of us. So you guys are humpin. Yeah
[00:50:04] How many how many clicks were you doing tonight? I can't you know, I don't to be honest
[00:50:08] I don't remember the exact number
[00:50:10] enough to it would progressively increase
[00:50:13] You know once we get our legs and pineus and we'll be marching on light get back early and
[00:50:19] The next NCOB they're saying glad you had a good night sleep. Let's get to it. Yeah, yeah
[00:50:26] All this trick in the gun you know we all fall for what in the Marine Corps
[00:50:33] Like the drone structures they change shirts
[00:50:37] So you never see them sweating so it doesn't matter what they're doing they'll come in like a chicken totally
[00:50:42] I'm sure to go
[00:50:44] smart
[00:50:46] Continue on our toes again skipping through a bunch of stuff here our time at the Foreigners finished in the final three days
[00:50:51] We involved the forced march meaning a march of longer duration than we had been used to it was called
[00:50:57] Lamaosh Kepi because it was after this that you earned the right to wear the coveted white Kepi and be promoted to the rank of Legion air
[00:51:04] Do zoom here. What's that yeah, yeah, I said that right. How do you send them to zoom? DGM class second class Legion error
[00:51:17] Then you guys are sort of in a graduation and
[00:51:20] Someone steps forward and reads the first line of a Legionnaires coat of honor
[00:51:25] Then and then the rest of you who which is where's that Benny the Scott?
[00:51:30] Oh, he's the guy that was that mean he used the honor gratter something. Yeah, yeah
[00:51:33] Eventually quit but yeah
[00:51:37] So you guys step forward and here's the Legionnaires code
[00:51:43] Legionnaire you are a volunteer serving France with honor and loyalty every Legionnaires your brother and arms
[00:51:49] Irrespective of his nationality race or religion you will show him the same solidarity as that which bonds a family
[00:51:57] Respectful of traditions loyal to your commanders discipline and camaraderie are your force
[00:52:04] Courage and loyalty your virtues proud of your status as a Legionnaire you express this through your uniform
[00:52:11] Always smart your behavior dignified but modest and your quarters always clean as
[00:52:16] An elite soldier you train rigorously you maintain your weapon as your most precious possession and you're always mindful of your physical condition
[00:52:27] The mission is sacred you will execute to the end at all costs
[00:52:34] In combat you act without emotion or hatred you respect the defeated enemy and you never abandon your dead
[00:52:41] Your wounded or your weapons
[00:52:43] After completing the code we are ordered to place our kepteys on our heads and the order was given to present arms to the commanding officer
[00:52:54] We were now Legionnaires
[00:52:58] Pretty awesome code there yeah, how's it's place in history?
[00:53:06] It's
[00:53:08] It's interesting they got that last line in their combat you act without emotion or hatred you respect the defeated enemy and you never abandon your dead
[00:53:16] You're wondering it's interesting the respecting the defeated enemy. I wonder when that was added. Do you know I don't definitely
[00:53:22] You're representing France the flag so your actions
[00:53:26] They speak for themselves. I don't know exactly historically when that was added
[00:53:33] Yeah, um
[00:53:35] So now it's time to check in
[00:53:37] Right check in with third company third section with
[00:53:42] With your regiment
[00:53:46] So basic continues. We basically have three months left. Oh really. Yeah, so it's yeah
[00:53:52] You finish the farm and then you go back to Custell for three months and then you start your training as a Legionnaire as an
[00:54:00] Infantryman and they basically set you up so depending on what regiment you go to you have the base skills needed for them to
[00:54:06] To work with you. So when you go to third company third section. Are you still in basic training? Yeah
[00:54:12] So you still not you still not don't yet
[00:54:16] What's the total training time that it's gonna take?
[00:54:19] Okay, I think that's yeah, that's about the same time as
[00:54:23] Maybe the Marine Corps boot camp Marine Corps boot camps 13 weeks
[00:54:26] Um
[00:54:33] So that and that just completes more of your kind of basic military training. Yeah, you get more into the infantry type of stuff
[00:54:39] Okay, so you are doing combat skills and
[00:54:43] The farm was just a beast to show you what would a Legionnaire should deal with and take
[00:54:48] There's not a lot of it's you know mentioned if there's the basics, but it's not it's just more about the discipline right learning the
[00:54:56] Tools of the trade and then when you get back to the the regiment for the last three months
[00:55:00] Then it's more focused on the soldier actually becoming the learning the tactical skills
[00:55:04] Yeah, and then
[00:55:06] You're assigned to the sports monitor course and
[00:55:11] The military driver course and
[00:55:13] And then you're gonna get sent to a second rep so we'll explain that to me. So I finished a finished first
[00:55:20] And hats off to I mentioned Benny he was an ex
[00:55:24] British soldier served in
[00:55:26] Over in Ireland a good guy and he was my you know go to during training
[00:55:30] You know he had his
[00:55:32] History and stories and he had a bad knee so he decided at the end of your basic training
[00:55:36] You can decide to
[00:55:37] Call a quits and he did and we had a you know I think about 17 that did I don't remember the exact figure I mentioned
[00:55:43] But there was a chunk that decided it wasn't for them
[00:55:45] I finished first and generally how it works is
[00:55:49] Depending on where you finish you can pick and decide where you want to go the different regiments in the Legion
[00:55:54] There's one airborne regiment the rep and that was my my choice my only choice
[00:55:59] However because I'd finished first and I had the French the language ability
[00:56:02] They wanted me to stay on his a foot foot now it meant it's in the book. We have these acting corpus that aren't corpus
[00:56:10] But they've been given that
[00:56:12] Greater
[00:56:14] ability based on their
[00:56:16] Language or language skills and they could be
[00:56:20] Fox I'd all to say that some of them took advantage of their their authority and
[00:56:25] Delta out punishment which was unfair because they haven't done shit
[00:56:29] So they had a bad name for themselves
[00:56:31] And we all picked up on that and we had one in particular that I had no time for and never ran into again
[00:56:36] Which is probably good thing but they wanted me to stay as a foot foot and I think my end head in CO
[00:56:44] Could tell
[00:56:45] Based on my reaction that wasn't I didn't want that and come all this way to be a foot foot
[00:56:49] I wanted to go the rep so they came up with a solution was I if I went into my sports monitor to course
[00:56:53] I could go to the rep what's the sports monitor course? It's basically in the regimen you'll have your sports bureau and
[00:56:58] And they dictate you know just the athleticism of all the Legioners they do all the planning for sports events
[00:57:06] Yeah, basically just run the sports bureau
[00:57:08] So that would be a course that gave you that qualification to be a part of the regimen sports bureau
[00:57:13] Got it so you're learning more about the physical training aspects so when you get to a regimen
[00:57:19] You can go hey, yeah, Joe you got this you know set up our physical training make sure we're good to go
[00:57:24] So I was able you know I had the the athleticism and I was able to you know do well enough that they I guess saw the
[00:57:30] That part of me as a soldier and that was the option I was given and I took it and then
[00:57:37] We graduated number one what's that babe that's based on just like every I think looks back that you're great
[00:57:42] I'm general
[00:57:44] Every day I just a cross the board at the end they have an evaluation what were you good at
[00:57:49] I could run it started to come on you know I was I was heavier when I joined you know being Canadian
[00:57:54] I could have had a bit of muscle on me and they they told me down pretty good
[00:57:58] So I picked up the running I did well and the big staple
[00:58:04] Physical side for the Legion is the eight kilometer run with Rucksack and weapon
[00:58:08] You actually do a 1500 meter sprints. There's a thing of five minute break and then you do eight kilometers
[00:58:13] There's that there's the rope then there's the obstacle course and
[00:58:17] You know, I was able to do well in those so with that on the range I was consistent
[00:58:24] Obviously I had the the language my kit was in gear
[00:58:27] You know I wasn't a problem was there anything that you were not good at anything you struggled to
[00:58:34] I could
[00:58:36] But yeah, that was not my fortie but as far as the actual soldiering stuff
[00:58:42] There's nothing that really gave you a problem
[00:58:44] No, not obviously I mean I there's room for improvement in everything
[00:58:50] But overall no I wasn't I was enjoying it. You know I was I wanted a soldier and that's what we were doing
[00:58:55] I could see the the progression and where I wanted to go was was coming
[00:58:59] I was getting to that spot so I think I had the right attitude
[00:59:03] I would see like anything attitude is is a huge factor
[00:59:06] I think I just put my head down and soldiered on and that was
[00:59:10] looked up on
[00:59:12] Yeah, the people always surprised when you know for for seal training anyways
[00:59:17] You know I would say like if you're a okay high school athlete you'll be fine
[00:59:21] Like you don't need to be some superhuman because you just need to be able to do the stuff and then obviously
[00:59:27] If you got an aptitude towards running you're gonna be better that or opt to towards the obstacle course
[00:59:31] You're gonna be better at that but you don't need to be some super stud to make it through exactly and consistent
[00:59:37] It's always better than excellent one thing and then we can others like you got that you can build on those but if you're I think
[00:59:44] Most NCOs itself appreciate that. Yeah, you're always you're always there in that top group kind of pull on your weight
[00:59:50] Yeah, no for sure. I think it better to be well rounded than a special special
[00:59:54] special T yet swimming or a special T yet running because
[00:59:58] If you're not good at one of those things or if you're bad at one of those things
[01:00:00] You're not gonna make it because I mean it's much better to be average and I was average
[01:00:04] How this is strong average
[01:00:09] Hand-to-hand combat instructors demonstrations were full on despite his name
[01:00:14] Sergeant Chief LaGrosse the big was a small wide refrenchment
[01:00:19] He was aggressive during his demonstrations. He kicked a corporal in the groin while we all watched it all
[01:00:24] The sergeant chef chief then asked for the next volunteer all our hands shot up immediately
[01:00:29] We knew Phil for well that if we didn't volunteer we would be chosen the next guy was thrown to the ground
[01:00:34] Hard or something just as fun to watch so you guys were getting some actual hand-to-hand training
[01:00:39] Yeah, the French have that they call it court a court which is
[01:00:43] Somewhat based off of the these are really crev. Marga, but it's just your basic hand-to-hand and things get tight close
[01:00:49] Whatever you have that ability to look after yourself, but the other was a bit
[01:00:54] Yeah, and they'd be an invaluable you should the end and the part of this sports course
[01:00:57] You had to have a minimum level so you could teach it. Did you know did you remember enough judo to like make it help?
[01:01:03] Some of the basics, but no not really. I mean my white belt in judo wasn't really didn't impress you
[01:01:11] All the all the sergeant chief the big he didn't he didn't care about your judo
[01:01:16] No, not at all
[01:01:20] This is another situation you're in an older man in his family approaches from the side of the chat
[01:01:24] Tell we introduced ourselves and Mac explained to me that the man was with the French referred to as a peed noir
[01:01:30] Was that mean black foot yeah, exactly a French national born in Algeria North Africa
[01:01:37] This was history I knew little about aside from reading Legionnaire, but it was important in understanding the Legion and
[01:01:44] The second rep in particular
[01:01:46] Mac asked if we could go
[01:01:49] If we could camp on the chateau's grounds that night and the gentleman agreed that evening
[01:01:54] We sat around the campfire with the gentleman and his family drinking wine and listening to his stories like
[01:01:59] One in which he vividly described a battle where his regiment was saved by the Legion which had apparently marched into battle singing
[01:02:06] He was emotional telling it he had been a French officer in the Algerian war
[01:02:12] 1954 to 1962 what I didn't fully understand at the time was that a 1961
[01:02:17] dissident French regiments including the legions one rep had aligned with anti-gallelists and seized power and
[01:02:24] Algiers during a coup d'état in part the one rep's objective was to jump into and seize Paris to remove
[01:02:32] President Charles de Gaulle's from power the push a German term for a coup d'état
[01:02:38] But used by the Legion failed before it began and the one rep was later disbanded correct
[01:02:44] That's a crazy step it is and prior to that the the Legion had its own
[01:02:50] Air Force or its own airplanes after that they were
[01:02:53] That control was taken away now Matt you mentioned macmonera so after my sports monitor course
[01:02:59] I go to back to O'Buyng which is the headquarters for the the Legion and I'm there for the summer as lifeguard
[01:03:07] I called that operation lifeguard
[01:03:10] But the promise was once I did the summer I could go to the rep macmonera was a Canadian soldier that left
[01:03:16] And he was actually the guy that did my B2 interview and
[01:03:20] And I saw him at the pool with his wife and child and I introduced myself and he kind of took me under his wing
[01:03:25] And during our time off we go on hikes and that's one of the hikes so we go to the shadow and the gentleman living there was an old
[01:03:33] French officer that had been in jail for numerous years as a result of the pooch and what happened is that P. Noah's were French citizens
[01:03:41] French blood that were born and raised in Algeria part of the French military, but that was their home
[01:03:46] And after their time in prison or France they couldn't go back to Algeria because the civil wars are over and they wouldn't necessarily welcome
[01:03:54] They didn't have any family or or placed to be in France
[01:03:58] So what a lot of them did was take over these shadows that were owned by the Algerian government and just decided
[01:04:04] Okay, these are our now our homes and they would live there with their families and they were you know, they didn't have the money so they're all
[01:04:09] Broken down old shadows, but no one wanted to take responsibility so this was an old poochist and yeah
[01:04:16] He told us some of his stories and this for me in widespread mention the book because it's a history lesson on on the lesion and certainly the rep now
[01:04:23] What was the one thing that I've and that I've
[01:04:28] The way I always kind of perceived that that coup d'état of the push was that
[01:04:33] France had decided you know what we're not gonna fight for Algeria anymore. We're gonna get it back and the legionnaires who had fought and died and
[01:04:42] lost their friends to to keep Algerians said you know what no we're hanging on to this exactly and by the way
[01:04:50] Oh, you don't want to do it fine. We're gonna literally fight a France. We're gonna do a parachute drop in the France. We're gonna take Paris
[01:04:56] Yep
[01:04:58] I'm gonna get rid of Charles to go all the president exactly 100% and there's some history from into China that
[01:05:03] played its part two because a lot of
[01:05:05] Families were left behind local national families and they paid the price and Algeria with this and a lot of them were married to Algerian women had families
[01:05:12] They wouldn't have the ability to bring them back to so yeah, there was a lot of history there and
[01:05:17] They definitely didn't agree with the Gauls decision. So and it wasn't just the rep. There was several other regiments and
[01:05:24] Yeah, the Gauls figured it out beforehand and got to the right people and said stand down and they did and
[01:05:29] Yeah, a lot of a lot of people went to a jail and there are some stories of worse, but again
[01:05:36] There's no yeah, it's hard to even fathom that
[01:05:40] It's hard to fathom that I mean it's hard to fathom that like in America right thinking that the hundred and first airborne division
[01:05:47] Was gonna say okay, you know what we're gonna drop
[01:05:49] We're gonna do a parachute drop in deadwashing in DC when it take the White House and we're gonna get rid of the president
[01:05:54] I mean, that's that's what that's what there is basically exactly what this is doing what we're saying here putch yeah, it's it's crazy to think that yeah
[01:06:01] And this was only when 1960 something yeah, this isn't like the revolutionary war
[01:06:08] Yeah, that's a crazy story. I'm gonna have to dive into that story on the podcast
[01:06:12] And that's Simon Maurice period. That's yeah, that's ongoing yeah
[01:06:20] All right
[01:06:22] How are the guys from the how would they viewed
[01:06:27] In other words when you when you would meet these guys that were like part of the push or when you would talk about these guys
[01:06:32] Would people say all they were wrong or would people say we understand? I think they understand certainly now
[01:06:40] With time people kind of see the reasoning and and the history and and the reason for why things occurred
[01:06:46] And I would also say probably at the time a lot of information wasn't being shared
[01:06:50] So they probably just thought they wanted to replace the goal. They didn't necessarily know the history of the reasoning
[01:06:55] But I think as soldiers we all certainly I I respect that
[01:07:00] The reason behind or what they're doing isn't really a factors more just that they were they were there
[01:07:04] They experienced it and I don't judge but for me it was you know
[01:07:08] I didn't know a lot about the religious history certainly Francis history so that was all something new to me and as I learned
[01:07:13] I kind of it helped me understand what I was part of and what I was joining which is important
[01:07:18] But but but the but as you would hear these stories it was sort of was it was it was there a level of respect when you would talk about the
[01:07:26] 100% rap yeah, oh
[01:07:28] And those were the pictures that I'd seen and then it's like a beauty's and stuff was them jumping into China
[01:07:33] Jim M. Fu and then Algeria during the war and that is what became the maps turned into
[01:07:39] What the rap is today oh 100% I thought it was cool is
[01:07:43] And they disbanded completely one rap
[01:07:45] They gone forever yeah like that history is dead. They were yeah
[01:07:49] They said no, it's not done. I mean, it's actually kind of crazy that they kept the anything
[01:07:54] I mean he can't him can you imagine the gall he must have said
[01:07:58] That's I mean he must have I guess they must have done a good job of isolating saying no that was these guys over here
[01:08:03] You can keep the rest of that's work cool
[01:08:05] Definitely
[01:08:06] Yeah, because if I was him I'd be thinking way to second these guys are a unified and they were kidded up waiting at the airport
[01:08:13] The planes didn't show up that's he got to the Air Force General and said stand down. I know what's yeah
[01:08:18] There were there were close. Who'd have been exciting?
[01:08:21] But yeah, yeah, it's industry in part of history for sure. No, and I talked about a lot
[01:08:27] To be honest with you. Yeah, it's a lot of stuff there that I learned being there and being surrounded by and asking questions
[01:08:32] But yeah, and I'm sure I'll go into at some point in Legion air, but that warred Algeria was vicious
[01:08:38] Yep, and it was a
[01:08:40] True like counter-insurgency going on and there was a lot of you know, there was there was
[01:08:46] The insertion tactics of you know booby traps and I
[01:08:50] E.Ds and things like that it was brutal. Yeah, it was brutal great movie about it too
[01:08:55] That's good. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, no, it's interesting. I worked in Algeria for years after the military and
[01:09:01] Again, you know, just seeing some of the spots he talked about when I ever camp was right next to his camp in Philivillin
[01:09:07] Yeah, for me history is is something I'm always fascinated with so it's interesting to see in here and then be in spots and
[01:09:15] Put them all together a little battle field walk. Yeah, yeah, I'm sorry
[01:09:20] All right back to the book here my summer pass quickly enough even though and I was given three weeks and told that I could return
[01:09:27] On my return I would be departing for the parachute regiment
[01:09:31] Home wasn't quite what I expected because you went you ended up going home seeing family was great
[01:09:35] Ultimately things changed with time and people move on Janelle
[01:09:39] Which was the the female you were involved with had a new boyfriend? Yeah, as they do and my friends were either working or going to school
[01:09:47] Not a lot of common interest for experiences trying to explain how it's meant the last year was difficult if not pointless really
[01:09:53] People just didn't get it my time at home only reinforced my original goal to jump from a military airplane
[01:10:00] Yeah, so it was like a reset you miss home as you know me that at that point had been well over a year
[01:10:07] But you go home and it's the same shit. There's a reason why you left
[01:10:11] I hadn't achieved obviously what I'd gone there to do so that check wasn't in the box
[01:10:17] But it kind of gave me that reset new vigor and off I went yeah, and you know
[01:10:23] Yeah, it should happen best thing ever. Yeah, see you later
[01:10:26] Now have fun with it a Fred over there exactly
[01:10:33] You saw the GCP for the first time
[01:10:36] So yeah, I joined the the airborne regiment do you imagine my co-shape power cheese which are not even trying based on the island of Corsca and
[01:10:44] Calvary which is a Mediterranean island off the coast of texture closer to Italy, but it's part of France
[01:10:49] So I joined the rep. I do my my jump course to about three weeks and I joined the first company
[01:10:54] Which specializes in night
[01:10:57] ops urban combat and
[01:11:00] You know every week you're typically every week here. You're jumping and we're at the
[01:11:05] The airport getting kidded up this truck pulls up and all these guys jump out and it's a mix of corpile sergeants
[01:11:11] senior NCOs and a lieutenant in a captain and they're the
[01:11:15] Covalency of the pathfinders and the British or Canadian system in the French system. They're considered
[01:11:22] Pathfinders for the regiment
[01:11:24] But in the French military there's nine airborne regiments in total one of them is the legions rep
[01:11:30] So they're part of the battalion each
[01:11:33] Regiment has a GCP team and they create the GCP group
[01:11:38] So they can work together and support the French special operations command so they can either be working for the regiment as Pathfinders or
[01:11:45] Separately as the group supporting
[01:11:47] French special operations man so I didn't obviously know this at the time I see them jump out
[01:11:51] They seem more relaxed like the Legion way it's certainly the rep and a common company. It's very
[01:11:56] You know
[01:11:57] These guys jump out slack, you know kind of they got their jumpsuits on they grabbed the rigs and they're just kind of hanging out and
[01:12:03] It seemed to me that the
[01:12:06] NCOs y'all officers in the junior ranks were all kind of mingling which doesn't happen
[01:12:10] Typically or ever in a combat company and so I asked our corpile, you know who is who is that and he said the other was the GCP
[01:12:17] So that was the first time I saw something like something
[01:12:20] I didn't know about but I was like damn that that looks like I need to get some if I can
[01:12:25] Yeah, that's what happens
[01:12:28] So you get done with that jump school I presented myself to
[01:12:32] Now you're back. I think this is where you're checking into your duties your section
[01:12:35] I present myself to the first section duty NCO in the section hallway and the court and the duty corporal corporal rake
[01:12:42] Who is formerly in the British Parisian Regiment correct yep?
[01:12:45] So I've just joined the first company done basic training
[01:12:48] We're all going to the first company. This is me showing up mr. rookie with beer case in hand
[01:12:52] He provided me with some quick advice total line war card
[01:12:57] This simple insight into section life was pretty much the norm for all Legionnaires
[01:13:01] There was no room for discussion
[01:13:04] Yeah, so we have to show up with a case of coronavirus
[01:13:06] Which they sell at the fact that the Legion is stake owner in
[01:13:10] Coroner but that's you gotta show up with your case of beer and hand it over if you don't you'll just be going straight back to get your beer
[01:13:16] So we all know this way. Yeah, that's and rake yeah, rake was good shit
[01:13:22] Yeah, yeah, work hard. Yeah pretty straightforward really good advice shut up and just do your tool
[01:13:28] That's really good advice for all of life
[01:13:31] Life in the company didn't differ much from basic training
[01:13:34] A pelvis done at section in company levels in the company Parade squares and section hallways in the mornings the company would parade at
[01:13:42] 0 720 hours section duty corpus would present to duty section sergeant who would present the section head NCOs who in turn
[01:13:49] Represent the section commanding officer usually lieutenant
[01:13:52] So you guys are still rigid. Oh
[01:13:55] Yeah, it's
[01:13:57] Yeah, I mean because checking into a seal team like those days are like even I was a new guy checking into a
[01:14:03] Skelton we're not report anything like that. Yes. Well at this point. I mean it's it's
[01:14:07] Infantry it's a year typical army regiment. It's just regiment yeah controlled and then
[01:14:14] Yeah, making sure that their legion hairs don't do dumb things
[01:14:18] That's I'm the living in barracks 100% yeah, there's the regiment there open bay barracks
[01:14:23] Meaning do you have your own room or like for to a rumour saw there was or it was six
[01:14:28] No, it wasn't yeah wasn't time but yeah, I could you bring females back on base? No
[01:14:32] Good one no no no
[01:14:37] So we wish you could hotel rooms on the weekends when you get well we get you get into if you want to go out
[01:14:42] You have to go through a
[01:14:44] Procedure where you apply for peri me shown so every day in the morning if you want to go at the end of the day if you're allowed
[01:14:50] You fill out a form and it's a little square piece of paper you got to use a ruler to write it straight
[01:14:55] If not though this rip it up in front of you you hand that to your corpel
[01:14:58] And that goes to your sergeant then it goes to the lieutenant if you approve he signs it it goes to the captain
[01:15:04] He signs it and it comes back and then at the end of the day when the workday is over
[01:15:08] They give you your tea to peri me shown you have to get you're gonna form on because as a legion error for the first five years
[01:15:14] You can't wear a civis so you're in uniform
[01:15:17] So you get on a uniform you go down to the
[01:15:21] The NCO on duty in your company and he'll check your tea to peri me show he'll check your uniform to make sure that it's square to wait
[01:15:28] I don't want to go out all right. Yeah, I'm done you know, and then if he says it's good
[01:15:33] Then you go to the front gate and the duty in CO and sergeant there do the same thing
[01:15:36] They look at you and then when you're in town
[01:15:38] There's the military police that are patrolling and
[01:15:42] If they they catch you out of sorts or you know, it's jail
[01:15:46] So yeah, it's seriously controlled now as we said you know, it's things have lightened up a bit now
[01:15:50] But during the time it's yeah
[01:15:52] You didn't want to go for that so we can sure but my first deployment in the seal teams
[01:15:57] I deployed and what we used to call a spec ops
[01:15:59] Bulltune which sounds a lot cooler than it actually was just meant that we were deployed we deployed the Guam
[01:16:05] And so when we get there, I mean I'm
[01:16:07] Twenty or twenty one years old and
[01:16:10] It was pretty much like hey you do your job and then do whatever you want
[01:16:15] Which in Guam meant we were gonna go me were young male human beings
[01:16:19] We were gonna go and get after it and and if you if you had to meet at a to clock the next morning
[01:16:25] You could show back up you could leave at as soon as the work was done
[01:16:29] You could go do whatever you wanted as long as it was borderline legal
[01:16:34] And then when you got done you could if you were meeting at eight o'clock in the morning you come roll back in at seven fifty nine
[01:16:40] And no one cared what you did it was total
[01:16:43] Mayhem it was total mayhem and then was it was interesting my next deployment I went on board a ship
[01:16:49] With a seal puttune and
[01:16:51] If you were an e4 below which I was
[01:16:56] You had to be back on the ship by
[01:16:58] It was either nine or ten o'clock at night. So when he took your right in your yeah, that isn't it
[01:17:03] It was but but it was it was like completely crazy to me that
[01:17:08] a year prior I had been literally doing whatever I could imagine doing for and by the way
[01:17:15] Wasn't like you know we'd have entire weekends or we'd get a three day or a four day weekend and just go
[01:17:21] Do I mean just get crazy just go and just do whatever you want and then here I was a
[01:17:29] Year later now I'm like 22 or 23 years old and they're saying
[01:17:33] Well, this is with my work up and deployment. That's why it's fast forwarding 18 months two years
[01:17:38] But it now all of a sudden. Hey, you know you gotta be back by by 10 o'clock in night
[01:17:42] I mean I was in Thailand
[01:17:45] On rogue solo missions in the middle of nowhere
[01:17:49] You know and then fast forward. I'm on a ship and they're like hey, you're gonna be back by 10 o'clock and it was great
[01:17:55] It was seem crazy to me and that's why you know earlier you and I were talking about
[01:18:00] Like when you join the military and how much how much how it is for you mentally and just to have
[01:18:06] Experience the kind of freedom that I experienced early on and then get that tightened back up was a lot harder
[01:18:11] That's what I think when you're 18 years old like I was when I joined the military
[01:18:15] I wasn't fully I didn't fully understand freedom anyways. Yeah, so it was like okay cool
[01:18:22] You want me to do whatever you want me to fill out 19 forms before I can go have a beer with a female out in town
[01:18:28] Cool bring me the forms. I'll do it. Yeah, no, it's it's and I you know
[01:18:32] That's why I tried to get into that when I mentioned because as we say you know where young men you join
[01:18:37] There's certain things that you don't necessarily think about when you go there like oh, you know
[01:18:40] I want to join Legion be a soldier, but you're young men you got other objectives to at the end of the day
[01:18:44] And it's not the greatest environment for other objectives
[01:18:48] Which is a result of probably the high turnover?
