weeks at Aubagne, so you will quickly be marched back to the block to start cleaning. After this the days' activities will begin. It could be any one of the tests previously mentioned or it could be something more mundane like cleaning or helping out in the kitchens. Throughout each day you will be working in one place or another, getting called away to carry out another test or interview and then returning to your present job. If you're not doing either of these things then you will be getting to know the other engages volontaires in a sort of a recreational area at the back of the building. Here there is a pull up bar and trees to sit under and relax. The days are long and they can be tiring but it is also an interesting time for you. You are on the edge of an unknown quantity - about to embark on a great adventure - with some fairly bizarre and adventurous members of your planet. You will probably come across those that like to pull up a sandbag and tell tall stories - take the things you hear with a pinch of salt. Especially when it comes to what lies ahead. You are essentially now in the French Foreign Legion and it is a tough army with a tough lifestyle. You must stand up for yourself and don't get walked over. But be warned that if you are caught fighting and causing trouble - then you will be turned away. At Castelnaudary they will be more lenient - and it is sometimes required in life, to earn 21 some respect, not least of all in the French Foreign Legion. Here, however - if they see you as a trouble maker then you will soon find yourself packing your bags. There will probably be two days out of the three weeks that will be spent at one of two Legion camps helping out: Malmousce and Puyoublier. Malmousce is a small Legion complex situated on the seafront close to Marseille. It is an idyllic setting and it's purpose is to provide for Legionnaires who have no family or friends, a place for them to spend their Permission (Holiday). They will go here or alternatively to "Fort De Nogent" in Paris. As an engage volontaire you will more than likely be taken here to Malmousce to carry out any jobs that are necessary - such as odd jobbing or helping out in the kitchens. There will probably be about ten to fifteen Legionnaires there at any one time, all at various stages of their contract. For them, during the weeks they spend there, life is easy and they will probably be more than happy to tell you about life in the Legion and what's in store for you. The food is normally of a high standard as it is on most Legion camps. The other place that you, as an engage volontaire will be likely to visit is Puyoublier. This is the home for the former Legionnaires who have completed more than three contracts in the Legion. In the Legion such men are known as "Les Anciens ". Most of them have seen action on more than one occasion during their careers. Some have seen a lot of action in some of the Legion's most memorable battles. They are friendly people and only too happy to talk to "Les Jeunes "(The in-experienced or latest to arrive). At Puyoublier the men make their own wine and work the land. There are livestock to look after and even a crafts centre where they make souvenirs to sell to tourists. It is their home - they eat well - have company 22 they can relate to - and they of course drink well. Puyoublier continues to give them a purpose in life. Your job whilst there will again be to help out wherever needed. By this stage you will be beginning to learn what hard work is all about. During your time at Aubagne you will be getting paid a small amount of money. This will amount to about F100 per week. With this money you will be allowed, probably once a week, to go to the Foyer (A bar with small shop attached - There is one on every guartier) - you will be allowed an hour or so to have a beer or two and buy anything you need such as razors, cigarettes etc. It will be very noticeable how all the nationalities gather together in groups of their own tongue - non more so than the British. With the "Brits", will be Canadians, Australians, Scandinavians (who often speak English) and Americans. Whenever the English speakers gather together they are known as "La Mafia Anglaise " or sometimes if they are British "Les Hooligans ". (Individually, you may find yourself being called "Johhny" from time to time, particularly by Les Anciens). But you will notice the Spanish and Brazilians stick together, the Eastern block countries will stick together. The French will be in their little group and so on. It is important to make an effort to mix - if not with the other nationalities - at least with the French. It is after all, the French that you will be relying on to learn the language and, during the initial stages, to translate what has been said by the Caporal or Sergent. As well as various lectures and videos covering life in the French Foreign Legion and the postings that exist, there will also be a visit to the Legion Museum. Probably one of the most impressive to be seen. You will be given about 23 an hour to wander around during an afternoon and examine some of the Legion's past. At some time during the three weeks you will also be interviewed (albeit it in a very casual manner) on the subject of music. That is whether or not you play an instrument or have any inclination to become a musiciain and any desire to play in the Legion band. The Legion band is always keen to recruit - any hint of interest and you will be encouraged all the way in this direction. No- one is ever forced to join the band however - but if you are an experienced musician and definitely do not want to work in the Legion band then it is probably better if you tell them you are destined to be in the 2 REP and wouldn't know one end of a trumpet from the other. (There are some perks to the job of being a bandsman and the Legion band does travel worldwide every year). All bandsmen go through French Foreign Legion basic training