[01:18:51] You know when you do me to girl you're like come back going back to that and that's why they they lost a lot of guys
[01:18:57] That's as I said that's changed, but I try to get that into the book to show that
[01:19:01] There's other aspects of the mental game that are there. It's you know
[01:19:05] Sure pushups are getting beasted on and whatever, but there's also
[01:19:08] There's other parts to a human being and it's tough sometimes to to deal or get get to that
[01:19:13] You know, so that's the the idea behind some of the now as you get stuff
[01:19:17] That's your first five years you can't go out without your uniform on garrison
[01:19:22] No, now if you're on leave and you get a three week leap period you can go off theoretically. You can't leave France
[01:19:28] How much do you get a year typically about three weeks
[01:19:31] Yeah
[01:19:34] It's the life
[01:19:34] Yeah, now if you go on operation you'll get the dish. I think you're guaranteed three weeks
[01:19:38] But if you go over overseas on tour when you come back you'll get another three so it depends if if you're busy
[01:19:42] You get you know more, but yeah, it's not that's not their objective is to give you leave it still
[01:19:50] to use your services
[01:19:52] Oh
[01:19:55] Then
[01:19:56] That's a challenge of writing telling the stories. I got it you got to cover all the things that people don't think about so it's
[01:20:02] You know, it's figuring out yeah
[01:20:03] Well, what's interesting is I always tell people hey, you know
[01:20:06] Look the military is not like boot camp
[01:20:08] Meaning hey when you get done with boot camp which yeah boot camp is you're gonna be all regimenting all that
[01:20:14] But I would say you know military's not really like boot camp
[01:20:17] Well, that's also coming from my perspective as a seal which really is not very much like boot camp at all when you get to a seal team
[01:20:24] But and then you get to you know the regular navy or the regular army or the the Marine Corps
[01:20:30] There's more aspects to it that are more similar to boot camp like you got to fill out a chip to go to
[01:20:37] To go on liberty or something like that, but this is leaning towards boot camp
[01:20:42] I mean this is like you know this is definitely then like a range of regiment range of regiment
[01:20:46] They're they're freaking hard core too and they you know you're still dropping down doing pushups for people when you're
[01:20:53] At range of Italian whereas in the suit teams like people don't drop you down to do pushups
[01:20:58] There's no
[01:20:59] Punishment like that. I mean you can get in trouble, but your trouble is just gonna be no like a normal
[01:21:05] Uh
[01:21:06] Like you get written up or something like that if you do something really agree just but you got to do something pretty
[01:21:10] You're just to get written up. I don't think I ever got written up
[01:21:14] Then that's the environment here, right? Is I when I get to the GCP which is considered as it's a team thing
[01:21:19] And the onus is on you to you got to you got to show up if you don't show up
[01:21:22] Only you get you get kicked out of the team and that's not quite as yeah, that's part of it
[01:21:26] too is is even it's this another thing that comes to a big surprise for people is during seal training
[01:21:31] There's a majority of the weekends you have the weekends off yeah, like you can once again if you want to do
[01:21:38] You could go like when I went through guys some guys will go down to Mexico go down to Tijuana and party the whole weekend long
[01:21:44] And come now I wouldn't do that a because I was like younger and be because I was paranoid about not making it through
[01:21:50] So I would sit there and sharpen my knife all weekend long and polish my boots and and
[01:21:54] Press my uniforms because I was super paranoid about not making it
[01:21:58] But some guys they just they would be gone the whole weekend and there's here's the deal some guys would get in trouble
[01:22:05] And then they wouldn't make it to the seal too
[01:22:07] So there was a test of your maturity and of your own personal discipline
[01:22:12] Whether you could make that Monday morning 0 4 30
[01:22:16] Times run on the beach. Hey if you're late. That's it you fail you're out or you spend the weekend doing something stupid
[01:22:23] You can't perform you're out or you suck it up and you stay there and you polish your boots and you get ready for Monday
[01:22:29] Which is what you really should be doing though
[01:22:31] But yeah that that the the the individual freedom that you get in seal training is a test
[01:22:37] It's a test to see if you can handle it or not because once you get to a seal team and you're in a seal
[01:22:41] Ptune you you got all kinds of freedom it's kind of crazy when when you think about it
[01:22:46] You've got all kinds of freedom you're in a foreign country. You've got all you've got money
[01:22:50] You've got you know access to gear and if you do you if you wanted to be stupid
[01:22:55] You could get really stupid really quick and you could cause some real problems
[01:22:58] Yeah testosterone has its effects 100% yeah
[01:23:01] Yeah, but these guys are keeping you all tight
[01:23:07] Yeah, yeah
[01:23:10] And that's and that's the system you know as you mentioned obviously your the seal system is effective and that's the way it is it we do
[01:23:16] So the Legion system has that history where they probably initially had the type of people where you had to be
[01:23:23] Right them all the time
[01:23:25] And that's it's where it is and that's you know as I mentioned they're kind of lighting up on
[01:23:30] And now the things have changed and they're busy. Yeah, they don't have to be quite as stringent on the guys because of the turnover
[01:23:34] But yeah, it's it's definitely controlled and that's something you got to keep in mind if you're gonna go there like it's not
[01:23:41] Yeah, yeah, there's that person you get that idea of iron discipline
[01:23:45] And you when you go back in history and I've talked about this before well one of the reasons that you needed
[01:23:50] Iron discipline back in the days you're literally dealing with conscripts that don't have what want to be there at all
[01:23:55] Yeah, like you've taken them there basically slaves are gonna fight for you
[01:23:58] So you have to impose some kind of discipline now you can also find many examples where past leaders
[01:24:04] That were even leading conscripts but they led that they cared about their men
[01:24:08] It was more positive it was a better outcome
[01:24:11] But unless you're that care is magic leader that can pull that off well you're left with one choice and it's like okay
[01:24:17] I'm gonna these guys are good either doing I tell them and I'm gonna beat them
[01:24:20] I'm gonna lead with fear. Yeah, it's always better to leave with caring for your guys
[01:24:24] But when people don't have that capability what do they do they they
[01:24:29] Default to I'm just gonna lead by fear or if it's things you if you give them that
[01:24:34] Latitude or options are a rule I make they come back and yeah, yeah
[01:24:39] Like yeah, then you drop the hammer again. It don't allow to do anything and I think in the system too
[01:24:43] You see the NCOs as you rise in rank your freedoms increase so then the onus is on you to get there
[01:24:51] And obviously that's what the delisence like you for just you know these NCOs and leaders
[01:24:55] So they're hard either in the beginning but there's a reason for that if you want to get to the top
[01:24:58] Well, then put it in time and have for tell us show us that you're capable and you'll get those those freedoms
[01:25:03] Yeah, and what about like they like you mentioned earlier that the less of the Eastern block
[01:25:08] Guys would deserve because they're just used to a harsher lifestyle
[01:25:13] It seems like if I was an Eastern block guy and now I'm getting I think you say the pay is like
[01:25:18] 1200 bucks and a lot of something like that. Yeah good money. Yeah. I'm sitting here
[01:25:21] Oh, you want me to fill out a thing cool off a lot of thing all day long. I don't care. Yeah, and that a big part of the
[01:25:27] The size of the wrapper a lot of leisure regiments during that phase where Eastern block
[01:25:32] Pollax and
[01:25:34] Remanians checks slabs everything um they they took up a big part of the rank and
[01:25:40] Yeah exactly as you say
[01:25:42] It was a good a good option for them considering the the time man. I had a guy from a dairy farm in Minnesota
[01:25:49] Well, this kid was this kid was basically slave labor growing up. Yeah. He told me literally
[01:25:54] I will do whatever you want me to do as long as it doesn't have to do with cows and he was right
[01:25:59] He hated cows but he would do he was this hard worker
[01:26:03] Yeah, like he would have lived this lifestyle like it was a joke
[01:26:06] He was ready 100% because he grew up just harsh
[01:26:10] But if you grew up kind of pampered by a little bit rough 100% yeah, and that's the thing too if he's some walks
[01:26:15] I think they grew up hard so there was some tough tough guys
[01:26:18] I he got some Polish corporals and some of the comic companies. They're yeah, he don't fuck around excuse my friends
[01:26:24] Yeah, and they have the freedom to ruin your day. You know
[01:26:27] So yeah, you learn that pretty quick. Yeah, I had a Polish national awesome guy named drog always I did a
[01:26:32] Patent him and he's just
[01:26:34] So legit, but he's the same way like oh, what do you all do he was doing man? He won't have a big it happened
[01:26:41] So yeah, there we go. All right
[01:26:44] You end up doing some cool stuff though
[01:26:47] Here's part of it and over the next three weeks
[01:26:49] We learn how to both tell a mark and downhill ski with winter survival and alpine battle drills culminating in a final exercise with live fire
[01:26:56] Our French instructors who were oversized white berets got to work introducing us to tell a
[01:27:01] Marks king in the forest around surrounding the forts you're doing some winter warfare training good
[01:27:07] Since I could already ski everything came easily enough to me, but one day I made the soldiers mistake a serious one while inside my shelter after patrol
[01:27:14] I'd remove the magazine from my farmhouse
[01:27:17] But I forgot to clear it and check prior to releasing its action and bang an accidental discharge
[01:27:24] AD albeit with a blank round regardless
[01:27:27] Lieutenant de
[01:27:29] Mesme wasn't impressed I explained my mistake and he gave me the look of parental disappointment to my surprise nothing more
[01:27:34] We're set about the incident
[01:27:36] Yeah, you had that mighty AD I did less and learned and I always remember because Benny during basic training
[01:27:43] It told me where one of his buddies had been shot in his lying his bed after patrol and
[01:27:49] Ireland one of the teams came back and the guy had an Indian basically shot his friend through the head and it stuck with me
[01:27:54] And I was you know a story that sunk and so when I had that in the effa man fuck
[01:27:58] I just you know didn't do the same thing but that's exactly how it happens and at that point I had been pulling my weight
[01:28:06] Having the
[01:28:07] Being blessed and braises a you know an officers son whatever in Europe we were skiing in the Alps every winter so I could I was good skier
[01:28:15] And so I was pulling my weight
[01:28:17] Not causing
[01:28:18] Demesme any problems so at that part I think he could tell that I was I was hard enough on myself
[01:28:24] He didn't really say much what he can say
[01:28:25] But yeah, it was it was definitely a good lesson for me 100% and every time after that when I you know took my
[01:28:32] My agof I'm thing right away fucking clear like I just son of can that's that's how you learn right?
[01:28:37] Yeah, yeah
[01:28:39] Clear your weapon. Yep. Young
[01:28:41] Thanks, yeah, I'm troopers out there
[01:28:43] Don't have the AD it's really bad
[01:28:49] Here's another situation where you you you tried to
[01:28:51] You try to get to like a to leave to ski early and
[01:28:57] Some NCO stomped you and then
[01:29:00] We go here this guy so now you can't leave to go skiing early you've got to go with everyone else
[01:29:04] He kind of
[01:29:05] Crossed your plans and you say back in our barracks room
[01:29:09] It was I was mid complaint about this rude disruption to my life when the NCO walk past within your shot
[01:29:16] He marched into our barracks room and I paid for my belly aching with a head butt to the mouth
[01:29:21] Not a word was said and we actually automatically brought up my guard to which the NCO responded by grabbing a metal stool from the corner
[01:29:28] Strongly suggesting I don't bother taking it any further
[01:29:32] check
[01:29:34] So my fault I burrow myself I was trying to leave early. There was a bus scheduled for everyone to leave it
[01:29:40] I think it was two or something and I had this great idea
[01:29:42] You know that I was gonna go out at skip lunch and just go out and yeah, he put a kai Bosch to that and walk by the hall when I was
[01:29:49] Bictionable to my other
[01:29:51] Friends and yeah, came up and just basically
[01:29:54] You know it's quite a bit bigger of a hats off to let me just butt to the mouth which shocked me
[01:29:59] My initial reaction was just you know guard right like or and yeah
[01:30:03] That's what he looked to the side and took that you know that was all
[01:30:07] 1940s French army stools you know it's a metal the way they just took that news
[01:30:11] Like yeah, I'm good
[01:30:12] I'm understood
[01:30:14] And that was just like no factor. That's his day in the life. Yeah, who knows
[01:30:18] Maybe he had it for me. I don't know. I don't recall but yeah, he checked my my attitude noted
[01:30:26] All right back in Calvary, we squared away our kit and went straight back into the company routine and entry
[01:30:32] Level company sniper course reschedule now is informed I was one of the two Legionnaires chosen from our section to attend
[01:30:38] Joining nine other Legionnaires and corpus so you go to sniper school
[01:30:43] You learn about the sniper weapon weapons
[01:30:46] Then you also do
[01:30:48] Everything else that we do which is sniping infiltrating building observation posts shooting from them
[01:30:54] Technical training crawling into our OP is looking down range designated for archifier. This is standard. Yeah, it was technically the first phase of sniper qualification
[01:31:02] It was tiered elite so it was more
[01:31:04] Learning it was more of the shooting side of things the basics
[01:31:08] But you would fall up on that and go to the actual sniper course after so it was a second part of the the qualification
[01:31:13] So it's split into and yeah, that was the first part
[01:31:16] Then
[01:31:18] You continue on with section training and you say here section training continued for nearly ten months during which I knocked thirty six jumps
[01:31:26] Soldier well all-jrow and physically and you're left alone by the corpus NCOs and officers this wasn't overly complicated
[01:31:33] One morning during a run our head NCO said that in light of my general performance. I should consider volunteering for the GCP selection process
[01:31:40] I wasn't aware that one could just volunteer
[01:31:42] But I took his advice and passed before we tended dis mesme
[01:31:48] Demesme correct him and asked for his approval to volunteer for GCP pre-selection which he doly approved
[01:31:55] Cool you're getting that going
[01:31:58] Corporal
[01:32:00] Nogasi Nagisa Nagisa Nagisa Nagisa Nagisa Nagisa Nagisa Nagisa Nagisa was our duty corporal that week
[01:32:06] This is just another story turn transfer in fast forwarding. He was Japanese and his French was less than stellar
[01:32:11] I approached him in the hallway and asked why I was supposed to be cleaning toilets
[01:32:15] This is again a little fast forward jump. He took exception to me questioning his directive
[01:32:20] And after a short back and forth he gave me a push saying that's an order
[01:32:25] Nagisa was shorter than me, but stocky. I was pissed off of being told the clean toilets after ten ten months in the section
[01:32:31] Fuck that I thought this push pissed me off too and
[01:32:35] Unwritten rule exists within the lower ranks that in a confrontation that per that's perhaps more personal
[01:32:41] You can suggest the higher rank higher rank remove his rank which I did
[01:32:47] Nagisa removed his rank and pushed me again this time harder. I responded with a left to the side of his face
[01:32:53] He dropped to the floor and then curled up into the fetal position holding his right cheek. I immediately felt bad and concerned
[01:32:59] What had just happened was a huge mistake on my part
[01:33:02] Roger that and then you fast forward you see him kind of all
[01:33:07] Bandaged up and you say Nagisa wasn't a bad guy really my emotions had gotten the better of me and over something that wasn't a big deal at all
[01:33:15] The captain was right who did I think I was this is the type of thing that had got me into trouble before the Legion and I needed to stop making these kind of stupid mistakes
[01:33:25] So there you go. Yeah another good lesson learn
[01:33:28] Man, I wish these lesson learns lesson learned lessons learned that you put in this book about just growing up
[01:33:35] I wish there was some way that a young man could actually heed these warnings
[01:33:40] Well, they could buy the book. Yeah, definitely you can buy the book and I hope they do
[01:33:45] But you know like any my defensive I may you know I'm not a a psychopath. I'm not just punching people
[01:33:50] There was some history there and
[01:33:52] New Legionnaires joined the the section every week or second week
[01:33:56] So we had ample new guys that would be cleaning to us that was I could tell that why did he make you do his person?
[01:34:02] I was probably who knows? I don't recall but he obviously had an issue with me and that's what I noted and then so when I questioned it
[01:34:11] Typically his his response was clearly you know pushments in order. I could tell that it's it's personal and then yeah
[01:34:17] The rest is history, but yeah, I certainly regret it and
[01:34:21] Yeah, and the captain it was actually the the company captain that
[01:34:24] It's good to me like who the fuck do you think you are but saving grace was and and the corporal
[01:34:32] Had the same story he agreed that we'd go through if you're ranks or he had room in his rank so I was you know typically not at fault
[01:34:38] But still my attitude was in question. What do you think made you?
[01:34:42] How do you think you were able to self reflect and actually see that you were wrong?
[01:34:46] I mean because I hear this story over and over and over again from people that they can't they can't put the ego aside and just say you know what
[01:34:54] That I was actually a jackass here. Yeah, he was at the end of the day. He was the corporal
[01:34:58] He put on the orders that I cleaned 12 so he just cleaned 12s
[01:35:01] Who am I to question his orders that's his role?
[01:35:05] When I'm in a corporal I can you know choose and decide what I want to do but and that situation he was the
[01:35:11] the higher ranking
[01:35:13] Junior rank and yeah, I was wrong to question it and I was certainly wrong to
[01:35:18] to go beyond that and
[01:35:20] And the idea would be like if that's in an
[01:35:23] Operation or things going on you don't question orders and that's you know the idea for ranks and orders is
[01:35:29] You told do something you do it. There's no room for questioning that just gets people killed
[01:35:33] So I was you know as a red flag for me as a character thing. I certainly as a
[01:35:39] You know an up and coming soldier within the regiment is you don't it's just there's a wrong choice at the end of the day and I regretted it and I could tell right away and that was just old
[01:35:46] Muscle
[01:35:49] Memory you know what I mean
[01:35:51] problem and that's I think that's that's one thing that
[01:35:56] You know I mean I talk about all time on here is like
[01:35:59] Well you actually do question orders and you do say hey boss why are we doing it this way and a good leader says oh well
[01:36:07] What do you think why do you think that?
[01:36:10] And there's a time in a place for that. No, but with this one
[01:36:13] This is a classic example you don't have a relationship with this guy at all
[01:36:18] He doesn't like you for whatever reason and
[01:36:21] Instead of trying to build that relationship which would eventually because what if you're on an Operation and this guy
[01:36:26] You're working for this guy and he makes a bad decision and says hey charge that machine gun nests and you're like okay
[01:36:31] And now you all get killed because you charge machine gun nests
[01:36:34] We want to have a relationship to a point where I can say hey
[01:36:37] Hey, Nogison we need to we need to flank this guy or we need to get better coverfire something as
[01:36:41] As opposed to hey Roger that. I'm gonna do what you told me to do
[01:36:46] If you if you had no relationship with him even in a combat situation
[01:36:49] He tells you do something and you say that's not a good call. He says shut up and go do it
[01:36:53] Like now we're in a really bad standoff situation
[01:36:56] You're disobeying a direct order in a combat situation. This is horrible. Yeah, whereas
[01:37:01] If you do these little things like hey you want me to clean the cuz he's
[01:37:06] What when it would he's really doing his testing you right whatever reason he didn't like you you are a good skier
[01:37:10] And he struggled skiing or whatever and he's jealous and he's like oh, yeah, you probably
[01:37:14] You probably skit you grew up skiing the French Alps and I grew up whatever
[01:37:19] Not doing that and so he's jealous of that and so now he wants to get a gots opportunity to put it on you
[01:37:26] And if you're character if you can show him that your characters hey Roger that boss got it. I'll clean those toilets
[01:37:30] Hey, yep, don't worry about it. You keep you. I'm humble. I'm good. I know I can ski good, but I can also clean toilets good. Watch this
[01:37:37] Then you start to build that up where you can eventually say
[01:37:41] Now now he probably will look at you and his respect for you goes up. Yeah, cuz he says oh he grew up kind of a rich kid
[01:37:48] skiing the Alps, but he doesn't mind cleaning toilets a not a bad guy and then you can eventually build that into someone
[01:37:54] You can communicate with where does this doesn't turn out that way? No exactly and the sun they've been said about
[01:38:00] peacetime army or time army is there's those different ways of
[01:38:04] Figuring out who's who's what and where they should be in the hierarchy things and
[01:38:10] Yeah, as I said we I don't know what and I could say was made of he didn't know what I was necessary made of
[01:38:15] But in that situation, I I'd pull my weight for the duration that was there and
[01:38:19] Yeah, they came to that and result wrong choice, but you learn from it and you move on and that was the last time I
[01:38:26] Made that type of error and it's a classic. It's classic ego scenario, right? This is a class
[01:38:31] You show scenario and and there's some there's a there right now. I guarantee there's a 20 year old listening to this
[01:38:38] Go in what are you talking about man that guy's gonna make me clean toilets. I'm gonna bow up to him
[01:38:43] And it's like that guy in five years that guy's gonna. Oh, yeah, I remember thinking that because you have to just mature through this
[01:38:50] That's why I'm saying hey, I'm glad guys are gonna read this book, but you have to really read it and think about it
[01:38:56] You have to really try and think about it think about what you're saying
[01:39:00] Because man we are genetically programmed
[01:39:03] You're a certain way and that certain way is not always the best way
[01:39:07] That no exactly and so it's a name I mean the French foreign Legion there's obviously a reason
[01:39:12] That I've gotten there and life maybe some of my choices weren't the wise as so I need to start learning and you know
[01:39:19] Using this to my advantage not making the same mistakes all the time did you have like you said it was a captain that pulled you son
[01:39:25] tattoo. Do you think you are did you have anyone that was like hey, man?
[01:39:27] Hey man, what are you doing? Well a lot of potential why are you doing this? I had to trust uniform
[01:39:33] Way-to-side. He called me and I go and present myself and then he basically you know ask me what occurred
[01:39:39] At the end of that all the corpus came to me while I was cleaning toilets and said if you do that again
[01:39:45] You know
[01:39:46] You'll pay the price so it was made quite clear that you know question corpus in the in the section fair enough
[01:39:52] And I cleaned those toilets so you know and results
[01:39:55] And I didn't win I just yeah and I jeopardized my
[01:39:58] Potentially my chance to do selection for the GCP so I was on all levels down on myself. Yeah, and you just said
[01:40:04] You said you just said I didn't win which is which is like you're not gonna win that situation
[01:40:10] And that takes a that takes a little bit of insight to understand hey you can stand up
[01:40:15] You can bow up you can act like a tough guy you could even beat the shit out of him, right? You could have knocked him out
[01:40:20] And you're still gonna lose yeah you're still gonna be cleaning toilets for longer with with a reduction in rank and
[01:40:26] Proposably prison time which that's another thing we yet we you mentioned a couple of times
[01:40:30] But you guys get sent to jail you do yeah
[01:40:34] It doesn't you utilize you said it doesn't happen much. No, it doesn't take much. Oh, it doesn't take much. Yeah, I was lucky
[01:40:39] I you know I told the line pretty good and I'm surprised I didn't go to jail there
[01:40:43] But again the fact that he took his rank off was my saving grace
[01:40:46] But yeah if you do anything that's deemed unacceptable
[01:40:49] There's different amount of days and give you but they have a prison in the regiment and you're basically used as a
[01:40:54] Ground's keep so you'll do an eight kilometer on every morning the shave your head you're in combat
[01:40:59] With your typical HSE vest and you're basically running around cleaning up the camp and you do that for a week two
[01:41:06] Eats depending on your hands and it doesn't take much right like missing like year yeah if you go out for the night with your teeth and you're late
[01:41:13] We can seven days. Yeah, it's a jail. Yeah
[01:41:16] You know the navy does that the navy has the navy can put you on bread and water
[01:41:22] Like it niss like right now
[01:41:24] There's some probably someone right now that's on bread and water for yeah, so doing something
[01:41:28] And there's guys out see that we're always in jail. I remember things to myself like why do you come all this way jointly and then spend your time at jail
[01:41:33] Like it just I mean like repeat a fact
[01:41:35] Yeah, just always saying guys here run by you know as like cheese then
[01:41:39] Those are the people that are not introspective. They're not learning unless exactly
[01:41:42] Yeah, check all right
[01:41:47] Next you go to pretty selection is this pre selection for GCP yeah correct yeah, so now it's pre selection
[01:41:52] starts off you're doing weapons assembly you're working with all the different weapons
[01:42:00] Humps 30 collect humps. Yeah, so that's the big one. You got to do a 30k run with rucksack gear helmet
[01:42:07] and yeah
[01:42:09] And this is still just GCP selection. Yeah, correct. So each combat company in the regiment there's five now when I was there there's four
[01:42:18] But based on your performance within the section you can request
[01:42:24] Selection if you're lieutenant approves and then your captain approves
[01:42:28] Then you you can go and do selection and they'll they'll get a you know
[01:42:31] 30 I guys and then the GCP is looking for two new recruits or two new operator whatever they'll they'll take what they need based on if it's you know
[01:42:39] Medics they need radio comms whatever they'll they'll pick and choose but you're there based on your performance
[01:42:45] So it's not it's on an open selection. It's
[01:42:47] You pulled you eight and you're you've requested selection. So and did you have a specialty at this point like you just mentioned comms medic no I had
[01:42:55] Obviously it was first company so we were urban combat night and I had my you know the first part of the sniper course
[01:43:02] That was it and you drive her call right. Yeah, so kind of milling is that is that not a big deal
[01:43:07] No, it's just basic driving qualification I had my sports modern course, which doesn't you know help, but it shows that there's a bit of
[01:43:14] Got
[01:43:16] Yeah, but they take the the pre selection phase to
[01:43:19] To put you through the the test and then figure out you know what what you're made of and then they'll
[01:43:27] You will join the team on training and the CFE have the the character and the personality to gel with the other guys
[01:43:32] So it's they're not really questioning your ability
[01:43:35] There is the the physical aspect where they make you do the entry tests and all kind of stuff to see who's the better
[01:43:40] But a lot of times the guys that were better at the push-ups the rope and all kind of stuff on the range
[01:43:44] They would not quite pull their weight
[01:43:46] So it was again being consistent across the mark and then when you start training with the teams
[01:43:52] They pick up on you know whether or not you're able to pick up on the the lessons are teaching you and then if you gel with the other guys and that's kind of I think
[01:44:00] They're
[01:44:01] There's a lot of you mentioned that quite a few times in the book and I know I've highlighted somewhere, but just this idea of like hey
[01:44:08] Just because you can run fast just because you can do the 30 click hump
[01:44:11] With the required time or even the fastest of the bunch doesn't necessarily mean we want you on this team because
[01:44:18] The most important thing is how do you interact with these other human beings that you're gonna put your lives in the hand of
[01:44:23] Yeah, agreed
[01:44:24] What the logic are you 30 kilometers together?
[01:44:26] If you're there first one doesn't really help the last guy
[01:44:29] You know, but it shows you're
[01:44:31] You're willingness and you got something mental thing to 30 kids at the end you're yeah, you're slogging along
[01:44:36] It says something but it's not everything just shows something but it's not everything
[01:44:39] Yeah
[01:44:41] Yeah, there's some guys that make it through basic seal training who are total studs but they're kind of our duds as seals because
[01:44:49] They just couldn't work well with other people or they were to get in trouble and you know
[01:44:54] I had had a guy that was great got great athlete and a good enough guy
[01:44:57] But he just like getting in trouble. It's like the guy that you guys that you said you seem going to jail
[01:45:01] Over and you're like man
[01:45:03] Just don't do that stuff, man. You got all kinds of potential, but I don't know
[01:45:08] I guess that's you mentioned testosterone earlier and I guess that can be hard to reign in some people. They're hard to change
[01:45:14] So yeah, they just they do what they do
[01:45:18] Yes, they do so you passed the GCP class
[01:45:23] I do yeah, I get in
[01:45:25] And they send me off to do my you have to minimum rank in the team is corporal
[01:45:30] So they they actually pull me off of the the selection early and I thought I was getting
[01:45:35] The good news is and yeah, you're not getting acts. Yeah, but they were acts. Yeah, there. Yeah
[01:45:40] They're sending me off the corporate school. So I was starting so how long was the corporal's course? I think it was a month
[01:45:44] For Maria four weeks and this is now where we started getting a little bit of leadership training
[01:45:49] Yeah, more beasting how to really more beasting and how to be st others
[01:45:54] There's a bit of leadership
[01:45:55] There's you know giving orders drill that kind of stuff, but yeah, so you go back to
[01:45:59] Castell which is the training wrench for four weeks and
[01:46:02] And yeah, they're in the the trade is a corporal, but it's yeah, it's heavy on the
[01:46:07] The beasting and the singing unfortunately which I get into but our training until
[01:46:13] Was a lunatic
[01:46:15] Qualified and good at what he did what's the name in the book?
[01:46:19] It was muggy rai Ra he had he had done the command of course and
[01:46:24] Down in South America
[01:46:26] Man I forget the name, but it's renowned as a tough command of course
[01:46:30] Um, man house ever heard is it what country is it?
[01:46:35] I think it's in the Brazil yeah, yeah, anyway, you know, I think I think serge did that yeah, it's
[01:46:42] There's a prisoner war phase where a lot of guys just lose it
[01:46:45] Yeah, I think I came those you know feet and I'm your cage is in the water. You know with the rats swimming around
[01:46:50] But still anyway, some of the guys it's renowned for its effectiveness, but he had done that
[01:46:54] Yeah, I think it's serge did that why serge went my buddy serge who's a black-bonged jetser and he's
[01:47:00] He he went through one of those courses it might have been the Rangers school though, but anyways he went through one of the
[01:47:05] Renownly hard courses and he's a he's a man
[01:47:09] I can't do it
[01:47:10] He you know, he was probably in the prisoner of war sections like enjoying
[01:47:15] Exactly, but I think my deriore was never had never less the left the course
[01:47:19] He was there we were just part of his course
[01:47:21] Yeah
[01:47:23] He's effective he was you know he's he was a character in hence and that was just for your corporal score. Yeah, yeah good times
[01:47:29] Now you're now you're joining the GCP finally and here we go. I presented myself to the duty office and I was told
[01:47:36] I was going to the Central African Republic or car tomorrow to join the section
[01:47:43] Bangui is that right? Bungi. Yeah, Bungi, Central Africa
[01:47:46] The country's capital wasn't turmoil after a military rebellion so this is
[01:47:53] Uncoming back from course course. They're already there. I'm not part of the team
[01:47:58] Next thing would be my command of course, and then my halo course before you're an actual team member in the GCP
[01:48:03] So this was surprised because they're asking me to go to join them
[01:48:06] So it's unusual, but it's a good opportunity, but I'm not a team member yet
[01:48:10] What made them they just needed? Yeah, they're short a person yeah correct
[01:48:13] Yeah
[01:48:15] So on November 20, my scene was your senior exemplary
[01:48:20] On November 21st, 1996 I joined a dozen legionaires and NCOs from the second CIE who are on their way to
[01:48:28] Chad now you get
[01:48:31] Captained Raoul
[01:48:32] Yep, Captain Raoul pulled me aside and told me that I wasn't a qualified
[01:48:37] Section member yet. I was to watch and learn from the others. He quit then quickly brief me on the situation
[01:48:41] The army of car elected president
[01:48:45] Patas
[01:48:47] was divided
[01:48:50] And the rebels who opposed him had taken the
[01:48:53] Patevo district on the southwestern edge of the city the rebels consisted of army officers as well as soldiers who were well-armed and capable
[01:49:01] What I didn't know is that the conflict wasn't new to the rebels and
[01:49:06] There were undesirables within the mix
[01:49:08] Locals were being robbed and raped and there were rumors of summary executions
[01:49:16] So this is it you're you just went from yeah from
[01:49:21] Castell to Bungi and with and within a week and never really done any operation yet
[01:49:28] No, you've had you deployed out of France you know at this point no, this is your first to point
[01:49:32] Yeah, this is good one thrown right in there. Good way to kick it off. Yeah, and here's your first operation as we approach the X-Patriot neighborhood
[01:49:38] There were shot where shots had been reported my new teammates clicked off there for moss safety's
[01:49:43] I did the same
[01:49:45] This was my first time with a live weapon outside of a supervised shoot the VLRA rolled to a stop, which is your vehicle
[01:49:51] We jumped out and started searching the neighborhoods main road and smaller joining alleyways
[01:49:55] I was partnered with Lasco and followed his lead as we as I walked down the road weapon at the ready locals
[01:50:01] Gleared at me a ran away with nothing to see we got back in the VLRA and made our way to
[01:50:06] PK zero, which is the road
[01:50:08] This wide avenue was lined with large irrigation ditches and a mix of fields and homes all of which were either abandoned or derelict
[01:50:16] Everything seemed eerily quiet to me. We returned to camp debriefed and I got into my sleeping bag
[01:50:21] As I lay there I reveled in my new surroundings before falling asleep Africa was clearly new
[01:50:26] But also no one was barking orders at me and there was no a pal or parade in the morning
[01:50:31] The only requirement was to be ready for 0 900
[01:50:34] So that's your first real mission that you rolled out on a very nice culture shock. Yeah, it's just cut off
[01:50:41] Yeah, more just head on a swivel like what you know everything's new
[01:50:44] But it's nice break in mission. Yeah, great. It was simple and it's like you go out nothing happens you get some of those
[01:50:53] Gators first mission, Gators and the guys don't worry either that well. They might have seen me during the pre selection
[01:50:58] But as a person they don't really they don't know me so I'm
[01:51:01] Call it the center of that fact is I'm the new guy
[01:51:05] You got to try not to stick out not doing anything dumb and just yeah, that was my focus
[01:51:10] And then trying to keep up with what was happening because they had been there a while so at that point they you know had some some contacts and stuff
[01:51:16] So they were in the game and I'm just not obviously
[01:51:20] Yeah, this is this is something again. I was as I've reading this book. I was like and we're gonna go into this more
[01:51:25] But just these when I think about what it feels like like
[01:51:31] Even this first time you rolled out. I remember the first time I rolled out in Baghdad
[01:51:36] It was luckily was the same type of operation. We went out nothing happened rolled back
[01:51:41] but even just the the
[01:51:47] The amount of vision that I had the amount of awareness that I had wasn't as good as it should have been
[01:51:52] You know, I was like a little bit too amped up and it's like okay, how can
[01:51:56] Talking about that hopefully guys can take a step back and be like all right cool look. This is what's going on
[01:52:02] You know here's what it's gonna be and that's what you want but it's hard it's hard to it's hard to train even train for that
[01:52:09] I mean you gotta do it. Yeah, you gotta do it. You gotta do it and that click
[01:52:14] It's a whole different boom. Now you're at a different it's no more fun in games. You know theoretically it's it's a life-on-on
[01:52:20] It's all right
[01:52:22] all right
[01:52:24] Going on you get another tasking and undisclosed number of rebels. We're pillaging the home of a high-ranking car official
[01:52:32] We approach the target slowly and deliberately and S.U.V. was parked outside a white colonial house frame by large trees and thick elephant grass
[01:52:38] We could see movement on the inside of the residents over the radio capping row
[01:52:42] We'll order two leads approach the target more closely while the rest of us formed a defensive semi circle
[01:52:48] The stillness of the night was quickly shattered by a burst of AK-47 fire at close range
[01:52:53] It certainly had my undivided attention the first rounds landed out at the feet of our two teammates approaching the target last going
[01:53:00] Corporal chief pre-gen a French Tahitian
[01:53:03] They immediately returned fire trace around to cut through the darkness and some hit the ground and trees surrounding us
[01:53:08] Instinctively those of us within with line of sight with the rebels returned fire
[01:53:13] But it was difficult to tell exactly where the rounds were coming from and who is who cease fire capping
[01:53:18] Rouls shouted we were told to secure our perimeter. This is my first firefight. I kept my focus despite the chaotic atmosphere
[01:53:25] Where everyone was trying to gauge the situation?
[01:53:27] Do as they were told and look out for the bad guy the house was cleared and its external floodlights were turned on
[01:53:33] Unfortunately our night vision then became useless this
[01:53:37] Intern did wonders for my natural night vision although I could see this surrounding wooded area my eyesight was off
[01:53:43] Everything was out of focus kneeling over kneeling by a tree for cover with my from us shoulder
[01:53:50] At the ready watching my arc I caught slight movement within my peripheral vision the motion came from a dark area
[01:53:56] Within the taller trees. What is it my blood was racing from the intensity of firefight and my eyes were still adjusting?
[01:54:01] What was what I saw actually anything looking over the barrel of my weapon?
[01:54:07] I stood up and took three steps toward a more pronounced treeline the only sound was the faint crunch of
[01:54:13] Dead grass under foot and my heart beats steadily pumping in my ears
[01:54:17] Then I saw it again a movement near a tree now was clear to me the silhouette of a man was crouching
[01:54:23] Taking up the slack on the trigger as I made my approach my concern was too fold was this a rebel or a teammate
[01:54:29] If he was a rebel and I opened fire that would be my teammates response or what would be my teammates response?
[01:54:35] This close to my arc of fire. I approached
[01:54:38] As I approached it became obvious that the silhouette was a rebel bent over his weapon with his head down
[01:54:44] At this range approximately three meters. I knew I had the upper hand this all unfolded within a minute or two of our initial
[01:54:51] Contact with the rebels all of which had been chaotic. I approached the rebel from the side at a faster pace pointing my weapon as midsection
[01:54:58] And spitting out the words bush paw don't move
[01:55:01] Most central African speak some French and he twitched his head slightly to the side as if to acknowledge my presence and the command
[01:55:09] He seems stiff and afraid to move keeping my eyes and
[01:55:13] From us pointed at the rebel I
[01:55:16] Shouted to Captain Rauble asking him to come to my position
[01:55:18] He was visibly shocked to see that I had captured a rebel Captain Rauble immediately kicked the A447 from the rebel script
[01:55:25] Grabbed the man by his arm and threw him to the ground and kicked him in the back of his head driving his face hardened to the dirt
[01:55:30] We secured his arms and legs using tie straps attached to my webbing the rebel wearing his car
[01:55:36] Army uniform looked up at me. I could see fear in his eyes
[01:55:39] The team searched the surrounding area once it was cleared. We loaded our captive into the VLRA last going I followed
[01:55:47] Behind in the SUV we recovered from the rebels since the rebels were treated as common criminals
[01:55:52] We handed the guy over to the local police station then made our way back to the sections tent and parked the SUV
[01:55:58] beside Colonel Pugus command tent Colonel Pugus. Thank the section for a job well done
[01:56:03] Captain Rauble's debrief was shortened to the point. It was a close call and could have easily gone bad
[01:56:08] It was a good lesson for all of us as an aside Captain Rauble told me that my reaction could have been a lot better
[01:56:13] He was right. I should have dealt with the rebel more aggressively true
[01:56:17] I had been good position to engage the rebel, but the situation didn't necessarily require deadly force
[01:56:23] Having to make a life or death decision was new to me shooting or killing a fellow human being isn't a natural act or a first reaction
[01:56:30] For a kid from Canada
[01:56:31] It is a conscious and considered act after all what separates that's what separates professional soldiers from others
[01:56:37] Our work would continue to provide me with opportunities to refine my new profession
[01:56:42] The following day two rebels will found dead in the tall elephant grass
[01:56:45] The rebel whose life I had spared
[01:56:48] The police executed him it was quick and brutal justice and won all two from a year in this part of the world
[01:56:56] Roger learning curves
[01:56:59] Lasco, not even mentioned Lasco ski his grandfather was a Polish legionaire
[01:57:04] Mary Delady in Indochina Vietnamese and
[01:57:08] That's the history of his so he looks he's French he looks
[01:57:11] Vietnamese with a Polish last name
[01:57:16] All of it in one the legionaire with the history, but yeah that situation was definitely
[01:57:22] You know I'm thrown into the the den learning curve lack of training lack of experience
[01:57:28] Turn out well, but again lesson learned and took that with me to the next job
[01:57:34] Yeah, this again for me this is really good sort of escalation of your of your learning right like even the even the first night
[01:57:45] Where right maybe there's a few the very first mission you did were like nothing really happened luckily
[01:57:50] This didn't happen that night because you had just a little bit more experience a little bit more ready for it and
[01:57:57] You know what I think we talked about with you did through sometimes like or or any type of combat of training
[01:58:02] You get used to it so now when somebody grabs you in a street fight for real
[01:58:07] You're like okay, I know what to do but
[01:58:11] Even if you're on the mat all the time even if you're a black belt in jujitsu if you haven't been in a real fight before
[01:58:17] There's still that last little thing that last little hurdle but over come mentally where
[01:58:24] You you need to act decisively and make things happen whereas
[01:58:30] That's not what's happening on the training mat. It's just not a real fight has it's different and so the only way to
[01:58:40] Overcome that as you got it like overcoming that's why you hope the first fight you get in is with a guy that was an NCAA
[01:58:46] Collegiate wrestler or Golden Gloves boxer because
[01:58:50] You won't learn much you won't learn much you'll learn that you don't know anything
[01:58:53] Whereas if the first fight you get in is getting some drunk guy that's you know acting like an idiot who doesn't know how to fight cool
[01:59:00] You learn and you can you can move in the right direction
[01:59:04] So long book. Yeah, yeah, you can improve your game without with very limited risk
[01:59:10] So yeah, I know it was yeah, definitely I'm curve there everything's new
[01:59:17] But soldier at least some learning the trade and that's part of
[01:59:21] You know becoming a soldier and growing as a young man is
[01:59:25] You know you think okay, I want to be a soldier and you got these visions of things that you will be doing or want to do
[01:59:30] But life will check that and show you what you're you're made of and what you're capable of and that's what I'm I'm seeing
[01:59:36] What I'm made of what I'm capable of some of it's good some of this bad but growing up is learning and taking with that
[01:59:43] Or with from that what you can and are you just completely stoked at this point though?
[01:59:47] I mean from a perspective like a more focused on not
[01:59:51] Fucking up God, you know, I'm new to the team. I'm not theoretically a team member yet
[01:59:55] I'm just this replacement fortunate to be there
[01:59:58] But I know eyes around me certainly the captain's watching me as the other guys
[02:00:01] I mean that's keys your your peers right the guys are with you
[02:00:05] So I'm just trying not to discover up
[02:00:07] Yeah, and that that worked in my favor. I'll be it you know, maybe my reaction wasn't
[02:00:12] textbook, but whatever and result was
[02:00:15] Successful and you know once once once you're once you're part of a little something then you're you gain that a little bit of traction with the team
[02:00:23] They start to know what you're made of and then continues on
[02:00:28] Yeah, that's good
[02:00:31] Yeah, you know
[02:00:33] We trained so realistic. We were so lucky like the the capability that we had with training was just awesome
[02:00:40] Like we'd be doing paintball and and this multi million dollar laser tag system and explosions going off special effects
[02:00:49] It was really really good and it would really mitigate
[02:00:54] This kind of opening shock that guys would get and that was always my goal when I was running training was to mitigate that opening shock
[02:01:02] And you know what you see this a lot is with like you know with police officers that don't get great training
[02:01:08] They they're day to day job
[02:01:13] We'll escalate into a life or death they'll go they'll go
[02:01:17] 300 days or two or three or five years without ever drawing their weapon
[02:01:23] Without with that with that idea, you know coming out of the academy and every day that that idea of drawing their weapon goes
[02:01:30] Deeper and deeper deeper deeper into the negative possibilities of it happening and then all of a sudden it boom
[02:01:38] It escalates and you can see that once again
[02:01:42] This opening shock of wait a second, you know, there's someone with a gun or there's a bad situation
[02:01:48] There's a woman screaming or whatever it is
[02:01:51] They can't process it quickly enough and they don't have experience processing it and that's a real problem and
[02:01:57] And that's why these you know what I've said before is like
[02:02:02] I think police should should train one one fifth of the time like a won't 20% of the time they should be training
[02:02:09] So five days at work cool one of those days you're just going through eight hours of training
[02:02:14] That and who would you rather have policing your neighborhood?
[02:02:18] Ten cops at the same time that are all
[02:02:21] Haven't trained in a year or eight cops who have all trained a bunch the answer is so clear
[02:02:28] But man, it just doesn't happen. Nope. Yeah, you can never train
[02:02:32] I mean that's how you feel doing I mentioned later on as you know
[02:02:34] You this is where you realize that shit. I should have maybe spent a little more time on certain things on the range
[02:02:40] On the job training isn't necessarily the best
[02:02:43] system but that's their system and that being said to is you know
[02:02:47] I've just come off it's not like I just that was on time off and throw them into into bungie
[02:02:51] I've been you know going full on from a year now
[02:02:55] So it is what is and budget is obviously we don't quite have the same budget or they don't have the same budget as a
[02:03:00] Seal team obviously and the technology
[02:03:03] So they they make a work
[02:03:05] And yeah, it seems to
[02:03:08] Seems to come together. It's not perfect, but it's that's how they're there system works
[02:03:12] Yeah, the the thing that really for a young or for anyone
[02:03:18] Anyone going in these stressful situations the ability to take a step back into touch from what's happening is like
[02:03:24] 97% of the battle in these situations to take a step back and go
[02:03:29] Okay, I see what's happening right now. Oh, I got we got enemy shooting inside this house
[02:03:33] Okay, instead of me focusing on that I'm just gonna take a second
[02:03:36] I'm gonna take a step back and everyone else is returning fire. That's awesome
[02:03:39] I don't need to return fire. I'm gonna take cover behind this tree and I'm gonna take a look around
[02:03:44] the ability to do that
[02:03:46] Is so powerful compared to
[02:03:50] Oh, they're shooting going on. I'm gonna return fire inside like that yeah, that what that does your brain same thing in the street fight like the ability to go
[02:03:56] Okay, wait a second. This guy is approaching me right now. He's clearly drunk. He's got friends
[02:04:02] I see that his friends over there
[02:04:04] This is gonna be a bad situation if I get into it like just the ability and instead of looking oh this guy
[02:04:09] Is coming at me really you want some that's not the way to go and then same thing with being a
[02:04:15] Being a
[02:04:16] Copper law enforcement
[02:04:18] Will you see something unfolding instead of jumping into it?