just the same as any other Legionnaire. After a long three weeks of cleaning, tests and interviews you will finally be told whether you have passed the selection procedure or not. The successful ones will be issued with the Legion haircut and be taken down to the stores to be kitted out with Le Paquetage. This is the equipment that you will take with you to Castelnaudary and last you through your contract. It will be contained within a large green sausage bag called a Sac Moraine. When you have been issued your paquetage you will know that very soon you will commencing basic training with the French Foreign Legion. At this stage there is only one more thing left to do - that is the solemn declaration of honour and fidelity to serve the French Foreign Legion. For this you will be assembled in a large room which oozes tradition. Thirty to forty of you will be assembled to form three sides of a square. There will be a short speech by the Major declaring that 24 you have been officially accepted into the ranks of the Foreign Legion, with whom you will serve for five years with honour and faithfulness. The Major will then go up to each engage volontaire, call his name out and hand him his contract. The Legionnaire will acknowledge receipt of the contract by coming to the gardez-vous position (attention position) and calling out "Present Major". At approx 5.00 am the next morning you will be assembled ready for pick up by coach to be taken to the Aubagne train station. There you will board a train to take you to Castelnaudary. The Sergent and the Caporal who escort you in the morning will be part of your training team during the four months that lie ahead. Castelnaudary - L 'Instruction - Basic Training. "Quite singly the best way to get on during instruction is not to get noticed, keep your head down, work hard, don't moan, mix with the French and start learning the language. It will come amazingly quickly and if you can speak French, you'll get less hassle". This is the real beginning of your time in the French Foreign Legion. Everything so far has been merely selection. It is now that the real work begins. You are brand spanking new to the system and are about to embark on a very steep learning curve.... 25 Basic training is not aimed at producing elite soldiers out of you. It is aimed at bringing you all into a military way of thinking and to start instilling some form of military discipline. Coupled with this, they must start getting you to grips with learning the French language and conditioning you physically to the rigours that lie ahead. There is therefore a lot of work to be done by both the training team and the recruits during the four months basic training. It is after basic training that soldiering skills are taught in depth at the Regiment that you are posted to. That is not to say that you are not taught military skills during basic training - only that the skills may not be so in depth and so well honed at this stage. Remember that there are people from all over the world, Japanese, Chinese, Rumanians, Czechs, Polish all with a totally different outlook on life. The Western world is naturally a very disciplined culture and one which adapts well to a military environment - many other cultures around the world are not so orderly in their thinking. This four months basic training will also be teaching you one more thing - and certainly the hardest element of all to an engage volontaire - and that is the "Legion way of doing things". It may not be the most logical way or the simplest way, it may seem like the most stupid, ridiculous method in the world - but it is done that way and you are going to do it that way - even if it takes all night and all the next day. They may send one man to do the job of ten or ten men to do the job of one. It will drive you to insanity at the time but what it is doing is re-affirming military discipline into your very new way of life. If you can prepare yourself for this and accept their way of getting the job done, then you're well on your way to becoming a "Bon Legionnaire". This is the part of Foreign Legion life that is most difficult to adapt to. 26 Physically the Foreign Legion is not that hard - mentally it can crack you down the middle - especially those from the Western world. It may take you the whole of your five year contract to become fully at home home with this mentality and the Legion way of doing things. A "Section" consists of 40 men each broken down into 4 "Groupes". The Section is commanded by a "Sergent-Chef" and is known as the "Chef de section" but is addressed us "Sergent-chef". Likewise the Groupe is commanded by a "Sergent" and is known as the "Chef de Groupe" but addressed as "Sergent" by the Legionnaires. Vos Instructeurs - Your Instructors. The training team is made up of four Caporaux (One man is referred to as Le Caporal - more than one Caporal is referred to as Les Caporaux), four Sergents, a Sergent Chef and a Lieutenant. The Caporaux at Castelnaudary will be made up of a combination of Caporaux from other Regiments and what is known as "Fonctionnaire-Caporal" (Shortened to Caporal Fut-Fut). This is a term applied to a select few Legionnaires who have been offered accelerated promotion due to a good performance during their own in 27 basic training - they therefore, have only served a few months more than yourselves in the Legion. You may find that there is a Caporal or Sergent of the same nationality as your own. Often they will be more friendly to their own nationality and keep you slightly more informed as to what is on the agenda during the coming days. Tread carefully in this area however and assume nothing. On arrival at Castelnaudary railway station you will be picked up by a Legion coach and taken to the Quartier (guartier Capitaine Danjou). You will at all times be accompanied by the Caporaux or Sergents. Having unloaded all the Sacs Moraines (Long sausage shaped green bags) into the corridor, there