[02:04:22] Which is what your instinct is take a step back
[02:04:26] Instead and and take a look around and that's a lesson that I was lucky enough to learn early on
[02:04:32] And then I did get a nice gradual ramp up in combat operations where I was like, okay
[02:04:37] Yep, I came back on okay, you know what I need to take a step back take a wrap off. Yep, you were cool. You saw it was going on, but you could do better
[02:04:44] And and I'm very thankful that that happened
[02:04:48] But you know even like the first time we ever getting shot at I was like okay
[02:04:52] I see what's going on here take a step back. It wasn't freaking out. It was like okay cool
[02:04:56] We can we can here's what I need to be doing because I'm in an leadership position. I want you actually look around and it was like okay
[02:05:02] But that ability to take a step back to touch and look at what's going on is
[02:05:06] So important and you know you're a free fall guy
[02:05:10] It's like your first free fall jump where what do you see on your first free fall jump?
[02:05:14] You see your off-timeter and your off-timeter and your off-timeter and your off-timeter and your rip-quarter and you don't see much
[02:05:20] And then as you get better if you're not tumbling
[02:05:23] Yeah, yeah
[02:05:24] If you're telling me good thing if you're too old to be here
[02:05:28] But as you get better you can see everything and all some of these one minute free falls from 13,000 feet
[02:05:32] seem like a really nice long time and you get to observe all the stuff and enjoy it
[02:05:36] But yeah, but the that's what you need to do is take that step back and train yourself to do that
[02:05:43] You have to train yourself to do that if you train yourself to take a step back off the firing line
[02:05:47] Quit staring down your gun look at the situation that's unfolding don't jump into the situation
[02:05:52] Take a step back and I think in the training the pre-selection obviously we spent time
[02:05:57] You know clearing houses on the range
[02:05:58] Shoot all that type of stuff so I think they're able to to see the demeanor of the guys and see that you're not a
[02:06:04] You know twitchy character that you're you know you're thinking about things
[02:06:09] Which you know would get you into the team so I was I wasn't prone to just you know going full auto and
[02:06:15] You will know you you know I was handled this situation
[02:06:17] I mean I was more concerned about the opposite not fucking up more than here
[02:06:22] Yeah, that was my
[02:06:24] Yeah, I mean your instincts are you know you like you didn't freak out in this situation
[02:06:28] You you made a decision now weather cap and I will agreed with exactly what you did. It's like okay
[02:06:33] Maybe he was pissed because you because he still had his weapon or yeah, maybe he thought you should have just killed him
[02:06:38] Which you know as six and one half dozen the other what you could have done there what you should have done there
[02:06:43] If you killed the guy and it ended up he was carrying a stick or whatever
[02:06:47] Then you're all of a sudden you're the bad guy for killing some civilian that was hiding in the woods
[02:06:51] Carrying his baby or whatever right I mean you were worst case. Yeah, yeah, or worst case
[02:06:57] You blew on blue situation, which is yeah, so
[02:07:01] You know you were you were cognizant of what was going on like just the simple fact that you recognized it could be a teammate
[02:07:07] Man there's some people that don't they go straight from zero to a hundred miles an hour and they're just thinking oh
[02:07:12] That's a bad guy. They're shooting going on and they're pulling that trigger before they think about it
[02:07:15] So you were thinking through it and it shows that the training that you did go through even though it might not have been this
[02:07:22] The simulated combat that we did
[02:07:24] You know when you're jumping out of airplanes when you're clearing rooms all time you have to learn to do that
[02:07:30] Somewhat and obviously you had at this point and I was putting you know on that patrol. I was in the rear a position that was less
[02:07:39] Well with responsibility, but yeah
[02:07:41] Yeah, for sure Greg call right if I'm the leader of that you're a new guy you just showed up here
[02:07:45] I'm absolutely you can be rare security. It was no fool. Yeah, obviously there for reasons so he was yeah
[02:07:50] Yeah, it was learning my trade my craft
[02:07:52] Welcome to the combat arms
[02:07:55] Good way to learn that it was easy. Yeah, everyone will do it against now the situation starts to intensify
[02:08:00] Embassy in foreign national neighborhoods were placed under a permanent guard and French military checkpoints
[02:08:05] We're established along the cities main arteries and roads leading to international airport
[02:08:09] The airport terminal was secured by French foreign Legion and the French Marines
[02:08:15] Rebels have been firing RPG rockets and mortar rounds from their side of
[02:08:22] PK zero into pro government neighborhoods and locals were being killed
[02:08:27] Our new task was to deter this behavior. So here's another operation our objective was to find a good vantage point
[02:08:34] And neutralize anyone with a weapon either on PK zero or on the other side
[02:08:39] So this is your owner to a sniper over watch type position
[02:08:42] We found a suitable side behind a small but sufficient retaining wall and agreed on arcs of fire
[02:08:50] Within minutes bullets cracked overhead the shots were off target, but they clearly aimed in our position
[02:08:55] Seconds later. I saw figure standing in a small opening
[02:08:59] Between buildings he let out a short reckless burst of fire in our general direction before disappearing
[02:09:04] The distance and lack of flight made it hard to see but the AK sound was definitive. I waited
[02:09:10] Sure enough the stupid fucker fired at us again my response was quick. I fired a succession of single action shots at the target
[02:09:17] Did I hit my mark? I wouldn't have been far off. I knew that. He didn't step out again
[02:09:23] We then moved a short distance away and sought better cover the plan was to cross PK zero and start clearing buildings and
[02:09:30] General area from where we had been targeted
[02:09:33] We put down effective covering fire shooting through gaps in the wall directly at our target to well placed AC
[02:09:40] 58 anti-personel grenades flew straight hitting their mark the enemy ceased
[02:09:47] Half of our section then made a short sprint across PK zero under the other half's covering fire
[02:09:52] Then they remained across we waited in the dark no shots no rebel seen nothing
[02:09:57] Putting on our night vision goggles we made our way down a dark embankment into taller elephant grass leading into a large open field
[02:10:04] Without warning a high pitch scream stopped us in our tracks are lead it surprised a local with his pants down
[02:10:10] Relieving himself
[02:10:11] daylight was approaching and we checked the area to make sure he hadn't thrown a weapon into the grass
[02:10:17] Then we called it a night returned to our sleeping bags
[02:10:21] Yes, so we called after the initial I guess we called contact
[02:10:24] We radio further us the team to come and they came and then we we crossed the the avenue
[02:10:31] But yeah, there was another I guess
[02:10:35] Experience in soldering and you know the chance to use my weapon for the first time
[02:10:40] And learning from I guess the time before you know I there's no second guessing I knew
[02:10:46] What I was looking at
[02:10:49] And yeah, did my
[02:10:51] Did my job and of course I love this section because guess what you guys are doing cover and in moving
[02:10:57] Fundamental fundamental
[02:11:01] Combat tactic and that's exactly what you guys are doing putting down covering fire maneuvering
[02:11:05] And that's what you have to do and that's the that's the way it works
[02:11:08] It doesn't matter if you're in the French for an Legion or if you're in the Marine Corps if you're in the sealed teams
[02:11:11] That's what you do and I think we with a cross trading we learned from from others the best
[02:11:16] Method of getting the job done and now we've been training on fire movement and stuff for for a while
[02:11:23] Yeah, which is good
[02:11:26] Got to do it. Yep
[02:11:28] You guys get back on base and
[02:11:30] While lying in bed and you're writing you're right actually right in the letter your back on base lying in bed writing and sweating in the
[02:11:36] Central African heat increased radio chatter from the command tent got my attention
[02:11:41] It wasn't long before an NCO stuck his head into our tent and said let's go
[02:11:44] With the VLR a loaded we drove at speed to where third company section had ventured too close to camp Cassie and came under heavy caliber fire
[02:11:55] Passing thirds VAB we disembarked and made our way through the bush to the high ground
[02:12:00] Where the rebel fire had originated. I heard the distinct double tap of a femos my saying that right yep
[02:12:06] Fumos up ahead because it's an it's an FA right
[02:12:09] This is the right it's the rifle with like a magazine is out or sorry behind
[02:12:15] Is it behind your trigger? Yeah, exactly. It's kind of a funky set up. Yeah, they've replaced it since but it's a good weapon
[02:12:22] As I arrived on scene broken pridget
[02:12:25] We're standing next to a four by four pickup truck with a 50 caliber machine gun mounted and it's better rebel fighter was lying face down in a ditch
[02:12:32] He was alive but suffering the frex of Brooks double tap a few days later
[02:12:37] Our third company came under fire in the same place once again. We deployed the third cut down a rebel with their VAB mounted
[02:12:43] 50 caliber he was lying on the road clearly dead the 50 caliber round had done serious damage ripping
[02:12:49] half his chest away. It wasn't a pretty site
[02:12:54] And then you're proceeding
[02:12:55] Another situation after clearing a hot. I stepped out to the sound of an RPG rocket flying directly over our position
[02:13:03] Exploding well behind us. We took cover at the same time trying to pinpoint the origin quickly regrouping
[02:13:09] We continued our advance using fire and movement drills
[02:13:13] One covering the other in short bounds. This is classic cover move
[02:13:17] But as we progressed the shout grenade sent everyone diving
[02:13:21] I threw myself on the ground covering my head in a natural and time honored fashion
[02:13:26] a friendly high explosive AC 58 anti-personal grenade detonated on the ground sending dirt and
[02:13:33] Shrapnel flying in all directions in the heat of battle the AC 58 had mistakenly been fired vertically by one of our team
[02:13:41] I lay still for a few seconds and after everyone confirmed the OK we resumed our advance
[02:13:48] So there you go somebody had an AD with the human error. I'd always creeps up
[02:13:53] At least they had the
[02:13:55] Sense to call it out, huh? Yeah, yeah, that's a that's a decision making like hey
[02:14:01] Do I tell everyone what that was do you put on just unless exactly yeah because you you think yourself well
[02:14:06] What are the chances if you had any kind of angle on that thing you'd be fine?
[02:14:11] But if you fired that thing straight up
[02:14:13] Oh yeah, that things come in back now nightmare
[02:14:17] Luckily, you know
[02:14:19] Found out no one was injured
[02:14:21] That's an lesson yeah for everybody for those of you that we just kind of skip past
[02:14:25] Understanding what happened the guy had a grenade launcher it's actually it's a
[02:14:32] Any personal grenade that goes on the end of your film us and you can shoot it so it's like a rifle fired exactly
[02:14:37] So it's a rifle fired grenade that
[02:14:41] Can that way you can get and you don't have to throw a grenade you can use your rifle to shoot it basically and the guy
[02:14:47] Had an accidental discharge had it pointed at high port up in the sky and shot it straight up in the air well
[02:14:52] What goes up must come down let's come down
[02:14:54] And so luckily he called out grenade
[02:14:58] Because if you wouldn't have done that then you know if you're standing up on that thing hits oh yeah
[02:15:02] The frag pattern of a grenade is up and out exactly what's inside for you
[02:15:09] Sure that debrief was fun yeah kept in rollhead is
[02:15:14] handful
[02:15:16] This is where things start to get even more intense a French military delegation had met with rebel commanders at the gas station to
[02:15:24] Discuss certain terms and it didn't go well as the French staff car left the rebels open fire
[02:15:32] Some RPM snipers positioned in an apartment complex covering the meeting had it reacted appropriately the dead rebels at our feet
[02:15:39] When the result of their effective market marksmanship it wasn't long before two rebel commanders and their subordinates
[02:15:45] Return to the scene apparently under under and agreed truths our photo ops cell
[02:15:51] NCO sergeant
[02:15:53] Chief test then Marie
[02:15:55] Test turnier test and year was instructed to take pictures for future reference
[02:16:01] So that's you guys got called out to see what had gone down later that evening
[02:16:05] We gathered in our OP and we could sense that things had changed Captain Roul gave his orders
[02:16:11] a COS super poema
[02:16:14] Armed with 20 millimeter cannon would engage this cities main power station in the early hours of the morning
[02:16:20] It was our single or is our signal to assault the ponte Jackson bunker site and adjacent buildings
[02:16:26] Once that objective was achieved we would venture deeper into rebel health territory
[02:16:31] My initial responsibility in all this was to drive the P4 behind the teams of VAB and use it is cover
[02:16:37] Once the VAB had smashed through the makeshift barricade of burned out cars on the bridge
[02:16:42] I was to break left and assault the building adjacent to the rebel bunker
[02:16:46] The second P4 following behind us would stop short of the bunker my second responsibility once I brought the P4 to
[02:16:53] A stop was to dismount and fire an AC 58 anti-personel grenade into the buildings left window
[02:17:00] Another team and teammate L. Wahidi would do the same to the right window and then we would clear the building
[02:17:07] The VAB would stop and unload its personnel to clear the second target
[02:17:11] Building to the right of the main road and then if needed provide close fire support for the team with its 50 cal
[02:17:18] We discussed our fallback positions dealing with trauma and other details or scenarios once the briefing was completed
[02:17:25] We were told to go kid up
[02:17:28] With the with the P4 position behind the VAB I dropped the hinged windshield forward flat under the hood
[02:17:35] The call to prayer rang out reverberating off in the distance I found myself considering my current situation
[02:17:42] Having joined the French Foreign Legion only two years ago. I was about to assault a rebel-held position in central Africa with the regiments GCP
[02:17:51] I was full of emotions nervousness uncertainty and excitement at what lay ahead fear was a factor two
[02:17:58] I wasn't afraid of dying per se, but I didn't want to screw up
[02:18:01] We were all being counted on we were after all a team
[02:18:08] This is legit operation right here. Yeah, yeah, it's good shit
[02:18:14] For you know a young young soldier that's out there to test himself and
[02:18:19] Apply to us to his trade. This is this is
[02:18:21] Getting there. Yeah, no, this is this is a legit operation and I'm honored to you know a lot of the guys are like
[02:18:27] LYD with told me he was a senior in suit. He was like this doesn't happen all the time on your your fortune to be here
[02:18:32] So consider yourself lucky, which I did yeah, yeah, I mean you but then again all the morning is to deploy your weight
[02:18:38] Yeah, you got the air support. They're actually gonna start with 20 millimeter cannon taking out this
[02:18:42] I mean, this is a this is a nice op. Yeah, the quality operation the 20 mil account
[02:18:48] That's on another position, but it's our signal to go. Yeah, yeah, but I'm saying it's a big coordinated operation and you guys are doing a fall on a soul
[02:18:55] That's a commencing with grenades. Hey, you don't shoot on the officers in the back. Yeah, I'm trying to pay
[02:19:02] Fair enough and
[02:19:06] Little nervousness a little uncertainty and then the standard and I'm not trying to
[02:19:13] Take anything away from that, but everybody says myself included like what your afraid of is letting it let them someone down
[02:19:19] Yeah, that's definitely letting down the team
[02:19:21] So
[02:19:24] So
[02:19:25] Also what was the planning like like did you did you guys participate in the plan? No, so
[02:19:32] Early in the day French Jaguars. I'd gone over and they had photos of the other site
[02:19:36] Which Captain Rulhead and he basically briefed us there with the pictures we went through
[02:19:41] So there was minimal time spent really going over it
[02:19:44] But it wasn't complicated and this is straightforward. Yeah, boom more coming in we all knew our responsibilities and
[02:19:51] There we go. Yeah, continue on as I sat there visualizing a walk through the plan. I detected a sound
[02:19:57] I listened again carefully to make sure my adrenaline kicked in and I was certain I could hear the quiet
[02:20:01] Thought of a Puma helicopters roader blades in the distance
[02:20:05] Here we go. There we go. Where to came over the radio to start our engines
[02:20:09] We looked at one another in smile the OP gates were open and the VAB pulled out with its distinctive turbo diesel engine
[02:20:16] Whistling as it kicked in and accelerated down
[02:20:19] PK zero the VAB then made its right turn onto the dirt road that led to Pont Jackson
[02:20:25] It's 50 caliber opened up
[02:20:27] The sound of the initial burst drowning out everything else
[02:20:30] Shale casing bounced off the road hitting the hood of the P4 and the punch and smell of gunpowder flooded our nostrils
[02:20:36] The VAB then hit the bridge is barricade sending the wrecked cars flying driving over the bridge
[02:20:43] I felt a bloated or right side the impact hit hard enough that I had to fight to keep the vehicle straight
[02:20:49] I managed to make the hard left turn and slammed on the brakes a yawning second of silence followed as the P4 came to a
[02:20:55] Complete stop in a world-written wind of red dust
[02:20:58] We were now at our most vulnerable no longer covered by the VAB and right on top of the target
[02:21:03] Test 10 year on our P4's rear mounted
[02:21:09] 762 machine gun laid down covering fire and L. Y. D jumped out of the P4. I picked up my
[02:21:15] Famos in the heat of the button the heat of the moment. I took the wrong one a spare carried up front
[02:21:20] Everything seemed to be happening in slow motion
[02:21:22] noticing my error I grabbed the correct Famos from us with the AC 58 loaded on the muzzle
[02:21:28] Taking a step forward as L. Y. D
[02:21:30] As L. Y. D's AC 58 left his weapon I located my target and fired then I reconfigured the Famos
[02:21:37] I was farther away than planned but the AC 58 flew straight and hit the windows lower corner
[02:21:42] Exploding and sending shards of cinder block concrete wooden glass onto the road
[02:21:47] I quickly rechecked my magazine not to L. Y. D that we were good to go and we advanced to the building
[02:21:52] This main entrance using fire and movement we reached the door and I kicked in as hard as I could
[02:21:58] Through your four times until it finally gave way this wasn't ideal but it was reality not a Hollywood movie
[02:22:04] We then cleared the building room by room
[02:22:08] That's a wicked good assault kid off a sledgehammer would have been yeah
[02:22:13] Sludgehammer would have been good because both the
[02:22:15] Perfect door kicking is not as you know a good place to be
[02:22:17] Yeah, I've had that feeling before I'm saying they're kicking a door on this target waiting for an AK 47 to
[02:22:24] enter my back
[02:22:25] But you know what it makes you do kick harder
[02:22:31] Afterwards we joined our two teammates outside they had detained three out of less employees who were kneeling on the ground
[02:22:37] Hands on their heads visibly scared children were used by rebels as air and boys
[02:22:42] Or whatever was needed these kids smartly had hidden when we launched these salts and
[02:22:46] The rebels fled
[02:22:48] After being searched they were told to clear out the boys ran off and disappeared into the darkness
[02:22:52] There's was a childhood a world apart from what I had experienced growing up our team regrouped however
[02:22:58] I noticed my p4 had a nice little flat tire as the section could what did that? I think it was just uh one of the
[02:23:06] Vehicles that we'd smash by you know a piece or whatever something yeah, yeah, slip the
[02:23:11] As the section continued up the road I was left behind with sick Gorlan
[02:23:15] Yes, you're Karlan to cover as I changed the tire
[02:23:19] The Puma flew a loose orbit overhead hammering rebel positions in the distance with its 20 millimeter cannon with the tire replaced
[02:23:28] We drove up the road to rejoin the section waiting some 500 meters away
[02:23:33] Driving through a smaller crossroads we came under fire from a heavy caliber type round
[02:23:38] Thank God their their aim was off. I watched a red trace around cut past our front
[02:23:43] On marine VAB 20 millimeter at another intersection had mistaken us for a rebel vehicle
[02:23:50] This potentially fatal error didn't really sink in right away and we both laughed nervously once we are clear of danger
[02:23:57] Yeah, I don't know how close it was it's close enough to get our attention obviously and I accelerated
[02:24:03] But yeah, they definitely had had us coin for someone else and yeah, yeah, and yeah, it's it's crazy
[02:24:13] You know, I've I've told the story before there was a blue on blue and when I was in the battle of
[02:24:18] Monty there was nothing happened but there was a
[02:24:22] Humvee that engaged another Humvee like shot at another Humvee. I don't think they hit it
[02:24:27] Yep, but that shows you I mean a Humvee is one of the most distinctive vehicles there is
[02:24:34] You know, especially with the 50 caliber and the turret. I mean it's really obvious what it is and in Ramani
[02:24:40] They didn't have any technical vehicles like you guys we're going against some people tech
[02:24:43] They weren't the enemy didn't have to they had vehicle born IEDs
[02:24:47] But they didn't have weapons mounted on them and they damn shard and look anything like a Humvee
[02:24:51] And so think about what the mental state of a young soldier is that he's out in a Humvee in the city
[02:24:59] He sees another Humvee and and shoot that yeah, like that's how amped up people get that and this is an
[02:25:07] All fairness to the French the the rebels had pickups the same vehicle because they're obviously supplied for the French military
[02:25:14] You know these things happen luckily
[02:25:16] You know it's a third well, but yeah, it's certainly got our attention and it's something you don't think about it
[02:25:22] You know when you're you're on this off whatever you're thinking the bad guy
[02:25:25] You're not thinking the good guy and wham you know, yeah, I got to be thinking about the good guy too. Yes, you do that's
[02:25:32] One of the things that we realized being in combat was you had to do at least as much planning to de-conflect with the friendly forces that
[02:25:39] Yeah, as you did worried about what the enemy was gonna do
[02:25:41] And I think when it's of soldiering, I don't know if that term even exists, but you got to think about you know the mistakes that others are gonna make not not just the enemy
[02:25:50] Yeah, and by the way, I'd rather get shot at all day by the enemy. Yeah, then then friendly who actually hit their target more often
[02:25:58] True
[02:25:59] So here we are back to the book regrouped our section
[02:26:01] We waited at the intersection and it wasn't long before the early morning light brought with it civilian casualties caught in the crossfire and family members
[02:26:08] Asking for help we radioed for assistance and a French military ambulance arrived as the evening adrenaline war off
[02:26:14] We sat idly watching it hit home that these people some seriously injured were innocent victims
[02:26:21] We were soon replaced by a section from the fourth company and made our way back to the Jackson bunker site
[02:26:27] Where we put where we were put on standby for a few hours on further search of the bunker and
[02:26:32] Building several weapons and small ammunition caches were recovered
[02:26:36] After what I sat in the driver's seat of my P4 drinking coffee as two teammates used to use the pyjow
[02:26:43] Rear hold to clear the recovered weapons suddenly a lot loud shot ring out an old French
[02:26:51] Boltaxian rifle had accidentally been discharged to Captain Raoul had a lot to say about that error personally
[02:26:56] I was also unimpressed
[02:26:58] I had coffee all over my combat best pants and webbing
[02:27:01] I
[02:27:04] Did fresh bro to we eventually returned to our own beds and I slept like the dead adrenaline affects people in different ways
[02:27:11] But this adrenaline dump took took it to a whole new level after we had time to rest we were debriefed
[02:27:16] The operation that achieved its objective the rebels had fled Bangguoo. How do you say? Nungi, Bungi
[02:27:23] with their commanders retreating to their native villages
[02:27:27] the
[02:27:29] first RPIMA
[02:27:32] The Marines and the rep didn't suffer any losses although two crew members in a sanghi armored vehicle were injured due to a friendly fire
[02:27:42] Incident with the Puma overhead
[02:27:45] The rebels suffered losses. So again, we're gonna blew on blues in every one. Yeah, and I'm like hopefully I'm not focusing too much on the
[02:27:51] The human error on our side, but that is a part of so with respect to you when you're you're doing it for real
[02:27:56] Yeah, people screw up and it's and it's learning from and it you know it was there and I was also
[02:28:02] Aware of my surroundings, you know, I wasn't dumb enough to
[02:28:06] Do not see that the locals were suffering but they have a tough life
[02:28:10] I'm a fortunate kid from you know Western Canada privilege upbringing and I was there
[02:28:14] You know supporting obviously the French efforts, but the same time I could see that
[02:28:18] There's other people in this world that don't have it quite as well and they suffer the
[02:28:21] The consequences of bullshit
[02:28:23] Yeah, so that was always
[02:28:26] Part of my time there. I'm not just
[02:28:27] Kewed up soldier time. I'm also looking around at my surrounding thinking, you know, I'm a lucky guy
[02:28:32] This is you know some people have a tough life. Yeah, no, I
[02:28:35] Traveling the world is definitely
[02:28:37] Left an impact on me in terms of how awesome it is to go
[02:28:41] Well for me in America and then the thing about human error like I don't think you're focused too much on human error
[02:28:47] I think you're focusing enough on human error that hopefully people that listen to this go. Oh, we better not assume
[02:28:52] That's someone in the helicopter that's flying around at night looking at the ground is going to be able to
[02:28:58] Discriminate which one of these vehicles is good guys in which one is bad guys even though it might seem real obvious
[02:29:04] It's not or when you get lazy on the range and you're training think yourself when it's real
[02:29:09] You don't want to be the one screw it up. No, the consequences are high so take your your training seriously
[02:29:14] I was out in the desert just on a training operation. It was daytime
[02:29:18] And I'm trying to signal I was a radio man as a young and listed seal. I was trying to signal a helicopter to come pick us up
[02:29:24] The helicopter is probably at an altitude of
[02:29:28] Like
[02:29:29] No more than a thousand feet. It's low. Yeah, I have a smoke out. I've got like a red smoke out on the ground
[02:29:35] And I'm waving an aircraft plant panel around and there's two helicopters a section of helicopters and they can't see me
[02:29:41] And and I just I couldn't believe it
[02:29:43] Helicopter pilots you just can yeah, yeah, and what I realized is like oh to me. It's real obvious because I'm looking at the sky
[02:29:50] There's only one thing to look at these two helicopters for them
[02:29:53] I mean they got I'm like well, I'm by the know all how many knows do they see you know
[02:29:59] Pass the ravine how many ravines do they see they see literally
[02:30:03] Miles and miles and miles and square and I mean eventually it did but it cued me in that
[02:30:08] Man it thing you got to understand other people's perspective
[02:30:11] One of they seeing same thing from a leadership perspective like one is my
[02:30:15] Grant think what are they seeing out of this situation? Does it make any sense to them? Have I explained it clearly enough like actually?
[02:30:22] Probably know you haven't
[02:30:24] So gaining to know other people's perspective or looking at things from other people's perspective is an important tool and what you're saying here
[02:30:32] You know focusing on human errors like people are gonna make mistakes. I mean
[02:30:36] People are gonna make mistakes whether it's a negligent discharge with some recovered weapon or it's shooting a friendly forces
[02:30:43] I mean like that's gonna happen and you have to do everything you can to plan to mitigate that as much as possible
[02:30:49] It's hard to hard job
[02:30:53] And by the way, I mean
[02:30:56] When I was before the war started
[02:30:59] I didn't think that that
[02:31:01] Blue on blue was a possible thing to really happen and you know Jason Gardner who's an awesome guy who's been on this podcast and
[02:31:12] He's talking about
[02:31:14] Having a blue on blue during train. I was running training and he's kind of telling the story about
[02:31:20] How this blue on blue unfolded and he was the same way when I said look you know
[02:31:25] People are gonna have blue on blues and he kind of was rolling his eyes thinking the everyone else must suck so bad
[02:31:29] You know that's ridiculous and sure. I've you put that pressure on him and
[02:31:34] Man things get complicated and people make mistakes and the world looks different through night vision and the world looks different from different angles
[02:31:43] That's why you got to keep things simple
[02:31:46] By the way, log combat
[02:31:49] Train hard fight easy. Yeah
[02:31:52] Did you on being left alone for a few days with ample time for sports sleep general recovery in a beer two at the camps for you
[02:31:58] Was a much needed reprieve but it wasn't long before we were briefed on our next task
[02:32:03] So here comes another one approaching our target a home-built better than others. We waited outside
[02:32:07] It's entrance until signal to enter as we broke through the door. It was obvious that our target wasn't there
[02:32:12] But as family was and they were terrified the younger children were shaken to the bone and the mom and an older sister
[02:32:18] We're trying to comfort the kids to know effect who could blame them here. We were a bunch of phone soldiers with weird equipment on our heads
[02:32:25] Bursting into their simple life. We left the family with bottles of water and some wise advice for the woman's husband
[02:32:33] Our efforts continued and we said ambushes on remote trails leading to rebel villages
[02:32:38] Hiding in the bush through the night cradling my weapon and wearing envy jeez my eyes started to play tricks
[02:32:43] Shadows on the trail began to look like rebels slowly sneaking up on me not to mention the bugs relentlessly buzzing around and
[02:32:50] Crawling on me these were long nights and all in vain
[02:32:53] Our
[02:32:55] Stay in the car was coming to an end and the rep was going to be relieved by another French regimen
[02:33:00] ammunition that would soon expect expire needed to be spent
[02:33:03] So we'd just dedicated an entire data working on our contact drills firing as many rounds as we could
[02:33:08] Captain Raoul arrived
[02:33:10] Later in the day and I was duly summoned with an order to stand to attention
[02:33:14] I was promoted to corporal
[02:33:16] He removed the Velcro premier class patch from my combat vest and replaced it with corporal rank a company with a solid punch to the chest
[02:33:25] So it's stuck properly
[02:33:27] So there you go get your uh get your promotion and then it was back home
[02:33:34] Well back to Calvier back in Calvier everyone was given leave except Mwa
[02:33:40] Salak Garcia both fresh off leave and I were going to the center national
[02:33:49] Day train Monte Camando
[02:33:52] So Camando training correct you see any see we passed the pre entrance exam consisting of a time to relay with sprints push-ups situps chinups any
[02:34:02] obligatory rope climb at the regiment gym
[02:34:04] We then left from our say by overnight ferry
[02:34:08] On towards
[02:34:11] Toward to lose so what's this course all about so this is the French commander course they have three levels one two and three
[02:34:19] In order to be a GCP team member you have to be level two command of qualified and then obviously your halo qualification
[02:34:25] So this is the level one two okay, I had done my level one with the first company got it
[02:34:30] Yeah, so this level two, but it's done for the cost which is the sprints are the French special operations command
[02:34:36] So everything from their G-Gen which is their French any terrorist team to Air Force for their controllers
[02:34:43] regular army and then their
[02:34:45] Commando Marines which is based off similar to the seals is that you know his bear yeah, who bear there's a couple of there's four
[02:34:51] But yeah, so we had all come together and do the course. Oh, that's
[02:34:55] Yeah, pretty good to have a unified course was and my first you know time to
[02:35:00] To see other soldiers
[02:35:02] Because I'm still junior at this point and I haven't done any courses except with other Legionnaires
[02:35:06] So this first time I kind of get thrown into the mesh with other
[02:35:09] French actual French soldiers now are you looking at their lifestyle?
[02:35:14] Seeing a difference it's starting we got I've been busy. Yeah, I can't complain
[02:35:19] But yeah, you start to fatigue and start to kick in and here I am
[02:35:24] You know starting a course and you must be feeling good too like I mean just from that one deployment to the car
[02:35:29] Right, that's got a that's that's pretty all that's an awesome deployment for 19 whatever was this 1995
[02:35:35] Six 1996 that's a freaking good deployment for
[02:35:38] 1990 it is agreed yeah and unfortunately that I as I said got to partaking it wasn't the I mean that wasn't a normal deployment
[02:35:44] I'm assuming no no and then the fact that I'm not a qualified team members
[02:35:47] So I'm fortunate that I've gotten thrown into the team that way
[02:35:50] But I don't think I'm there mentally. I'm thinking I need my command of course
[02:35:54] I need to get to the the jump course. I need to you know be a proper team member and pull my way
[02:35:59] So I'm thinking we're just I got to cover these these courses these checks and the box is I'm not really looking back
[02:36:03] Think oh this great you know this will be chapter seven
[02:36:08] Not at all it sounds like
[02:36:10] Sounds like you did some more maritime stuff with this I'll go to the book here and leave you way learn six
[02:36:14] Manzodex were introduced into the training
[02:36:17] We sat in the crafts the lower deck and guys got seasick from surging swells at times this made vomiting contagious
[02:36:24] Finally never soon enough the boats along with sound and we would make our way out of the deck of
[02:36:29] Intims of six zodiacs were thrown over board at speed and we followed jumping to the sea wearing our wetsuits
[02:36:34] zodiacs were deliberately flipped upside down and we waited beneath them
[02:36:38] Our bodies shaking in the chat and teeth chattering uncontrollably from the cold if we were too slow
[02:36:45] The instructors would keep us in the water for longer periods of time the least my least favorite training experience by far was
[02:36:51] Swarve on my fucking nerve
[02:36:54] This is this is the is that what you guys called this dog that was just guys. What you made up?
[02:36:58] Okay jammed inside the tarp covered trucks with our backpack the vehicle
[02:37:03] Speed off and then we were ordered to put on our wetsuits in the dark cramped moving space
[02:37:08] The driver purposely squirred violently back and forth sending us crashing into the sides or piling up to the front as he break
[02:37:15] Tard the tactic that
[02:37:17] The tactic was that half of the group would make themselves as small as possible in the corners or signs of the truck
[02:37:23] So the guys in on the inside could change then we'd switch out
[02:37:27] Tempers flared, but we got it done. Yeah, that's just a typical
[02:37:32] Fuck with you. Yeah, that's literally a
[02:37:34] Tempers would flare me you get an elbow crush side of the head you know things got yeah, maybe I have to figure that over yourselves
[02:37:40] a way to get a
[02:37:42] Uh first thing money is again I'm skipping broad swaths of this book, but I'm just hitting some of the highlights
[02:37:50] First thing on Monday morning we took part in hand-to-hand combat drills to get us back on track
[02:37:54] Then we went straight on to an obstacle course rock climbing was on the curriculum with a
[02:37:59] Fastening lesson on knots which we immediately forgot but would be tested on later in the classroom
[02:38:03] We worked on explosive charge calculations and reviewed the explosives range safety rolls
[02:38:08] Continuing on a bit that evening we were woken by stun grenades and German shepherds barking in the barracks doorway
[02:38:16] Instructors in ballacloves dragged us outside and covered our heads with potato sacks the trucks had their high beams
[02:38:21] Directed at us and we were put in stress positions with dogs barking on our faces
[02:38:25] Our personal belongings such as compass knife and flashlight or lighter were taken this was the prisoner of war phase of training
[02:38:33] Stress positions were quite annoying which is the idea and if an instructor notice you slacking off
[02:38:37] You would slap you upside the head and make you either correct the position or change to another one
[02:38:41] The exaggerated push-up position with your rear end as high as you could get it was effective the slabs were not overly hard
[02:38:47] I certainly don't think any of us were close to quitting we knew this was coming
[02:38:53] So you're just getting your yeah, they're just playing with us. We saw you nothing they didn't slap you hard
[02:39:00] Uh
[02:39:01] Yeah
[02:39:02] The first slap that I got at Searschool which was our putt
[02:39:05] I got slapped so good. I was not expecting it
[02:39:09] You know I kind of have I think I had like a because I was 19. I think I had a good cocky look on my face like whatever
[02:39:15] Dude, I got you keep in mind these the training in seals are a rig force. It's not legion anymore
[02:39:20] So they're not quite as
[02:39:22] Apped at
[02:39:23] Smack in it one
[02:39:24] Yeah, yeah, we would it so this was a regular navy guy this guy that slapped me in the case
[02:39:29] There's a regular navy guy and I'm sure he had wrecked red my dossier and said oh here comes a rambo
[02:39:33] Well
[02:39:34] Let's check out some of that. Yeah, so I was giving some cocky answer
[02:39:38] You know he's like what you what is name because it was a Eastern block
[02:39:41] Simulation so they're all speaking with fake Russian accents so he's like what is your name? And I'm like what do you worried about?
[02:39:49] I mean full I don't think I think he's I think he honestly slapped me as hard as he could like I mean it was that hard
[02:39:54] But was it the kind of it isn't palm or like he slapped me as hard as he could you know
[02:39:59] Like but there's a difference so you're watching a slapping competition. Yeah, I know I'm good guys and they get you with this part
[02:40:04] Not good yet, but if you get this part it says that's a superficial he slapped me
[02:40:10] I'm not sure which part of the hand
[02:40:12] But good enough
[02:40:14] Let me put you sweet. It kind of rang my bell a little bit
[02:40:16] Yeah, he's probably got a little bit of professional part a little bit of professionalism. Yeah
[02:40:21] I think so
[02:40:23] check
[02:40:25] Two of our larger coursemates were this is again fast forward to a larger course
[02:40:29] mates were told to retrieve Jerry cans of water stashed roadside a detonation of white powder followed
[02:40:34] Simulating two casualties using our combat vessel metal poles provided for structures
[02:40:38] We extracted for what I assumed was several kilometers at some point
[02:40:41] I could see headlights in the dark down the road as we arrived
[02:40:44] I realized it was a military transport the instructors then casually told us that we were done
[02:40:50] Confused I asked the instructor if he was sure we were exhausted
[02:40:55] And then completing the Commando Brevei. Is that what you say? Brevei?
[02:40:58] Brevei exactly was physically challenging and that was something I liked
[02:41:02] Having the feeling of being pushed to my limits
[02:41:05] So you get done with this that's phase two that's phase two. So that's my command of qualification now would be the jump course
[02:41:12] to be a qualified GCP team member now
[02:41:17] Now you're back on base in Calvary
[02:41:20] I was summoned to the CEA company building and presented myself to
[02:41:24] The duty NCO sitting behind his desk. He ordered me to get gills as I said a jeel jeel
[02:41:31] He ordered me to get jeels dressed uniform and kept me from his locker
[02:41:35] It was an unusual request. I asked a why what's going on without even looking up from his paper work the NCO replied casually
[02:41:44] He's dead
[02:41:46] I was stunned that shock was compounded by the Cavalier even Calus way the NCO had broken the news
[02:41:54] I was angry but controlled my feelings and went to jeel's room
[02:42:00] I recovered as uniform and kept me from his locker
[02:42:04] Inside were photos of his fiance Stephanie
[02:42:08] I quickly networked with others to find out what the hell had happened news eventually trickled back to the regimen
[02:42:13] The CEA first company and section had been deployed to Brazaville in the Republic of Congo
[02:42:21] Fighting between government troops and militiamen loyalty the former leader had escalated requiring a
[02:42:26] Vacuation of some 6,000 expats caught up in the Civil War
[02:42:31] Jeels had been killed during ex-patriation efforts
[02:42:37] His body was due to arrive in Calvary from Africa the next evening and corpus from the CEA's
[02:42:43] rear guard would man his honor guard while he lay at rest in the regimental chapel
[02:42:50] Six of us were designated a carriers coffin onto the parade square for the regimental ceremony scheduled for the following day
[02:42:58] I was excused from course to get my uniform ready and assist in the preparations
[02:43:03] A small private ceremony for Jeels family and Stephanie was held before the regimental parade
[02:43:09] Where all the companies not on tour were present in full parade uniform
[02:43:14] Jeels coffin was moved from the chapel to the center of the parade square
[02:43:21] The French minister of defense awarded Jeels the Post-Jumist Croy
[02:43:27] Deville Valor military the military medal
[02:43:31] The cross of Valor then the regimen sang a regimental song
[02:43:35] You could have heard a pin drop when it was over
[02:43:39] It was a moving moment
[02:43:43] Captain Raoul indicated that I was to attend
[02:43:46] dinner that evening
[02:43:49] in Calvary for the four Jeels and Stephanie's families Stephanie seemed to be taking everything and stride
[02:43:54] But I'm sure she was doing her best to put up a strong front
[02:43:59] I could see that Jeels family was hurting
[02:44:01] Everyone was I wasn't really sure
[02:44:06] What to say or how to act?
[02:44:10] Jeels who is a good man a good soldier and
[02:44:14] Like many other legionnaires before him had made the ultimate sacrifice
[02:44:19] Yeah, so Jeels I had befriended when I got to Bunga he was new on the team but it completed all his
[02:44:32] prerequisites courses so he kind of took me not under swing but we'd run together
[02:44:36] You got everything on what to expect in the commander course the jump course some of the personalities with an
[02:44:41] team like be careful this guy doesn't like you know and so yeah he was a you see a guy and when we got back to
[02:44:46] Friends Stephanie and Meta said one of the French Air Force bases and brought sandwiches for us to eat and so I got to meet her
[02:44:54] So when I came back from commander course I was doing my medics course that they're running on the in Calvary and that's when I was summoned to the
[02:45:01] the front desk
[02:45:04] and
[02:45:05] Control my my temper
[02:45:07] Which
[02:45:09] Is mentioned because sometimes a legion can be that way cold and calis is what it is
[02:45:13] And yeah Jeels was a good man. He was actually former French airborne quick the French military to join the legion because he wanted to
[02:45:21] Give her to go and
[02:45:23] I paid the ultimate sacrifice so as I thought an important story to share because a lot of people don't
[02:45:29] Think or see that when they think of the legion that there's good men out there
[02:45:33] risk in their lives and some of them
[02:45:34] Pay for it. Yeah, and I didn't read it, but you you go through pretty good detail of what it happened and so that's another reason for people to
[02:45:44] To get the book so you can get that story
[02:45:47] Yeah, and they're out there supporting valid efforts. It's not this misconception that the legion is you know
[02:45:52] I'm third thing
[02:45:54] They're they're supporting humanity and
[02:45:56] Helping where they can yeah absolutely did that
[02:45:59] I mean now is your is your viewpoint of what you're doing changed at all at this point
[02:46:07] In which way in other words
[02:46:11] Did you have any feelings of hey
[02:46:15] I'm I'm a legionaire we deploy I've been in firefights
[02:46:19] I can't be killed nothing can happen to me
[02:46:21] Did you have any thoughts like well actually 100% that was definitely an eye opener where this is yes series outcomes
[02:46:30] Yeah, it was so bring I guess to a certain point and you realize that yeah, there's a risk of there
[02:46:35] Something you take for granted
[02:46:38] So she had a peacetime
[02:46:39] Army because really things hadn't ramped up that point Afghanistan and kicked off a rack so
[02:46:44] You know it was not a common occurrence for a
[02:46:46] That's what we're from the Rep to be killed in action. So do you know when the last one that was killed in action?
[02:46:54] Prior to just
[02:46:57] I don't I couldn't list it off had there been any others while you were there
[02:47:03] No, there's certainly like two at least two or three years
[02:47:08] Yeah, so it wasn't wasn't common occurrence by any means
[02:47:11] Yeah, well you you don't expect it right because there's no active full yeah
[02:47:14] War is going on and
[02:47:17] Their reception was good to see you know how he was treated the the efforts of the government the French military and the regiment itself you know was nice to see that
[02:47:25] He was thought about after and given the proper honor
[02:47:28] deserved which is nice
[02:47:29] Yeah, how many people leave the French military to join the Legion?
[02:47:33] There's a chunk as I said in the ranks about a third our French nationals. Obviously all the officers are in a little bit
[02:47:39] What was his reason behind it?
[02:47:41] I would assume that when you're in a French regiment the rep is kind of the
[02:47:46] The level to attain and the Legion that has a different history and and discipline
[02:47:51] So I'm guessing based on what he told me he just wanted to come and give it around for himself
[02:47:55] Yeah
[02:47:57] Because we'll work together right so they'll see it and they'll march by it
[02:48:01] I don't know how many steps a minute and high pitch voices in their songs and then the Legion's turn and it's slow and deep boom
[02:48:07] It's it's impressive to be honest with you
[02:48:09] So I think that you know not necessarily that but just the whole the whole vision is tempting
[02:48:15] You're appealing. He wanted what the young man wants. Yes. Go try it
[02:48:23] Awesome salute
[02:48:27] At this point
[02:48:30] You're told that the sections qualified medics were headed to Marseille
[02:48:33] Dispend a week with the cities military firefighters as paramedics and this is something that we do in America too
[02:48:42] We'll take our well at least the seal teams do it. We take our young seal medics and send them out to
[02:48:47] Compton California or Detroit or Baltimore to be in really bad
[02:48:53] neighborhoods to get to work on restaurant. Yeah to get to use their craft live
[02:48:57] Marseille's firefighters were renowned for their professionalism and you got some good
[02:49:06] Not good you got some pretty heavy stories in here our next call was to assist a young boy who hadn't been able to
[02:49:11] Reach his grandfather we met the nine-year-old outside his grandfather's large apartment building
[02:49:16] Which was one of the cities which is we in one of the cities tougher housing projects
[02:49:20] Whereas parents where I had no idea but it wasn't my place to ask really we took the elevator to one of the upper floors and knocked on the
[02:49:27] Grandfather's door nothing we knocked again several times still nothing the NCO check the handle the door was unlocked
[02:49:34] Calling inside he took two steps through the doorway and then turned around ordering one of the paramedics to take the boy back to the elevators and wait with him there
[02:49:43] The NCO indicated that I enter the apartment saying don't touch anything
[02:49:47] I immediately recognize the smell as I was walking inside I noticed a plastic shotgun casing on the floor
[02:49:53] Then two legs partially obscured behind a corner when I looked around the corner the grandfather's body was lying there
[02:50:01] The part the upper part of his skull was missing blood and brain matter covered the walls and the balconies glass sliding door a shock
[02:50:09] Unlay next to him
[02:50:10] I then realized I was standing on some of his teeth. It was a graphic and sickening site and the last thing I had expected when writing up the elevator
[02:50:18] Another incident made an even bigger impression a young girl maybe seven or eight years of age couldn't wake up her mother
[02:50:27] The doctor pronounced the mother deceased as the girl stood in the doorway watching an empty bottle of pills was recovered from her mother's bedside
[02:50:37] Then you continue on another
[02:50:39] dealing with the city street people is also something new to me quite often these were the same individuals day after day night after night
[02:50:45] The homeless drug addicts drugs or people suffering from mental illness most likely all four
[02:50:51] It was an eye opener. I watched a male patient in his late 40s unravel as we tried to administer first aid to his self-inflicted knife wound
[02:50:59] The paramedics actions and attitudes were always professional
[02:51:02] Here was a guy who had just urinated, defecated and caught himself yet the paramedics remained polite and firm with him while trying to help
[02:51:10] The NCO was tougher more direct. I guess you had to be in that type of role
[02:51:19] And that's you know, I always say thanks to the firefighters and paramedics on the show, but you know
[02:51:24] And I know this because when when our guys would go out and work with you know the paramedics and firefighters in big cities or even in small cities
[02:51:33] Like this is what you do with and you deal with it all day long
[02:51:36] Yeah, it's the freaking hard job depressing too. That's why I think you know why I kind of mentioned is
[02:51:42] You're you're in a regiment you're amongst your peers at everyone's kind of you know
[02:51:46] Physically fit type A possibly and then you get thrown into the real world and you see kind of the the sad side of humanity and
[02:51:55] The suffering of certain people and you kind of forget about that and then you see the realities you're like shit man
[02:52:01] There's more out there than than I'm aware of so it was a good
[02:52:04] Learning experience empathy, but also you know also reject me as I'm you know
[02:52:12] Do I want to be a severe am I happy doing what I'm doing what did that what did that experience lean you towards
[02:52:18] Definitely happy with my
[02:52:20] choice of
[02:52:21] Direction at that point
[02:52:24] Yeah, I'm not a big fan of big cities and crowds anyway. It was a good experience
[02:52:29] Not something I certainly wanted to get out and become a paramedic myself
[02:52:32] But it's nice to see other people doing their trades learning from them as a medic
[02:52:38] You know mentioned the book. It's not something that I wanted to do but I thought it was it was definitely a good skill to have as a soldier
[02:52:43] Just for yourself, but also for your teammates
[02:52:46] But you know hospitals all that kind of just
[02:52:50] People with you know mental it's sad and I'm not a huge fan
[02:52:53] So it was it was a good eye opener for me to see
[02:52:57] What's out there yeah and can't myself lucky you know I'll be at home in the French Foreign Legion
[02:53:01] Still a healthy individual
[02:53:04] Yeah, could be worse. Yeah surrounded by a bunch of healthy individuals. It's like a good life people you can trust comparatively
[02:53:12] uh
[02:53:14] After that you get sent to the SOGH
[02:53:18] Which is basically halo score, right? Yes. It's the free falsk glue. In fact the
[02:53:21] SAS used to go there for their training until they started doing their own okay. Yeah, and it sounds like it's kind of a gentleman's course
[02:53:28] And what I mean by that in America means it's not like bootcamp at all. It's the other under the spectrum like hey
[02:53:33] You do you're supposed to do everyone's cool the instructors are there to help you and they're not talking down to you or anything like that
[02:53:40] So that's the atop this course is for the cost so everyone from as I mentioned same as a commander course
[02:53:45] It's a French
[02:53:47] Base rig force done for the training for the French airborne so yeah, it's super laid back in a bit of a
[02:53:54] A change for me going from the rabbit like a shock to your face
[02:53:57] Yeah, yeah
[02:53:59] This is the old turn
[02:54:01] uh as you finish it up that school
[02:54:05] Yeah, we go to the book pear shoots were returned and I think the course commanding officer and instructors for how well they treated me
[02:54:11] I left a brand new legionnaires kepty with the Canadian flag inside it at the instructor's bar
[02:54:17] It's cool
[02:54:18] I said my goodbyes to my course mates and then caught a ride back to command to who bear
[02:54:23] Base at two long naval ship yard where Francis new aircraft carrier was docked
[02:54:30] You bears base was off on its own in a wooden area hidden away from the rest of the naval yard
[02:54:36] I looked at its miniature submarines and high speed zodiacs all of the impressive state of the art equipment
[02:54:41] What really caught my attention was a US nuclear tax submarine docked at a long jettie below who bears main training building
[02:54:48] A US seal team was in town across train with them. I was envious to say the least but I had no time for envy
[02:54:55] I needed to mentally prepare for returning to the legion way of doing things
[02:55:00] it's a fact
[02:55:02] that in a bid
[02:55:04] To set itself apart from the rest the legion maintains iron discipline and places heavy restrictions on personal freedoms
[02:55:11] Although this works in short as a short term solution it results in a high turnover
[02:55:18] I also need to get a proper haircut before I'm painting my way back to Calvary
[02:55:22] I've done trouble for the during the course I'd let it go
[02:55:26] The officer charge was like you keep on your soul eagerness brothers
[02:55:30] Yeah, yeah, that's what you know what we were talking about earlier. I mean this is this is how
[02:55:35] This is how so many people for instance
[02:55:38] So many seals stand the seals for 20 years because there's a lot of personal freedom
[02:55:43] I know now look the standard is high and if you drop below that standard it's not gonna be good for you
[02:55:48] It's not gonna work out well, but if you're doing your job and you're doing it well
[02:55:53] You get a lot of personal freedom and it's awesome
[02:55:57] But I mean and like we already talked about it
[02:56:00] You kind of select for it because you give certain amount of freedom along the way, but yeah the
[02:56:04] The
[02:56:06] Legion
[02:56:07] Doesn't do that. No, and I'm sorry to pick up on that you know during this course
[02:56:10] I was there for for a chunk a couple of months
[02:56:13] So working with you know the guys from who bear another regent. You see what a normal military life is like you know they go home and stuff and that's thing
[02:56:21] You meant I didn't you mention but like on the command of course and during the freefall courses on the weekends
[02:56:27] All the guys go home to the girlfriend's families or whatever. I don't
[02:56:31] So that's something for you know a Legion error
[02:56:33] That's me taking consideration. It's it's it's full on you're not going home on the weekends
[02:56:38] And that has its effect so I'm starting to see
[02:56:41] When you're going to the Kandokore so even this freefall course you're not going home on the weekends
[02:56:44] Just because you have nowhere to go
[02:56:46] Are you still restrict you're not restricted? No, they're sorry. We're free I would go down to we would go into Spain and take advantage of our freedom
[02:56:51] And that was another aspect of I open I mean people the other
[02:56:55] You know
[02:56:56] You make friends and you do things that now you know young young men do and I know I'm going back to Calvary
[02:57:03] Which is no longer gonna be that way so I'm starting to look around thinking you know long term is this what I want to be
[02:57:08] Yeah, albeit I'm somewhat fresh to the team but it's it's still that
[02:57:13] I'd decide for next year so I was going to be doing six years
[02:57:15] But I'm starting to think already is this something I want to do is a career
[02:57:19] Become an NCO and and do in the French system you need 15 years to get a retirement
[02:57:23] You got a little taste of Spain and freedom and just yes
[02:57:28] Exactly, you know, yeah, I'm starting to think yeah
[02:57:31] Which is tough on the mental side things right if you're not in you're not in yeah, so it's starting there
[02:57:37] Yeah, it's almost better not to see it as mentioned
[02:57:42] The Legion has changed since they're not quite as aggressive and stringent on the thing
[02:57:46] For that reason the turnover is to give the guys a little more leeway to keep the guys around especially now that they're active and busy
[02:57:51] Yeah, there's yeah, there's no real need if you have any idea what percentage of people go pass their first
[02:57:56] I don't want to sell another check check all right
[02:58:06] Back again the second to fourth companies were headed to Chad, Africa for a four-month torn support of operation
[02:58:14] Epivier
[02:58:18] It's objective was to prevent Libya from disdabilizing Chad
[02:58:21] Chad and threatening Francis interests so back in the game again. We boarded an airbus a
[02:58:28] 300 on September 12, 1998
[02:58:34] And on the on the east coast of Corsica flew over the mountains of North Africa and across the rusty dunes of at the Algerian Sahara
[02:58:42] In the northern Chad you get to Chad
[02:58:45] You're on the ground here we go next on the agenda was a three-day section training exercise
[02:58:50] We loaded the VLRAs and started a three-hour drive to east to shoot to a shooting range
[02:58:55] The paved roads served soon turned into a dirt track with large sun-baked ruts that have been carved out by larger transport trucks during the rainy season
[02:59:03] It was a nightmare to drive on and every bump reverberated in my back
[02:59:07] We drove through flat and air-red country passing through small villages were smiling locals waved at us
[02:59:13] Their lifestyle with the most basic of amenities was practically primitive compared to what I had seen before
[02:59:19] Even in Central Africa
[02:59:21] But they looked happy
[02:59:24] These images stuck with me. I knew I had opportunities in life well beyond what these people could even dream of
[02:59:30] So you you say that in there and I was kind of highlighted at thinking this these are all things that are starting to kind of
[02:59:37] assemble in your head that
[02:59:39] You're thinking maybe that there could be a life outside the Legion. Yeah, 10%
[02:59:43] Something I found different and interesting now. We're back in this camp that you are in Chad something I found different
[02:59:51] and interesting was the camps employment program where local men women and teenagers or boys as they were referred to
[02:59:57] We're hired to wash our clothing and clean our barracks rooms. They were paid a set rate wage controlled by the camps of
[03:00:02] Administration
[03:00:03] It was a good service and injected some much-needed money into the local economy so we hired Abbo
[03:00:08] He worked hard and we gave him any extras we had or things we didn't really need that he could use on
[03:00:14] Weekends Legionnaires could frequent the cities authorized bars and restaurants all of which were within a small city block
[03:00:21] On weeknights we were confined to camp or the
[03:00:25] Rose events
[03:00:26] Rose devol
[03:00:27] Rose devol
[03:00:29] A local restaurant and bar with a dance floor and working girls
[03:00:33] This was new to me too
[03:00:35] CFB Wayne Wright didn't have a rose devol in the age of AIDS awareness the women were subject to medical checks by the French military hospital
[03:00:45] If they wanted to frequent the Rose sexual encounters were not advised
[03:00:49] But it was a reality so the French military exercise precautions the women were extensively self-employed
[03:00:57] Private contractors I guess you can say and the military's only involvement was providing free medical visits a lot of women were from Somalia and E. P. E. Ethiopia
[03:01:05] Some were tall elegant and attractive and they put in a lot of effort to dress the part
[03:01:11] Inevitably it wasn't long before Legionnaires were getting into trouble at the Rose devol
[03:01:17] So that's another thing that's just different yeah, yeah
[03:01:22] Not really not really seen much of the Ethiopian prostitutes in western Canada. No
[03:01:27] No, no, no. How about trouble follows?