will be a briefing by one of the Caporaux telling you what is next on the agenda. The first day will be spent unpacking bags and getting you into the routines that will very quickly become a way of life. Depending on the training team - and they all have their own way of doing things - your first day will probably be even more stressful than usual. In most armies around the world there is a routine of traumatising the recruits during their first days - creating as big a shock for them as possible. One regiment in the British forces would make the recruits run for four miles with the whole of their equipment immediately on getting off the coach at the Depot, shouting and screaming at them all the way. Likewise in the French Foreign Legion they must instill discipline into the Section as soon as possible and this will be done by whatever means is deemed necessary. There will be silence in the corridoors when lined up. Feet will be exactly in line with the second row of floor tiles. 28 Anybody talking, whispering or behaving like a civilian will be reprimanded in the most extreme manner probably in the form of a good dig to the body. Head and eyes to the front and best you keep it that way. For those that come from Eastern block countries this is not at all easy. They have come from backgrounds far removed from the culture of the West. They are inherently less disciplined and prone to being the target of the enthusiasm of the Caporaux. You may well find yourself doing press- ups on account of them. Throughout the day they will run you through what is known as the "Apel". This is a routine of lining up in the corridoor and calling out from left to right a number. The number starts at one and continues up to however many there are of you. You may all be lined up in a different order every time you come out into the corridor, so it is important that you learn very quickly how to count in French. Whatever you are doing in the room - it is dropped immediately and you must get out into the corridor and line up against the wall before the Caporal has reached the count of four. The Apel is always done first thing in the morning and last thing at night, but initially you will do it perhaps twenty or thirty times in a day. This is purely to teach you how to count and as a method of asserting discipline and authority upon you. In the 2 eme REP based in Corsica, there are three apels per day - one after lunch as well. At some time during basic training there is sure to be a low count in the morning when a Legionnaire or two have decided that they've had enough and tried to desert. They are nearly always caught. 29 Les Numeraux - The Numbers. Listed below are the numbers that you must learn: French number - (Pronounced as) - English number Un - (Urn) - One Deux - (Durgh) - Two Trois - (Twar) - Three Quatre - (Cart) - Four Cinq - (Sank) - Five Six - (See) - Six Sept - (Set) - Seven Huit - (H'eet) - Eight Neuf - (Nerf) - Nine Dix - (Dees) - Ten Onze - (Onz) - Eleven Douze - (Dooz) - Twelve Treize - (Trays) - Thirteen Quatorze - (Catorz) - Fourteen Quinze - (Canz) - FiAeen Seize - (Says) - Sixteen Dix-Sept - (Dees set) - Seventeen Dix-Huit - (Dees weet) - Eighteen Dix-neuf - (Dees nerf) - Nineteen Vingt - (Van) - Twenty Vingt et une - (Vant ay oon) - Twenty one Vingt deux - (Van der) - Twenty two Vingt trois - (Van twar) - Twenty three Vingt quartre - (Van cart) - Twenty four Vingt Cinq - (Van sank) - Twenty five Vingt six - (Van see) - Twenty six Vingt sept - (van set) - Twenty seven Vingt huit - (Van weet) - Twenty eight Vingt neuf - (van nerf) - Twenty nine Trente - (Tron) - thirty Trente et une - (Tront ay oon) - thirty one 30 Trent deux - (Tron der) - Thirty two Trente trois - (Tron twar) - Thirty three Trente Quatre - (Tron cart) - Thirty four Trente cinq - (Tron sank) - Thirty five Trente six - p'ron sees) - Thirty six Trente sept - (Tron set) - Thirty seven Trent huit - (Tron weet) - Thirty eight Trente neuf - (Tron nerf) - Thirty nine Quarante - (Carront) - Forty Quarante et une - (Carront ay oon) - Forty one Quarante deux - (Carront der) - Forty two Quarante trois - (Carront twa) - Forty three Quarante quatre - (Carront cart) - Forty four Quarante Cinq - (Carront sank) - Forty five Quarante six - (Carront sees) - Forty six Quarante sept - (Carront set) - Forty seven Quarante huit - (Carront weet) - Forty eight Quarante neuf - (Carront nerf) - Forty nine Cinquante- (Sankont) - Fifty It will not obviously stop everybody else making mistakes and you will still be going in and out of the room like a yo-yo. But at least you will get it right and it's one less thing for you to have to learn. When you later have to line up for a Company parade you will have to learn the rest of the numbers in French, but this is not worth worrying about at the moment. There are two other reasons for needing to learn the numbers as soon as possible. Firstly; you will have been issued a service number and there will also be a number for your FAMAS. Your service number is known as your "Matricule" and is a six figure number. You must learn how to say it in French and learn it by heart. The number is not however read out as single numerals but as follows: Cent soixante trois, trois cent onze (One hundred and sixty three - three hundred and eleven). This is more 31 difficult to commit to memory than simply learning: Une- six-trois, trois-une-une. (One-six-three - three-one-one). The Caporaux will teach it to you and you will be expmted to know it by heart after a week or two. It will not be very long before you are introduced to your FAMAS assault rifle - This number must also be committed to memory. If you can learn these numbers quickly then you will not be the one that feels the might of a size ten boot when the Sergent has been calling out the weapon number six times at the armoury doors (Le Magasine). Apart from learning your numbers there will be the allocation of beds and lockers and a demonstration