[03:01:35] There's another scenario that unfolded wire down there. I was a woken by a P4 approaching at us at speed honking
[03:01:41] It's towards shots for a medic soon followed. I jumped out of bed through on my combat pants and runners and sprinted outside a panic regular force corporal
[03:01:48] Chief asked me to follow him to meetry and I grabbed our webbing and jumped into our P4 with Smithy at the wheel
[03:01:54] We followed the corporal chief to the garrison's medical building where we found several people standing around another P4
[03:02:00] Demetri approached the casualty who is lying in the back of the vehicle. I could see his legs hanging out the rear door
[03:02:05] Clad and blunt torn blood soaked pants my assumption was that he had been hit and dragged by a vehicle in town
[03:02:11] Demetri yelled for an IV which I prepared and handed him
[03:02:16] I was able to see what we were dealing with the victims right arm was severed at the elbow his bear chest was
[03:02:21] Pockmarked with impacts and his face was missing from the chin up
[03:02:25] The footwell of the P4 was filled with blood a quick assessment revealed that his jugular had been severed
[03:02:30] And his circulatory system had collapsed due to massive blood loss
[03:02:34] The military doctor arrived soon after us
[03:02:36] Prenouncing the victim deceased almost immediately his body was quickly covered with a sheet
[03:02:42] And we moved him from the P4 to the medical building and that was that
[03:02:45] Apparently during a live fire exercise that morning an AC 58 anti-tank grenade
[03:02:52] hadn't detonated on impact the range procedure is to wait 30 minutes and then destroy the grenade in a controlled
[03:02:58] Explosion, but you don't touch it for some unknown reason the victim had picked up the grenade and it exploded
[03:03:06] When I heard his name it rang a bell he had been an NCO in the first company and left behind a wife and two daughters
[03:03:13] This tragedy was a timely reminder to all of us that if you get complacent
[03:03:20] It can kill you
[03:03:22] Yeah, dumb
[03:03:24] But
[03:03:27] At this point in the story in my career, I'm kind of tired of the training
[03:03:31] I don't know if I was spoiled because of bungi
[03:03:34] But yeah, I'm sort of not get lazy, but I'm there's a bit of complacency coming
[03:03:38] I'm just like I went through the motions here, you know, let's let's soldier not pretend
[03:03:45] Yeah, Chad wasn't necessarily a highlight
[03:03:48] Experience there was some I don't get into much, but within the the section there was some
[03:03:55] Negative stuff going on which is hard on any team
[03:04:00] More about just I think the lack of stuff that was going on we had a new CO that wanted us to
[03:04:04] March and sing more I don't get into it because it's not really my place to
[03:04:10] To mention or the common on but Chad was kind of a a pivotal
[03:04:16] Tour where it was like I was starting to slide on the downward trend towards leaving
[03:04:23] It was a good experience
[03:04:24] We did jump out of the back of the helicopter's a lot and that's where I started
[03:04:29] Watching them thinking that's pretty and I'll come there towards you
[03:04:35] Yeah, and
[03:04:38] The Rose Devolves story it's in the book because we become the military police for the Rose Devolves not
[03:04:43] Personal yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, you mentioned that is that's what I try to leave it at like hey
[03:04:48] There's they're caused trouble and then eventually you guys have to become military police there and
[03:04:54] But at least I think I mean you send Legionnaires 20 you know 20 to 25 year old into an African country for four months
[03:05:00] You need an outlet. Yeah, it's just a fact of well, you know if you not will find it elsewhere and they get problems right you mentioned the one Legionnaire who was
[03:05:09] His dad was a Polish Legionnaire and yeah, he's what mom was a Vietnamese well, there's think of all the American you know
[03:05:17] The American
[03:05:19] Service members that have got wives over the past however many years wives from Japan wives from the Philippines wives from Germany
[03:05:27] What we know the seal team used to be up in Scotland as much as guys that had wives from Scotland
[03:05:31] Like you put the eyes in the middle of these places well, they're gonna meet the girls
[03:05:34] That's what's gonna happen
[03:05:35] Roger, so so at least they had the fort you know fort thinking to think listen
[03:05:39] We got a protector guys. They're gonna go out there and find it if they we don't so yeah, so it's smart
[03:05:44] Yeah, the American military does not do that. Yeah, the American military does not do
[03:05:48] A
[03:05:50] Metaphylchex and brothels. No, you're not getting that no, it's not happening
[03:05:58] All right, so now you're at another military ski school and you're actually
[03:06:03] Seeing saving private Ryan and you get a recall one of the other guys get to phone call and here we go when we arrived
[03:06:11] Captain Martin briefed us on the situation a French
[03:06:14] J-Dorm, he said it's on down. John Dorm. I swear I looked at I listened to that word getting played like
[03:06:22] 19 times and it's exactly how it looks like it says, but I keep screwing up. John Dorm at the French Ambassadors
[03:06:28] Residence in Braz-Aville, Republic of Congo had been shot dead by her military rebel
[03:06:33] the
[03:06:35] cause first RPI
[03:06:38] M.A. had been sent to secure the Ambassadors residents and the GCP would relieve them
[03:06:43] Captain Martin
[03:06:45] Designated those of us who needed to return to Calvary the following day to prepare I was chosen
[03:06:51] We were dismissed and told to be ready in the morning. I handed my handed in my issued kit
[03:06:57] Collected my from us from the armory and packed my gear Demetri wasn't chosen
[03:07:02] He looked like he might jump from the barracks in second story window. I felt his pain
[03:07:08] The final BSM exercise which ran the entire following week didn't inspire anyone
[03:07:12] And so this is another thing I just got to point out like I'm throwing in these names like Demetri and
[03:07:19] You talk about these guys throughout the book and I'm not doing justice of the other characters that are in here
[03:07:24] So I apologize. No, that's why people need to get the book
[03:07:28] to learn about all these different guys and that's just a
[03:07:32] That
[03:07:33] Situation where here you are getting called into a critical combat scenario where you know
[03:07:37] There's gonna be risk and of course what's Demetri he's not going in these past sucks
[03:07:41] Yeah
[03:07:43] Then you have one more little thing in here. You said tell the story about these military issues sunglasses
[03:07:47] Then sucked and you are constantly wearing your civilian sunglasses which work and there's a
[03:07:55] One of the NCOs
[03:07:57] Instructors is kind of like
[03:07:59] Giving you a hard time. That's the captain from the second company. So the officer. Yeah, he's giving you a hard time about it
[03:08:05] And then and finally what you do is you just kind of do what you're supposed to do and you carry two sunglasses
[03:08:10] Whenever he's around you put on the rock the correct military issued once but you have a little quote here
[03:08:15] It's as cooperate graduate
[03:08:16] Roger and you know, I just wrote next to that play the game and it's like you know
[03:08:21] Some people they want to let their ego get in the way and sometimes you got to put your ego in check and just play the game
[03:08:26] Just cooperate play the little stupid one worried that sunglasses cool and the thing was during the the pre-training
[03:08:31] We had I worn the issued ones and I had sunburn my eyes which is painful if you have that experience
[03:08:37] So first thing I did not sunburn
[03:08:38] It's brutal they close up
[03:08:40] So it's happening when you were skiing yeah the pre-trained up to the course we went up to the mountains and in course in
[03:08:45] Corsica and
[03:08:47] Versio they have like a the rep has a shallow there for training and I had done exactly that it it
[03:08:52] Rain so all the snow on the mountain was ice so it reflected the sun the next day and
[03:08:58] What you would go right through the glasses or underneath so you're somebody the flash the snow
[03:09:02] Rocks are actually actually I've the eyeball the iris and basically just closes up. It's painful
[03:09:07] It's it's not much fun hence my acquisition of the best glasses possible right away
[03:09:11] Which were what just your civilian just some nice
[03:09:13] Yeah, you be blocked by the wall block from leftovers from the M.M. Food you know
[03:09:18] As military issue tech stuff is and
[03:09:21] Yeah, so I had those on and he was like it those are military issues so I just
[03:09:25] Play the game when he was around. I would yeah
[03:09:28] Anyway
[03:09:30] It wasn't vain it was it was more
[03:09:32] Effectiveness of the glasses
[03:09:34] Yeah, well after
[03:09:35] I think they look better to the left strip of course, but just we give me sunburned eyes like I'm not wanting that no snow blind
[03:09:43] So here we go we're rolling now into
[03:09:47] Into the DRock right the Republic of Congo that we're going yep correct
[03:09:52] Braswell here we call that the DRock
[03:09:57] As a step-up the ramp I noticed that the airport tower and terminal were stippled with impacts of different
[03:10:02] Calibers from recent fighting
[03:10:06] President
[03:10:09] President Dennis Sasu Nguoso
[03:10:12] his paramilitary group referred to as the cobras
[03:10:18] Controlled certain neighborhoods within the city as well as the airport other areas were controlled by groups with similar
[03:10:23] Early absurd names like the ninjas or the ramboats
[03:10:28] But they were no joke life here was cheap and these groups had been all been involved in
[03:10:32] Combat and numerous atrocities as we approach the city center smithy pointed out
[03:10:38] The buildings used by the Congolese Army as firing positions during the ambush
[03:10:44] He showed us the exact area where jails had been killed
[03:10:50] I could feel the weight of that sections history among my teammates many of whom had been there that day
[03:10:55] We entered the empoco neighborhood where the presidential palace and government buildings were located and the area
[03:11:03] Most heavily affected by the recent fighting and poco was a ghost town
[03:11:08] We will varway between scorched a bit scorching abandoned vehicles alongside burned-out houses
[03:11:17] My first so now you guys are doing like
[03:11:19] Um
[03:11:22] Some duty my first guard shift was that evening armed with my famos and VG's webbing at small loss back
[03:11:29] I made the short walk by my observation bunker on the perimeter or two my observation bunker on the perimeter as well
[03:11:34] I was already sweating from the humidity days prior we had been freezing in the alps tonight
[03:11:38] We were roasting in the Congo
[03:11:41] Gunfire within a couple hundred meters of me caught my full attention. I heard a crack in a thump of the bullet
[03:11:46] There was some shouting then silence nothing came of it. This was additional background noise you got used to
[03:11:52] I watched the shadows listening and trying to get a feeling for my surroundings then came another sudden explosion of noise
[03:12:00] Something had hit the OP roof above me hard
[03:12:03] immediately my heart rate went well past the red line into transit
[03:12:09] I instinctively ducked down and took off took my
[03:12:13] Famous off safety what the fuck was that as I tried to figure out what had just happened
[03:12:17] I heard something heavy rolling on the tin roof above me
[03:12:20] The softball size object dropped off the ledge with a dull foot. I immediately realized what it was
[03:12:28] a ripe mango that had fallen from the tree above
[03:12:32] Many more mango alerts followed but I kept my cool
[03:12:37] Uh
[03:12:38] And actually you actually mentioned on there that when the next guy came to turn over
[03:12:41] Let it tell if it was a rough effect
[03:12:46] Let him join the experience
[03:12:49] Our captain was
[03:12:51] talking about a little about your leadership here our captain was more flight than flight. That's how I felt anyway
[03:12:56] It was his attitude. This is a new story. This is a new officer. Yep. Yeah
[03:13:01] If we thought of ourselves as a leap we should act it. I looked at soldiering as a combination of aptitude and the
[03:13:07] Access to the right training but most importantly ones attitude when when getting thrown into into the shit
[03:13:14] Reaction comes down to a fight or flight instinct. I believe we're born with that. It's not taught
[03:13:20] But it is refined with training just because I can run 30 kilometers with a backpack
[03:13:26] Backpack doesn't mean I'm a better soldier than the next guy or vice versa a soldier prepares for the fight
[03:13:32] And it doesn't stop
[03:13:34] Um
[03:13:38] Continuing this guard duty. I was partnered with
[03:13:42] Sergeant Chief Dilashapel
[03:13:44] Who might found to be smart and very easy going his father in fact had spent time in a military prison for his part in the Algerian push
[03:13:53] Pooch
[03:13:54] I turn 28
[03:13:57] There's no cake or celebration just more guard duty and maybe the runs
[03:14:01] Oh yeah
[03:14:03] When our three months in Brazville were up a replacement team arrived but several months later we returned the same job
[03:14:09] This time though the reins had transformed the city into a lush mix of vegetation the neighborhood around the
[03:14:16] Cassada Gawl
[03:14:17] had been clean of rubble and garbage as we drove down the road. I saw that shops and bars had sprung up a long side
[03:14:24] Brazville was alive once more people were drinking and listening to loud music soccer fields were full of kids and adults playing
[03:14:29] What a difference a few months of relative calm in the city make these were happier times
[03:14:36] We the monotony so now you're on this deployment. There's much more peaceful with the monotony physical activity
[03:14:41] He was the only way for us to keep saying and burn off plenty of negative energy
[03:14:45] Ursa who had been become a good friend boxed prior to joining Legion and he was my coach and sparring partner for the duration of the tour
[03:14:52] So you're getting your boxing on
[03:14:54] Brazville stabilized and we were free to visit the city when we weren't on duty. Ursa, Smitty, Smitty and I took that opportunity
[03:15:04] one evening as everyone did and
[03:15:09] Again, you talk about what what what young men do
[03:15:14] As with most short-term remedies alcohol in these nighttime diversions led to problems sergeant prejent
[03:15:20] While returning from town late one evening made a condescending comment to say lick
[03:15:26] to Salak who's on guard duty at breakfast the following morning
[03:15:31] Prejints black eye was a topic of great discussion. It wasn't long before cap martin warned all of us
[03:15:36] That if something like this happened again both participants were being flown back to Calvary and charged regardless of who is at fault
[03:15:42] This made me start to consider my life long term
[03:15:45] 30 years of age was just around the corner did I want to be a Legioner for the better part of it
[03:15:50] I wasn't convinced that I did to Russian made mill 24 hind gun ships
[03:15:57] Hired by the local government had flown and flown by foreign pilots appeared over the Casabagal every few days
[03:16:03] I always made an effort to get out of the grass field and watch them fly over the upper portions of the fuselage were painted in jungle camo
[03:16:10] The underbelly was light blue and they made a hell of a racket one afternoon as I stood looking up at one fly over the low level
[03:16:18] I thought to myself I want to fly helicopters
[03:16:22] I'll last month passed without further fistacuffs and we were eventually replaced for me
[03:16:28] It could have happened soon enough
[03:16:33] And then you're on leave you're snowboarding
[03:16:35] Now you start planning my Legion exit strategy. I completed the administrative application
[03:16:42] Process for the Vancouver Island helicopters flight training program in Victoria British Columbia
[03:16:47] So that lasts trip down there you're feeling like you're done. Yeah, I think I can see the repetitive type
[03:16:54] You start looking at your peers at the job. I could see that it was become repetitive the lack of
[03:17:00] Actress is obviously having its effects that other guys are
[03:17:05] Getting on each other's case
[03:17:07] Do I want to be an NCO is that something that I want to do with the rest of my life because you can see your peers what you know what they're gonna go through and basically you can see your
[03:17:14] Your career in front of you just watching the other guys and I figured that at that at that age
[03:17:19] It was time to make a choice. I was still young enough
[03:17:23] to make a change
[03:17:25] but
[03:17:26] You know getting on that I need to do so sooner than later
[03:17:29] So I made the made the call. What was that term you told me earlier about
[03:17:33] Someone that's unfit for return to civilian yeah, you know, see you so what is that translate to directly?
[03:17:39] It would be incapable of civilian life so if you say basically spend too much time in the system
[03:17:45] You just will survive out in
[03:17:48] Civilian world institutional. Yeah institutionally it's exactly so
[03:17:52] You know at that point I'm about coming up in six years
[03:17:54] I have options. That's I'm lucky. You know I'm Canadian. I can go home. There's lots of lots of stuff
[03:17:59] What's the retirement for
[03:18:01] It was 15 years
[03:18:03] It's not a huge chunk of money and yourself to work after that and that's definitely not a factor
[03:18:09] Even after eight years. I think you recover all your taxes that you paid into the system so you get a chunk of change
[03:18:15] They had offered me to go down to Jebudi to be an instructor on their art applyers
[03:18:19] Command of course which was tempting
[03:18:22] But
[03:18:23] I knew he was tempting well I mean bro
[03:18:26] Yeah, no fair one, but you know it was but that would have got me to the eight years so I would have had a chunk of money
[03:18:31] Which would have helped with the flight train it's instructor duty which I'm sure is I would actually exactly but at that point I had made my mind up and
[03:18:38] Offer I was I was out
[03:18:40] Which was tough you feel like you know you're
[03:18:43] They've put the time and effort I as I mentioned you know they obviously get you trained up a time and effort and
[03:18:47] You got friends you got friends. Yeah, you feel like I'm a woman out on a guy's at her count on you
[03:18:52] But
[03:18:53] There's life to more to more to life than than that
[03:18:58] Yeah, there is kind of crazy it's kind of hard to see that when you're in
[03:19:03] You are doing a
[03:19:05] Demonstration jump on camera room day and your parents were actually there and
[03:19:11] I wanted to bring this point up because that evening you you go for like a dinner and
[03:19:17] There's a lot of veterans there and you say this the veteran Legionnaires are the Indo-China and Algeria campaigns
[03:19:22] In post-second World War France German POWs were given the option of joining the Legion and this influx had far reaching influences on the organization to this day
[03:19:33] Reps second company song is the former vermark
[03:19:37] Marching song Adlevice
[03:19:39] It was sung several times during the night and brought up emotions for our veteran guests
[03:19:45] During the evening some of them shared their experiences recounting past exploits and vivid detail others just listened content to sit
[03:19:51] Among fellow Legionnaires paratroopers again
[03:19:54] As German paratrooper major Rudolph Bulmer said
[03:19:58] The secret of a paratrooper success can be summed up in three words comradeship a spree decor and efficiency
[03:20:07] Yeah, those are the real Legionnaires in the China Algeria
[03:20:11] Previously obviously yeah, I'm like tough tough guys so yeah, and yeah, some of them
[03:20:17] We're just happy to be monks peers again and not say much and enjoy their wine or whatever
[03:20:20] Others would share stories but I definitely respected the history. Yeah, that's just the fact that
[03:20:27] Post-second World War II German POWs are meant that fought to the death or almost to the death against France
[03:20:36] And now they're getting told up yep if you want to join the Legion come on over exactly and there's a lot of wordage for example
[03:20:41] Octong is used all the time
[03:20:43] Yeah, there's tons of German words that are in the
[03:20:46] Legion vernacular and all that you use and that's from them. Yeah, that's neat and they had you know obviously good soldiers
[03:20:53] So they brought them with them a lot of good tools
[03:20:57] Yeah, sure
[03:20:59] You go on here. I passed before captain Desmoulet
[03:21:02] Not long afterwards and was asked if I was resigning. I needed to confirm yes or no
[03:21:06] I do we informed captain Desmoulet that I wasn't extending past the six-year mark
[03:21:11] I had given a lot of thought and I told him that I had applied to be a Canadian helicopter
[03:21:17] I applied to a Canadian helicopter flight training program and that I've been accepted which was true
[03:21:22] Six years in the Legion wasn't something you just walk away from easily nevertheless
[03:21:27] I felt I needed to move on and then he told the company captain the same thing and he's the one that offered you the commando course
[03:21:34] Correct, which you didn't expect but standing in that office my kept me at my side my pole to move on was stronger
[03:21:42] I was almost 29 and at a crossroads. I respectfully declined the captain accepted my choice
[03:21:50] It had to move he went on to lead the regiment when they jumped into Mali
[03:21:54] Oh wow Timbuck to don't go and wrote the Ford on the book
[03:21:58] Which gives it it's legit. You'll be a general here. He's doing a reason. That's on the right track. Yeah
[03:22:04] We have to have him on the podcast at some point. There you go
[03:22:09] Continuing on again jumping for a little bit of his time to close this chapter on my life in the Legion
[03:22:14] The following morning this is after you kind of got back and you're getting psychled out the following morning as
[03:22:18] Promo orders I passed before captain Desmoulet
[03:22:21] So am I saying that right? Demo Demo and
[03:22:24] My thought I was nailing it to close I threw it like a little something on it. I thought I was doing all right
[03:22:31] Not even close. Demu and
[03:22:33] He gave me a GCP section plaque and wish me good luck. I said goodbye to my teammates and wish them a safe
[03:22:39] But operational future. That's a freaking great line
[03:22:42] I wish them a safe but operational future
[03:22:44] If I like I was betraying them somewhat, but everyone has to make choices and I made mine
[03:22:49] I boarded the ferry in Bastia on August 31st
[03:22:54] 2000 leaving behind Corsica
[03:22:56] It had been my home for five years. I'd miss it in the days. I spent swimming along its beaches
[03:23:01] Hiking and running in the wooded trails skiing the carved mountains
[03:23:04] Driving the narrow roads and embracing Corsica's unique approach to life
[03:23:08] It was a place I wouldn't forget anytime soon
[03:23:13] Arriving where my journey had started six years ago as a younger man with less with a less
[03:23:19] worldly outlook and experience. I joined a group of 25 other legionaires from various regiments
[03:23:25] They were also going
[03:23:27] Civil in a few days. We were subjected to final medical and more administrative protocols before presenting
[03:23:33] ourselves in the offices of a Colonel. He asked if I was certain about my decision to leave the legion
[03:23:38] It felt like a lifetime ago that I stood in front of that white washed three-story building
[03:23:42] Steering at the words Lazyopotria, Nostra. Well, not September day in 1994, almost six years ago
[03:23:51] My hand hovered over the push button doorbell as I hesitated unsure if I could commit to what lay ahead
[03:23:57] Today, however, my resolve was firm
[03:24:01] And then you go forward that day finally arrived one by one. We entered the office of the legions commanding on commanding general
[03:24:07] And presented ourselves his office was quite large so most of the time was spent walking to and from the spot where we were to present ourselves
[03:24:14] It was a quick yes or no sir affair the commanding general wished me good luck and that was it
[03:24:20] Our group was taken to the Legion Museum to see Captain Dan Hughes
[03:24:24] So that right don't you don't use wooden hand and you tell that story. It's a great story about Captain Dan's you and his wooden hand and
[03:24:32] It's historical significance and we finished up by joining the general for a group photo in front of the monument for the dead
[03:24:42] When I got back to the barracks, I took off my uniform for the very last time and changed into my civilian clothes with my bags packed
[03:24:48] I walked the regiment walked to the regiment's front gate
[03:24:52] Perhaps a little faster than normal. I had a train to catch
[03:24:55] I presented my authorization slip to the duty sergeant at the front gate looked down at my new light blue nikes and walked outside
[03:25:05] I was a civilian once again
[03:25:10] Boom boom that's a rap. That's a rap
[03:25:14] You uh I thought that was a rap when I read I was like I was like okay, that's a good place to end the podcast
[03:25:19] But I actually I got to go a little bit more
[03:25:21] Um, I mean there's more yeah, yeah, yeah, no, but that is that is that is a rap. I mean obviously
[03:25:27] That's a rap on a huge part of your life and something that's left a huge impact on you
[03:25:32] I always remember cleaning out the final bits of my operational gear from my locker loading it into my van and driving off base for the last time and thinking well
[03:25:41] That was a stuff and I spent well kind of like you spent six years based out of course
[03:25:46] I spent 18 out of 20 years based in corn auto California and really probably
[03:25:53] Most of those years in like a span of like three or four buildings that were all right next to each other
[03:25:59] So a vast majority of my career was in these three or four buildings and that's where I checked out of and left
[03:26:05] Not easy to do no
[03:26:07] Um, and thank you for your service by the way you mentioned on the card. No, that was a that was an honor
[03:26:13] Um
[03:26:15] Here you say before I return to Canada. I needed to pay my respects after several hours on the train and a short taxi ride ride
[03:26:22] I arrived in the village of
[03:26:23] Riviers
[03:26:26] Approved approved
[03:26:28] Here I walked the length
[03:26:30] 249 headstones at the Canadian war cemetery
[03:26:33] We're Canadian soldiers who fell at Normandy had been laid to rest on its rolling hills
[03:26:37] I looked at the soldiers names and ages and was humbled by their sacrifice
[03:26:40] I then walked along Juno Beach where my paternal grandfather landed on June 6th
[03:26:46] 1944 D-Day
[03:26:49] Not far away was sword beach where my maternal grandfather drove his Sherman tank
[03:26:56] Off the boat only a few days later on that day more than a half a century later
[03:27:00] I was probably the never of my family's military heritage and Canadian history
[03:27:04] On my flight back to Canada
[03:27:06] I wasn't celebrating my return home my future was uncertain but the legions system D
[03:27:15] And that's that stands for a demared demared which means shit, right?
[03:27:21] Meredith shit, they married is more like figured out. Yeah, that okay, so married means shit
[03:27:26] Yeah, and de-married means it's basically work shit out correct
[03:27:31] Within weeks I started flight training in Victoria, British Columbia
[03:27:34] Adjusting civilian life took time. There were no more whistles or night jumps over the med over Mediterranean island
[03:27:40] The uncertainty of employment and novelty of paying bills were my new reality
[03:27:45] You must save a lot of money in the legions since you don't have to pay for anything
[03:27:48] No, I think you probably take advantage of your time off and spend more than
[03:27:52] God, you're just the richest man, but I did I had enough I sent money home my dad was wise enough to
[03:27:57] Help me and invested and it paid for my helicopter training which was a chunk. So yeah, I was able to
[03:28:04] Finance the exit stretch another good section here
[03:28:08] Talk about your grandfather. I didn't ask my grandfather enough about his experience at the time
[03:28:13] I felt that he would share more if you really wanted to discuss these things sadly
[03:28:17] He passed and my hero was lost and his memoir
[03:28:21] Entired entitled an amateur soldier my grandfather doesn't say much about den bmp
[03:28:26] However, he wrote any kind of flying in 1954 was a novel to me, but first class on an air France was something else again
[03:28:34] I was served a hot toddy of brandy and milk by a super sturdist and delicious meals are things I long remember
[03:28:42] I guess that after years of war your immediate priorities change
[03:28:46] Why focus on the negatives my grandfather also wrote
[03:28:49] People often ask veterans at what feelings they have when they know that they survived the horrors of a
[03:28:55] dreadful war
[03:28:57] Surprisingly enough a good many answer a sense of guilt
[03:29:03] Roger
[03:29:05] Yeah, can I comment on?
[03:29:07] Absolutely so
[03:29:10] Before going to the Legion obviously I'd seen pictures of the rep jumping in indembi and food which is where the regiment the rep was
[03:29:16] Decimated or the precursor to the rep
[03:29:20] And those you know that history those pictures were something that were definitely a big part of me joining
[03:29:24] When I was going to flight school and I would go and have lunch heard dinner with my grandparents
[03:29:29] He mentioned that he had flown into the demmen who
[03:29:32] But a week after the capitulation of the French and he was there as a two-i-c for the precursor to the UN
[03:29:38] So that blew me away that
[03:29:40] I don't there's a connection there, but just the fact that you know I was taken by the mnf who I go and serve in the French one legion
[03:29:46] And my grandfather had actually been there you know week after the war at end or the
[03:29:50] That particular battle it ended and not just for whatever reason that just
[03:29:55] Really hit home
[03:29:57] I don't know if that was it meant anything but it was just
[03:30:00] It was a big part of
[03:30:03] Yeah, let me think about what he
[03:30:06] fought yeah, was I knew going to join the rep and the
[03:30:10] And he knew that they had been
[03:30:12] Desmated so at the beginning he was you know a wise maiden say much you just said if you go there make sure you go on for the right reasons and
[03:30:18] And
[03:30:20] Represent your country well, but he didn't go into because he did have some some ideas on the
[03:30:25] On the what the legion was based on his experience at the mnf who
[03:30:28] And then when I was you mentioned that was writing letters those letters were going to him when I was in
[03:30:33] Central Africa at the end he as I did learn more about the legion and respect it a little more and got a better picture of what I was doing
[03:30:40] So as a result he was more open about some of his experiences during the war as he felt that
[03:30:46] I think is my small taste albeit nowhere near what my grandfather experience but I had that small taste of
[03:30:51] As a soldier can you can talk to another soldier when you we've been similar scenarios so did he tell you more about world war two once you came back
[03:30:58] He did
[03:31:00] Not much detail
[03:31:02] And how about his book his book yeah, so he was doing his he was actually doing his degree in history and writing his memoirs and
[03:31:08] And to mention there he hadn't can you give me a copy by all means 100% yeah, I'm also I have it
[03:31:15] All chippity if you want and if you promised to
[03:31:18] Sure you will set it back
[03:31:20] Is that few copies? Yeah, unless I could probably figure something else, but if you want I can strip you my
[03:31:25] Anyway, oh, we'll get a figure it out figure it out
[03:31:28] He he hadn't kept a guard or in when he was writing his memoirs
[03:31:31] He said to me, Joff any advice just write down your memories now. Obviously, we don't you'll regret it
[03:31:36] So I took him up on that and that's when I wrote everything down
[03:31:39] Yeah, that's how you get dates
[03:31:40] Yeah, dates about this book and accurate exactly and there was obviously more after the fact you know the research and
[03:31:47] Friends helping and then getting all the information
[03:31:49] I needed but he he was the precursor to me putting this story to the paper and it sat for a decade
[03:31:54] Like it was 150,000 words on a word document
[03:31:57] No respect for the English language or punctuation or anything. It was just raw
[03:32:00] Verbal diarrhea and over you know the decade with aging experience and you know things came up
[03:32:09] My perspective changed and nothing came out that was representative of a legion area
[03:32:13] Since legion error and I kept them waiting and then I thought hey, maybe it's on me
[03:32:18] So I started putting in the the time and effort to work on the story and it took a chunk of time
[03:32:23] But I'm proud of the the end result and the fact that the legion approved its
[03:32:28] Narrative yeah, I have a forward from obviously my former commanding officer, which is a first for a book of its type
[03:32:34] It gives it its legion and the messy and then the fact that welfare lawry was able to or willing to
[03:32:39] The public shit that was too factors. I needed I needed the leases background or the backing and then a respectable publisher to give it that
[03:32:47] Because then I knew that it was a good story if welfare lawry was willing to put their name on it
[03:32:51] I knew that it was it was sound and I had help
[03:32:54] I'm a soldier not a
[03:32:56] So they well came out great. I mean, that's a fantastic book
[03:33:03] Yeah, you continue on a little bit here flying helicopters commercially meant that initially limited opportunities were afforded to low-time pilots
[03:33:10] Along with low wages so in slower winter seasons
[03:33:12] I work as security contractor for a British forum based in London, England supporting exploration
[03:33:17] Efforts in North Africa and later government contracts and I rack an African stand
[03:33:21] So you went on the contractor circuit for a while too. I did yeah, yeah, that had to be
[03:33:28] Interesting as well many legionnaires not a ton the Algeria stuff. Yeah, armor group. They no longer use this their bought-out by G4S
[03:33:36] But they would hire a lot of ex-legionnaires because of the obviously the French the English
[03:33:40] Supporting Halliburne oil had quite a few regs in in Algeria
[03:33:45] So you'd be there as an operation Lee is all coordinator basically just the rigs because of the terror
[03:33:49] Misissue in Algeria they would be secured by the Algerian army so you'd just be the liaison between the army and the client
[03:33:57] So that was about it, but when Iraq kicked off
[03:33:59] It was more an interest in seeing what else how else things were done
[03:34:05] That was the the interest going there. What years were you there?
[03:34:07] It was late or really early 2004 so it was fresh just when
[03:34:12] So when you were there yeah, so initially it was
[03:34:15] Kellibrande Root had gotten the because we looked after KBR in Alger
[03:34:21] They're at their part of Haliburn oil
[03:34:22] oil winds wind effect
[03:34:24] Dick Cheney I think that was a see or it they got the logcat contract to build all the bases for the American military in Iraq
[03:34:31] The defects supply all the fuel so we went over there initially we had three floors at the Sheridan
[03:34:36] And we hired whole bunch of local nationals and the idea was to train them up on close protection and then when the executives from
[03:34:43] KBR came in and went to all these different spots we would we would take them
[03:34:47] So that was my initial introduction to and at that point 2004 things were where really
[03:34:53] That busy for people on the ground there was no idea issue
[03:34:57] And then I came back the next year and things were a little busier and baggeded and we're doing low profile PSD
[03:35:03] So at that point
[03:35:05] There was quite a few companies that were a little bit aggressive and they're
[03:35:10] Approach or the rules of engagement and as you know
[03:35:12] Better than I the bathers or the
[03:35:16] There's whatever they were they decided to go after the PSD teams
[03:35:20] So what we were doing is we were doing a low profile PSD so we had just buy local
[03:35:25] Number CDs BMWs and we tried to blend in so it'd be helpful
[03:35:28] Yeah, exactly just try to blend in and they would be two expats and Iraqis and
[03:35:34] We had our DOD badges like we're all and we'd have a nice
[03:35:40] Union jack classified in the
[03:35:42] Front with us and if
[03:35:44] When you're patrols pull that beside us or got for a bit black water or another
[03:35:48] PSD team like that we'd be on the windows right away because if they look down and see in Iraq
[03:35:52] You're with an AK on the left or not a guy's question. So yeah, I did that and then I was up into Crete for a while and then F-Ganis and kicked off and
[03:35:59] I did that for a full year down and and helmet there. What were you doing there?
[03:36:03] There they had again our group got the
[03:36:06] The contract for the British embassy FCO foreign Commonwealth office and the Brits had helmet
[03:36:13] Province so this they sent down an advisor to the governor helmet. So we're embedded with the
[03:36:18] Initially was the the Parage and then the Rome Reigns
[03:36:22] And we just basically we had a small compound within their PRT which is a little base they had in the center of town and then we had a house
[03:36:29] Attached to the governor's compound
[03:36:31] And we just the our client's name was Tom you just take him you had a floor underneath the governor's
[03:36:38] Floor office and basically he's just back and forth taking him already had to go
[03:36:42] We'd fly out to some of the areas sometimes with the Brits. So you know at that point garage was going off
[03:36:48] Sangin so there's a lot of you know efforts going on just figure that out. So I did that for a year
[03:36:55] And I started to yeah, I missed the flying I had been there seen it. It was interesting good experience but
[03:37:00] Kind of felt mad enough and went back to flying full time again
[03:37:05] So
[03:37:06] Actually, I did want to when I read the closing this book I wanted to at least bring it home because I think it's I think it's I think it's awesome
[03:37:15] And so here's what's going on you're in France
[03:37:17] You're with your kids
[03:37:19] You meet with some of your old Legion friends and again. I'm not gonna cover every the detail that you give is great in the book
[03:37:26] But
[03:37:27] You know you they the old Legion friends kind of invite you to
[03:37:32] Yeah, the seal yeah, the seal I invite you to see the regiment in in Calvy and
[03:37:38] So you're gonna drive there with your children and you're thinking you're gonna show them the regiment and it says this
[03:37:44] Driving the final stretch of course goes close to a road
[03:37:47] We descended into Calvy Bay on the same road. I had taken all those years ago as a young Legioner
[03:37:52] After several are we there yets I told my kids shut your mouth and put on your keptis
[03:38:01] Approaching the regiments front gate. I slowed right down looking into its parade square and passing
[03:38:06] The emotions I felt at that exact moment are difficult to explain
[03:38:10] We drove past checked into our Calvy hotel and spent the rest of the day
[03:38:16] Swimming at the beach the next morning after some delicious croissants
[03:38:21] Orange juice and two strong cafe crams for me
[03:38:25] At one of the citadel cafes we drove to the regiment
[03:38:29] Parked outside the regiments gates noting the new rep and Sydney a painted on its water tower
[03:38:35] I asked my kids what they wanted to do
[03:38:38] Visit the regiment or go snorkeling at the beach
[03:38:41] Perhaps they could sense the answer I was looking for the rep was in my past and the regiment was busy doing real work
[03:38:51] My focus now was on my son Carter and daughter Kyle and snorkeling
[03:39:01] Showed to Carter and co long live the Legion
[03:39:05] And that's how you wrap it up and I thought that that was that idea of
[03:39:09] Yeah, long live the Legion but at the same time you got your new focus now
[03:39:14] Which is your son and your daughter and I thought that that's a a lot of people have a hard time doing that
[03:39:21] Shifting their focus from their past to their present and then to their future
[03:39:27] So I thought that that was an awesome way to
[03:39:30] Tie it together and put things in perspective. I appreciate that
[03:39:34] So
[03:39:35] What
[03:39:36] We've been going for a long time
[03:39:38] But but before we we do wrap it up completely
[03:39:42] Let's talk a little bit about what you're up through now. Sure. So I know you got you've got a risk mitigation firm
[03:39:48] Yes, so I flag a helicopter's commercially for a company called Mustang out of Alberta
[03:39:52] So that's my full time and what kind of helicopter flights of those we do firefighting in the summer
[03:39:57] This summer I did repel so the Alberta government has a repel program where they initial attack
[03:40:02] They repelled into the fires
[03:40:04] In fact, they just canceled the but we do that and then winters we helly ski so when I go back
[03:40:09] Oh interesting yeah, so that starts whereabouts is this rebel stoked
[03:40:13] Yeah, we got four to a five and four a stars busy and we do that all year and actually the season started yesterday
[03:40:22] That's what I did my my training last week and when I get home be back into it
[03:40:26] And then yeah, as you mentioned I'm a partner in a risk mitigation company
[03:40:30] Two of the names in the book their partners in the company, but we're just you know a small
[03:40:34] It's a Ravenhill risk control the name is the VC that's in the family and
[03:40:40] George A Raven George a Ravenhill one of eight recipients have the metal taken back to sad story
[03:40:47] It's a definitely he went on you know that's the bore war where he won the VC went on the fight in the first war
[03:40:52] So he's completely awarded the VC word the VC shot through the arm and back then as I mentioned
[03:40:59] He wanted to eight he was came back from the
[03:41:02] Woffley suffered and he was in like a penal regimen for some of his transgressions whenever
[03:41:07] I think he was on the sauce drinking and they weren't paying him is his monthly wage that he felt they were supposed to be and
[03:41:13] He went any stole two pens. I think it was 12 pens worth of steel in Birmingham and it was basically the cell to pay for food for his family
[03:41:21] And he was caught and for that they took the metal back
[03:41:24] He went on to they had to send four of his kids to orphanages and
[03:41:29] U.S. and Canada and he died at my age
[03:41:32] destitute sad story
[03:41:34] But you know a brave braze soldier did his
[03:41:36] Did his thing for his country and paid the pay the price so I used yeah Ravenhill is the name out of respect
[03:41:42] So there's eight people that have had their VC's revoked
[03:41:45] Take him back because all the same they changed no different over time, but some people have had their
[03:41:51] Victorious crosses revoked
[03:41:53] Correct, yeah, if they have they changed that back and give it a back to him now?
[03:41:57] It's in the
[03:41:58] The museum in Birmingham the regiment museum that he was part of they have it
[03:42:02] But they but it's he recognized now. Yeah, as a he's a V-Sitter 100% yeah, he did the DW
[03:42:07] Yeah, of course, obviously
[03:42:10] Okay, and then also you've started off a
[03:42:14] PTSD organization
[03:42:16] Yeah, well, it's yeah, Legion engineered
[03:42:18] It's early days with a next couple months here. He'll be a foundation and the idea is just to sell a parallel online
[03:42:26] To support veteran affairs PTSD type efforts
[03:42:30] Regardless of where the soldiers come from the idea being if there's more sales from the US
[03:42:34] We would send it to veteran affairs program in the US if it was more from the UK, Canada whatever
[03:42:39] But yeah, the efforts more just to get awareness out there. I was recently invited to
[03:42:43] Be the guest speaker at my old regiment the role was spent for regiments of their senior NCO dinner
[03:42:49] And yeah, it seemed like PTSD just ramp it. I don't I don't know what the reason for they had a couple young guys
[03:42:55] I came back from Afghanistan and decided they couldn't take it anymore and shot themselves and I was like, you know
[03:43:00] I was looking for
[03:43:02] Something to do that wasn't just all about
[03:43:04] You know, we have the business, but it's that's about making money. It's just selfish at the end of the day and
[03:43:09] This idea of Legion and Generity had been there for long as I can know what one on I just
[03:43:14] Put those two together, so that's the objective is to build it and hopefully
[03:43:19] You know if it's just a small amount of money, but at least it's something that I can do to give back
[03:43:23] And certainly in all of a CPSDS, it's history in the family, so yeah, that's the objective and that's Legion and Generity dot com that is correct
[03:43:31] And then the other one is Raven Hill risk control
[03:43:34] Ron Hill risk control and we're licensed security company in B.C. Yeah, is that is that only in British companies that
[03:43:42] Well, Canada Canada, but we we're mostly domestic. We support
[03:43:46] Couple projects. There's a company that has a gold mine and we facilitate the movement of gold
[03:43:50] Right to be
[03:43:51] There's an NHL team that uses us when the owners fly over to France for example to go to the
[03:43:57] Cance film festival though
[03:43:58] Will you use us for our networking because we can reach out from guys that we're not during our our courses and say hey, you know
[03:44:05] You interested in working for the couple weeks and so yeah, we have that that ability to reach on
[03:44:10] Network with the people that we've met from our time in which is our success
[03:44:14] Yeah, and then on Instagram is that your main social media?
[03:44:19] You know, I'm I'm new that was a learning curve for the book
[03:44:23] I didn't have a Facebook before I fell
[03:44:25] Yeah, Joel Struters for like a space book and Instagram and then there's at early gen engineering for you
[03:44:32] Absolutely an engineered at Joel Struters correct and what's at a pal
[03:44:39] WL you press yes, so that's just for the book for the character
[03:44:44] Let's focus on at Joel Struters. I that's would be my recommendation. I appreciate it
[03:44:49] Just because you'll write another book or you'll do something else and that that just for the book
[03:44:56] I'll just focus on Joel Struters at Joel Struters
[03:44:59] Eck or you got anything else you still play hockey. I don't you know no
[03:45:03] No, I went to I had a midlife and I went back and played rugby
[03:45:07] Yeah, I did you get hurt. Oh, you got hurt. You might kid say why you doing this
[03:45:11] I blew up my lateral see okay. Yeah, so I did both of you by the way not doing that though, but my little brother
[03:45:18] Please this football game. We support football. Yeah, please this football game. He's like you know 30 something in which I guess now doesn't seem that old but
[03:45:26] Compared to high school, you know, they're different times but he thinks he's back in the game right?
[03:45:30] Terz is peck
[03:45:32] Yeah, so yeah, man. No, it's a rugby to this bold
[03:45:36] It was boy. It was yeah, not a wise decision. Yeah, man. It taught me pretty quick that
[03:45:42] You're no longer there
[03:45:44] As life does he'll check you right on Joel you got any other final thoughts no sir
[03:45:50] Maybe if
[03:45:52] Final things is some humbled for the opportunity. I obviously have watched your podcast. I seen the guests on here and
[03:45:57] Just to be among some of the names and stories and medals
[03:46:01] That have been in this chair. I'm I'm more than humble
[03:46:05] So I appreciate the opportunity and
[03:46:07] The objective of the book was to educate
[03:46:09] If people are interested in the subject matter and they want to know the truth
[03:46:12] It certainly
[03:46:15] tries to do that for
[03:46:17] And that is
[03:46:19] Oh, thank you. Yeah, well
[03:46:21] Thanks coming on the book is fantastic. I really I really loved reading it
[03:46:25] um
[03:46:26] And thanks for writing that book. Thanks for coming on here. Obviously sharing your story. Thanks for your
[03:46:32] Thanks for your sacrifice
[03:46:34] You know and you mentioned that
[03:46:36] What the Legion does around the world is like it's real stuff and it is protecting freedom and it is protecting innocent people and it is
[03:46:42] Protecting
[03:46:44] Democracy and so thanks for your service there. Thanks for your services a contract as well
[03:46:48] Because that's an unsung position and look there's all kinds of crazy things that happen with contractors and
[03:46:54] There's there's bad views of them a good views of them but I know this
[03:46:59] It's a hard job
[03:47:00] It's a job that people don't want to do
[03:47:02] It's a huge risk when you do it and what you're doing is trying to help
[03:47:06] Forward the positive things in the world America's goals the freedoms goals around the world
[03:47:12] So thanks for what you did there so thanks for supporting America and our allies both as a contractor and
[03:47:19] Of course, I guess I'll close with
[03:47:22] Long live the Legion. Thanks sir. Appreciate thanks for coming on man my pleasure
[03:47:28] And with that
[03:47:30] Joel Strothers has left the building
[03:47:33] Something some great insight on the Legion from someone who lived it and
[03:47:42] We are definitely lucky too
[03:47:45] here from these
[03:47:47] Men in person live and
[03:47:50] Speaking alive
[03:47:53] I'm doing some live gigs
[03:47:56] January 6 in DC
[03:47:58] I'm going to be January 11th in Austin
[03:48:03] I'm going to be January 16th in New York
[03:48:06] I want to be January 20th in LA
[03:48:09] I'm going to be January 27th in Seattle, Washington and we need January 28th in SF
[03:48:17] Decisive engagement
[03:48:20] I am going to talk words and thoughts
[03:48:23] Some of these gigs are already sold out
[03:48:27] I have seen that there are tickets available on the secondary market. Do you know what that is echo channels?
[03:48:32] Like a scalping yes, yes, so there are tickets available on the secondary market
[03:48:37] prices are getting jacked
[03:48:40] On the secondary market so if you're in one of the cities
[03:48:44] You want to come go check it out because otherwise you might get
[03:48:49] Shifted onto the secondary market and you're going to pay a higher price point
[03:48:56] So check it out now
[03:49:00] Today awesome to have Joel on talk about the Legion many times today
[03:49:04] I used the term long live the Legion I made that statement
[03:49:10] And that's good. I'm supporter long live the Legion. What about us?
[03:49:14] How do we make our lives longer and better let me ask you that echo Charles what he got?
[03:49:22] Well, easy the quick short answer is health
[03:49:26] health
[03:49:28] What does that mean no health?
[03:49:30] Stress that's a good on stretch man stress management
[03:49:34] I mean I just asked me on Twitter. Can you get me an example that's not physical where stress will will help you?
[03:49:40] Not physical like not physical like okay, I get it if I work out. I'm gonna get stronger if I run hard
[03:49:45] I'm gonna get healthier whatever yeah, and he said can you give me an example where
[03:49:50] Where it's not physical but stress helps you
[03:49:53] Yeah, I would all kind of stress helps you in the same way you can overload it. I mean I'd use the very simple example of
[03:49:59] Speaking in front of people which is stressful
[03:50:03] For some people and if it's stressful for you and you do it it'll become less stressful over time
[03:50:07] So stress is good yeah, you basically the the basic formula is stress and then recovery from stress with healthy recovery
[03:50:16] Sleep physically yes, yes, and we're gonna sleep exactly right and we'll just call it recovery effect
[03:50:21] Re-correct recovery from the stress
[03:50:24] Equals strength yes, and that goes for a non-physical as well. Yeah 100% but and the same goes inversely
[03:50:30] If you don't have any stress at all as like if you don't have any exercise, so sure you're more comfortable
[03:50:35] You're more you know these things
[03:50:38] Let's stress but when life so unless you leave and let's see looking at a bunker
[03:50:45] When the stress of life you yourself with the recorder not no you see them say unless these things all that stuff
[03:50:51] Yeah, all those things but you can't think of any right now
[03:50:57] Dude
[03:50:59] When they come into your life you're not gonna be able to deal with them. You can be weak. They're gonna crumble you potentially
[03:51:08] Same goes for if you don't effectively recover from stress. That's why people like non-physical stress people always
[03:51:13] Recart it is like oh my gosh my life is stress because most times when you have too much stress with or chronic stress
[03:51:19] The same thing is like chronic exercise, but I can't exercise all day every day. I got a rest from that stuff
[03:51:24] You gotta recover from rest between sets all that stuff so the same kind of deal
[03:51:28] Except for when people say oh, it's just stressful. It's like they they they look at it as a as a different kind of stress
[03:51:36] Even though at the end of the day, it's essentially same thing. We need stress
[03:51:41] You know in order to get better. You stress one good form of stress that you can participate in and it's very rewarding
[03:51:48] It's you too. See and you just in a way is kind of the opposite of what we'd regard like stress like
[03:51:55] People gonna do it to release stress, but technically that's not what stress is like stress is just basically a sort of like a
[03:52:03] Resisting right yeah
[03:52:05] Yeah, and there's certainly resistance in due to you. Yes, and it is resistance that will make you stronger better smarter faster
[03:52:12] Just better better in every single in every single capacity. Oh, yeah, man
[03:52:17] So you and you you'll do this every once in all you'll just have this emotional outbursts
[03:52:21] This is you in this way all the mats of just no
[03:52:26] Here's the thing me saying emotional outbursts is like it's kind of misleading like you know when you think of your emotional
[03:52:32] I'll press it's like a bad thing almost
[03:52:35] But you'll just break out out of nowhere and be like I lose love. Do you get to that's any emotional
[03:52:40] So like yeah, like in New York you said that but probably feel that I think that in my head so much even though like
[03:52:46] Even not even necessarily when I'm doing it a lot of times when I'm done doing it
[03:52:53] So crazy how this exists
[03:52:56] It is out there crazy is the funniest thing yeah
[03:53:00] It's weird like certain times you can go to jiu-jitsu and be in such a good mood
[03:53:04] You can see yourself behaving in almost like a weird child this way because you're so happy like a little excited child
[03:53:10] Yes, yeah, that is that is a really happens statement
[03:53:13] Yeah, anyway, so if you're not doing jiu-jitsu just do some jiu-jitsu just try man bring a friend bring a friend
[03:53:19] That's actually a good way to maximize bring your friend sure your husband or life or whatever true. It's a good way
[03:53:24] Anyway when you do it you're gonna need a key best-y in the world. Actually is an origin geek
[03:53:29] You get these at originmain.com
[03:53:31] So why is it the best in the world? Well one because it's made America
[03:53:35] You know, you know, you know, you know, you know, you know, you know, you know, you put that number one
[03:53:38] because there's some people that say number one
[03:53:39] It's the best functionality
[03:53:41] Just strength
[03:53:44] Performance it's the best for some people that's number one and that's a strong case
[03:53:48] You can build a strong case without all day long. I actually support that case
[03:53:51] If you wanted to pick one reason and say hey, here's why you should get an origin geek look
[03:53:56] I don't care about anything else. I care about jiu-jitsu. I want the best possible you can get okay
[03:54:00] I'm getting an origin geek. Yeah, there happens to be a bonus on top of that
[03:54:06] That is made America. Yeah, that's kind of like the roots to the whole scenario
[03:54:09] You seem saying because all the things about my selfish like
[03:54:14] Benefits of having this game wearing this gear whatever sure there's some front-end stuff front-end benefits are huge
[03:54:20] Huge but when you talk about made in America American economy and American industry all this stuff
[03:54:25] This is all going on, you know
[03:54:27] As roots of this scenario. It's the same. So yeah, man. I dig it
[03:54:32] What ever way you want to look at it?
[03:54:34] All all leaving all go one further as far as the selfish benefits of these origin geese
[03:54:39] So I'm cleaning out my closet literally yesterday. Did you forget? I don't know. I don't know really recently and I have an old geese in there
[03:54:49] Where I put off like man look at that you know like oh, I remember this. Yeah, I put it on
[03:54:53] I was oh
[03:54:55] I would never wear this thing though. It was borderline tortures
[03:54:59] So where it is bad. All right, so get an origin geey for the performance and by the way
[03:55:04] Yes when you get one you are supporting this podcast most important when you get a geey from a support
[03:55:10] Perspective you're supporting yourself and you're supporting the United States of America and it's economy
[03:55:14] We're rebuilding a community
[03:55:17] Plus you can if you don't necessarily want to wear a geey to the supermarket to the club
[03:55:24] It's for as clubs go. Yeah, you don't want to wear a geey there. You can wear origin t-shirts
[03:55:30] You can wear origin sweatshirts. You can wear origin jeans by the way
[03:55:35] Pete's mad at me
[03:55:37] Okay, because I announced Delta 68 lightweight jeans with a little bit of stretch in them now
[03:55:44] The all origin jeans have a little bit of stretch in them, but the are
[03:55:47] Super comfortable little lightweight because I'm not a person that gets cold legs
[03:55:51] I know it's weird and I know it's a dichotomy that I want heavyweight
[03:55:56] Sure heavyweight sweatshirt heavyweight hoodie lightweight jeans, but that's how I am
[03:56:02] Here I am so check out the jeans and also we got supplements up there
[03:56:07] Which are important big time especially for longevity long list right true supplements big time to keep you in the game so
[03:56:15] and
[03:56:17] I'm not gonna tell you all well damn even though we already know but I'm older than I was before
[03:56:28] And I can I don't want to say I surprised myself. I'm not saying that but I'm very happy with where I am physically
[03:56:35] Capability wise like able to
[03:56:38] You mean what will let's say we're not mad how about that? We're not mad at your content
[03:56:42] Where capability wise, you know, I can do essentially the same things as far as I can remember that I was doing
[03:56:50] Back in the day
[03:56:52] When back in it
[03:56:55] You see what I'm saying yeah, so and of course
[03:56:58] Because of joint warfare, krill oil, super and actually what I take almost not every day, but like really often even though I don't
[03:57:05] I'm called needed is cold or yeah, they mean it's nice to have that little kicker
[03:57:11] Yeah, that little cold war
[03:57:14] Kicker well this ingredients are beneficial just generally general benefits. Yeah, yeah good good
[03:57:22] So also discipline and discipline go in the can by the way, which you can just crack open and almost any moment
[03:57:30] But pretty much anyone pretty much anyone and then there's a discipline go the powder
[03:57:35] Which is a good little prejudging
[03:57:37] scenario oh wait, it's not discipline go just discipline and and my personal favorite flavor of any drink
[03:57:45] By the way, is jockel bomber
[03:57:49] Just tasty and then of course you got extra
[03:57:52] Let's call it protein
[03:57:54] Let me ask you this if you're gonna have protein. Would you want it to taste like cardboard?
[03:58:00] A
[03:58:01] B salt water or sea a dessert which one would you want?
[03:58:09] Yeah, okay real suffix my idea now
[03:58:11] Get yourself some milk and get some warrior kid milk for your children don't give them poison
[03:58:17] actual poison don't
[03:58:19] Give them something tasty
[03:58:22] Agreed anyway origin main.com this where you can get all teeth. Did you mention why too? No, no, yeah
[03:58:28] It is winter time
[03:58:29] So I need that little warm hitter. Get yourself some jockel weight tea
[03:58:34] All right, yeah, sorry with just today was like well this jockel weight tea is good
[03:58:38] It's like and I didn't really know what she meant because you know
[03:58:42] She's been in the business my lovely wife
[03:58:45] Because we've been drinking
[03:58:47] This stuff for a long time
[03:58:49] So it's almost like she had an emotional out
[03:58:52] Kind of like the jockel weight tea so good actually just so happens that I got the new shipment in
[03:59:00] So she might have been out of the game for a little bit you seem saying and then she gets you revisited it and then was like
[03:59:06] Had that I got to say it is refreshing the cans refreshing
[03:59:13] More refreshing remember when you were a kid and you drink gatorade? Yes, and it kind of left that syrup
[03:59:18] He tasted your mouth and it's not refreshing
[03:59:20] Sure
[03:59:21] Was it refreshing
[03:59:24] It depends on the circumstances, but yeah, well, you're not going to need any circumstantial
[03:59:28] Issues going on track open the jockel weight tea 100% refreshed 100% refreshed yeah under all circumstances all circumstances covered
[03:59:37] I dig it also jockel is a store and it's called jockel store
[03:59:42] We're sticking with jockel store. I think great creative name jockel store.com. This is where you can get more ash guards
[03:59:49] More representative of the path specifically also
[03:59:55] You know sure turties discipline equals freedom stuff if you want to represent while you're on this path
[04:00:01] Never ending perpetual
[04:00:03] Cat you can get a official death core
[04:00:07] Oh, yeah big good
[04:00:10] You know jockel store.com
[04:00:11] Check it out. Yeah, man. If you want something get something you get some work. It's stuff on there as well
[04:00:15] Yeah, good way support yourself represent all that also
[04:00:19] Subscribe to this podcast which if you haven't by now
[04:00:23] Then you may want to actually just check yourself into some sort of rehabilitation program to make sure that you're okay
[04:00:28] Mentally because if you haven't some have you've listened to
[04:00:31] 7,000 hours or whatever it is of this podcast you haven't hit some try-biotte your your
[04:00:36] You're really avoiding commitment. Yeah, it's right. You're not really committed
[04:00:41] You need to get committed so anyways. Yeah, subscribe to the podcast
[04:00:44] On whatever medium you listen to podcast on yeah
[04:00:50] Also
[04:00:53] The only podcast in this whole scenario okay grounded podcast if you're interested in something a little bit more loose free flowing
[04:01:02] I was gonna say magical but that doesn't make sense
[04:01:05] But you know little little less structured less heavy for sure definitely less heavy. Yeah, we have not
[04:01:11] You have not cried on the grounded podcast yet
[04:01:17] Which isn't saying much right it is saying something
[04:01:22] All right, so thank you just for that
[04:01:26] Technically it is true so I'm cried on the worry keep that case either
[04:01:31] In on the word no you haven't been on it, but you've been listening and I've seen you get close
[04:01:35] Well on the word. I could quite well. That's even close
[04:01:38] Yeah, that's classified but nonetheless it where you get podcasts does exist and that's a good one too for the kids and for yourself and by the way
[04:01:45] There are
[04:01:46] four new warrior kid podcasts out at this time
[04:01:51] Very good. Yes for new warrior kid podcasts out at this time
[04:01:55] Good, so sorry it takes so long, but there they are and you can get those and also speaking of warrior kids
[04:02:01] Don't forget forget to get yourself some warrior kids soap from Irish Oaks Ranch.com
[04:02:06] Where young aiden a warrior kid is making soap on his farm in central California because that's what you do
[04:02:14] You get to work and you make something that will help everyone in the world
[04:02:19] Stay clean
[04:02:23] Very true also you we have YouTube channel you're interested in the video version of what we're doing here
[04:02:30] You're gonna see what Joel looks like
[04:02:32] You see what Joel looks like if you see what echo looks like in apparently echo
[04:02:37] Doesn't look like what he sounds like in the on a unlikely event
[04:02:41] You want to see what it looks like yes. We have YouTube channel also some excerpts on there if
[04:02:46] Maybe you're not at the mood to watch the whole 12 hour podcast
[04:02:51] Sometimes yeah, you know, so we have really short excerpts that echo bags that are only like 27 minutes
[04:02:57] Yeah, sure just you know sure in a couple a little bit
[04:02:59] Cool in my opinion, please let us know via social media if you think an excerpt should be four minutes or
[04:03:07] 14 I'll say what I think and we all know what echo things and well I have my my
[04:03:14] Opinion has been refined recently. What is it now focused on there is no time
[04:03:19] Constraint or
[04:03:21] Recommended guideline it's however long it takes to get an effective message across what I would like to see just a suggestion from my
[04:03:29] Don't want to interfere with your business over there with what you do
[04:03:33] Really taking so much time and effort to cut out a 19 minute section and just put it up there
[04:03:37] What if you just edited it down so it was like here's the point here's the question here's the point
[04:03:42] What if it was three minutes on well?
[04:03:45] Wouldn't that be more like an excerpt?
[04:03:47] I think it's all excerpt well technically what does that sort of mean just means like a part of something so it can be a 19 minute part fine
[04:03:53] If the clue if a point takes 19 minutes to talk about I don't think the point takes 19 minutes in most cases
[04:04:00] So I'm just saying reassess is all I'm saying
[04:04:03] Let's not let's not let our ego get in the way
[04:04:05] Make a good decision. What is the answer?
[04:04:07] Did you resty all I know so we're gonna keep moving forward and
[04:04:11] Don't try to put the best of your video to subscribe to YouTube channel so you can watch 19 minutes excerpts. Thank you
[04:04:17] But there's more stuff on there
[04:04:19] Anyway, yeah, if you want we do if you want something shorter to listen to go to psychological warfare
[04:04:25] It's an MP3 album. It has tracks
[04:04:29] Where whatever moment of weakness you are experiencing I will personally come through your headphones and help you overcome that moment of weakness by
[04:04:38] Speaking words into your ears and telling you to stay on the path
[04:04:45] And don't forget if you need a
[04:04:47] Visual representation of the path and a reminder to stay on it check out flip side-cam this dot com
[04:04:53] Which is run by my brother the code of mine where he makes things
[04:04:58] That are sometimes referred to as graphic art and you can hang them on your walls and they say things like good
[04:05:04] Or get after it or discipline equals freedom or you can tell the code of what you want
[04:05:11] As far as books go first of all the book that we covered today a pel Canadian in the French foreign Legion by Joel Strothers awesome book very cool
[04:05:19] I left out so many
[04:05:21] Good stories obviously, but it's a great book so you can pick that up click through the Amazon link also we got leadership strategy and tactic field manual
[04:05:30] Which you can actually order
[04:05:32] Now and you should order now because
[04:05:36] If you don't win it finally gets released you go. Oh cool now I'm gonna order it and then
[04:05:42] Amazon or Barnes and Noble will say oh cool yeah, we'll get it to you as soon as we get it which is gonna be in four weeks
[04:05:50] Because of you
[04:05:53] Actually because of me
[04:05:55] I did a bad job of explaining to you how important it was it's my fault
[04:05:59] It's my fault so right now what I'm trying to do is explain to you that if you don't order it you won't get it and then
[04:06:06] If you do order it life will be good
[04:06:09] Leader substratages and tactics field manual we got the way the warrior kid books three two and one all out
[04:06:16] Teach your kids how to stay on the path we got the Mikey and the dragons
[04:06:20] If you want your kids to learn the most basic
[04:06:23] Foundational thing that they need to know as a kid how to overcome fear they can learn it right there
[04:06:30] Mikey and the dragons incredible feedback on that book all the time it is not rare
[04:06:36] That a grown human male or female
[04:06:40] Crys while reading that book you you had an emotional first
[04:06:44] Wasn't it it wasn't an outburst but wait your brother Jj was something was it your brother J Charles
[04:06:49] Well same same kind of deal where's the operation there is an emotional what do you call it when the needle by loser
[04:06:56] But you know so I can one of those situations. Yeah. Well
[04:07:00] I think that when you have kids well when I say I think I believe
[04:07:05] So far
[04:07:06] That when you have kids like certain things will affect you differently, you know
[04:07:09] So anytime it makes you think of your kids in the certain context or whatever like yeah
[04:07:14] That's what it sort of induces so that's what it did
[04:07:17] Simply put
[04:07:19] And then we got this one it was freedom field manual
[04:07:21] This is the book again. You know that you know the person you're not sure what to get them for Christmas
[04:07:28] This is the book you get them for new years even better
[04:07:32] You just go hey here you go. I got you this little book
[04:07:35] These little reminder of what it's like to be on the path staying on the path
[04:07:39] So that's discipline equals freedom field man. It will be audio version of that is actually an MP3
[04:07:43] So you gotta go to
[04:07:44] iTunes or Amazon music to get that and of course we have extreme ownership and
[04:07:50] The dichotomy leadership the two books that I wrote with my brother Dave Babin
[04:07:54] They are
[04:07:55] Leadership books how to take the lessons that we learn on the battlefield and apply them to your business and your life
[04:08:01] We also have a leadership consulting company. It's called
[04:08:04] echelon front go to echelon front dot com if your company your business your team
[04:08:09] needs to improve and dominate
[04:08:12] They're gonna do it through leadership. That's what we do
[04:08:16] So we will help you lead better which will internally too
[04:08:22] Victory at all fronts
[04:08:24] We have EF online which is a
[04:08:27] Leadership training program. I used to be able to tell people oh you want some little advanced help with your leadership cool
[04:08:32] Listen to my podcast
[04:08:34] Because there's seven of them
[04:08:36] It'll take you 14 hours
[04:08:38] You know you got 14 hours to spare people though. Yeah, I can I can squeeze that in right now
[04:08:43] It's like oh you want some leadership help cool listen my podcast it's seven hundred hours or whatever
[04:08:47] I can't it's not specific enough now there's lessons in all of them so
[04:08:52] EF online let's take the lessons
[04:08:55] Condense them now distilled them down so people can go through them in a timely fashion eight hours
[04:09:01] 10 hours of all-mind training where you're actually the other thing is that the podcast
[04:09:05] I know it feels like it might be interactive you might feel like you're sitting
[04:09:10] In between me and echo
[04:09:11] Right now listening maybe you want to chime in and tell echo like to make those excerpts a little bit shorter
[04:09:17] You probably aren't thinking that
[04:09:20] But you can't really interact with us
[04:09:23] Except for on the inner website. Yes, but with the EF online you're actually putting leadership positions
[04:09:29] You're you got to make decisions you got to figure out what the best call is if you make a bad call
[04:09:33] You're gonna hear about it things are gonna go sideways if you make a good call you're gonna progress
[04:09:38] So EF online
[04:09:40] Check that out
[04:09:42] EF online dot com and then we have the mustard dates coming soon
[04:09:47] Leadership training event leadership training conference
[04:09:52] Where we go next year
[04:09:54] Believe the locations are
[04:09:57] Dallas
[04:09:58] Phoenix and
[04:09:59] Orlando Florida dates to come check extreme ownership dot com and then of course we have EF Overwatch
[04:10:07] and EF Legion these are platforms to take military personnel with leadership experience
[04:10:13] I understand the principles that we talk about and place them into the civilian sector civilian companies civilian businesses
[04:10:20] Go to EF Overwatch or EF Legion
[04:10:23] To make that happen and if you want to communicate with us some more
[04:10:28] Joel
[04:10:29] Joel is actually
[04:10:31] new to social media Joel strothers
[04:10:34] You can find him on Instagram and Facebook Joel strothers at Joel strothers and then his
[04:10:40] nonprofit is at Legion engineered and his website for that is at Legion
[04:10:46] Is Legion engineered dot com and then he's got Ravenhill risk control dot com and of course
[04:10:53] the two of us are on the interwebs as well
[04:10:56] We're on jockelpontcast dot com
[04:11:01] So if you want to check out that site and then on Twitter Instagram and on
[04:11:07] Leaver divasage
[04:11:12] Which is for book of face
[04:11:17] Since good
[04:11:19] That's good. I want to check that out echo is an echo trolls and I am at jockel will like and thanks once again
[04:11:23] To Joel strothers for joining us and thanks to him for his service
[04:11:29] As a contractor for his service in the French Foreign Leisure and it's all the Legionnaires out there past and present
[04:11:37] And especially those that sleep at peace in their tombs. We salute all of you
[04:11:44] Into the rest of the men and women around the world in uniform that protect the freedoms
[04:11:50] We all hold sacred thanks to you and to our police law enforcement fire fighters paramedics and EMTs talked about you all today
[04:12:01] Dispatchers corrections officers board a patrol secret service all first responders out there
[04:12:08] Thank you for the sacrifices you make
[04:12:10] to serve
[04:12:12] Man and kind
[04:12:14] To keep us safe and keep us protected and to everyone else out there
[04:12:21] Let's remember the power of the Legionnaires code and
[04:12:25] The parts of that code that applied all of us that discipline is our strength that courage and loyalty are our
[04:12:33] Virtues that we have to display
[04:12:36] dignified but modest behavior got a balance that dichotomy
[04:12:41] That we have to take constant care of our physical form
[04:12:48] That means we have to train rigorously
[04:12:51] We have to remember that our mission is sacred
[04:12:58] Your mission is sacred you carry it out until the end and you know you have a mission
[04:13:05] You know you do
[04:13:07] And whatever that mission is go out there
[04:13:13] And get after it
[04:13:16] And until next time
[04:13:18] This is echo and jockel out