by one of the Caporaux on how to arrange your Paquetage into the armoire (locker) in the correct way. There is a right way and a wrong way to do everything in the Legion - if the kit is not placed in the correct place it will soon end up on the floor. There is no food to be kept in the locker at any time and there is a very small shelf which is allocated for personal belongings. (Of which you will have very few). As an engage volontaire you will be assigned to another - he will be referred to as your "Binome". It is up to you to help each other. If he's French - he can help you a lot, and he will be expected to. "It goes without saying that as a recruit you must always carry a pen and notepad. Carry three pens - One for yourself, one for when it stops working and one for the binhome next to you who has forgotten his" For the first two weeks there are only a few items of kit that you have to worry about. The first is the boots. These 32 must be well polished and there is plenty of opportunity to do that. If nothing is happening - i.e. between lectures, then the Legionnaires will gather downstairs and polish their boots. You may well find yourself polishing the boots five, six or even seven times a day. The green combat uniform that is worn on a daily basis is not ironed in the Legion. Neither is the Tenue de Sport (PT kit). But it must be clean at all times. There are no washing machines in basic training so all the kit is cleaned by hand with a block of Savon Marseille (Soap) in the wash basins. Then hung out to dry on the clothes lines of the balconies attached to each room. (The clothes lines are below balcony level and therefore not visible from the outside of the building). The beret that has been issued to you will last only two weeks before being replaced with a smaller neater one which sits much more neatly on the head. The tassle at the back of the beret should lie directly down the centre of the back of the head. The Legion badge will then sit slightly to the right of the right eye. Unlike some armies where a blue beret is issued until training has been completed - in the Legion it is the Kepi that you earn. The beret issued in the Legion is green in colour from day one. The flap being folded down to the left. If you wish to shape the beret to your head, you can make it wet and then squeeze it until damp, then put it on your head for shaping to the exact shape and position required. You will be paid approximately F1500 per month during L 'Instruction (basic training) (About X200). This will be paid into your CNE account which is held by the L 'Adjudant de Section. When you are allowed to go to the Foyer (Like a Naafi or canteen with a small shop attached) - you will be given some money. This is not likely to happen very often during the four months of Instruction. Everything will be provided for you during 33 basic training, even down to your toothbrush, toothpaste, razors etc. At some time during your Instruction you will be allowed to go into the town for a few hours. Here again you will be paid about F200-F300 to have a beer and buy anything you need. Once you have been posted to your regiment, the foyer will become a regular watering hole - chosen in preference to going through all the hassle of preparing your tenue to exit the Quartier. No formal dess need be worn in the Foyer - even Tenue de sport is permitted. Les Chants - The Songs. It will not take long for the instructors to introduce you to the singing which forms an integral part of the French Foreign Legion's tradition. The Legion sings on the march, at the Gardez-vous (attention position), sometimes on the run as a section, and around camp fires when on non-tactical excercises at the end of a long day. You will probably first be taught Le Boudin along with Le Chant (de la) Companie plus Le Chant Du Regiment. There may be as many as fifteen or twenty songs learnt during the four months basic training. How many you learn depends very much on you all as a Section. The more French speaking people there are in the Section, the easier it is to learn, and so the more songs you will learn. If there are only a few Francophones (French speaking people) in the section the songs may well be taught to you phonetically. What this means is that a German will read out the words as they should sound in German and you will write them down as they sound to you in your tongue. Le Boudin is probably the most famous of all the Legion SOllgS. 34 It is also the only song that must be sung at the Gardez vous position. All the rest may be sung on the march. Le Chant (de la) Compagnie wi11 vary from company to company and could be one of many songs. The first verse of Le Boudin is often all that is sung, for example prior to eating a meal. It goes like this: Le Boudin: Tiens. Voila du Boudin, voila du boudin, voila du boudin, Pour les Alsaciens, les Suisses et les Lorrains, Pour les Belges y en a plus, pour les Belges y en a plus, Ce sont des tireurs au coup, Tireurs au coup. There are many different understandings of the meaning behind the words but here is a literal translation: Well there's sausage, there's sausage, there's sausage, For the Alsatians, the Swiss and the Lorrainers; There's none left for the Belgians, there's none left for the Belgians, They are malingerers; There's none left for the Belgians, there's none left for the Belgians; They are malingerers You will undoubtedly hear of other versions whilst in the Legion. The songs are not just sung in French but in many other languages such as Yugoslavian, German and English. The 35 first few weeks singing will undoubtedly result in some very sore arms. This will be through all the press-ups that you will be doing in a bid to get you to sing in tune, deeper (Plus has) and louder (Plus fort). It may seem a pain singing hour after hour, sometimes late into the night, but when a level of skill has been achieved - it will look and sound very good. There is nothing like the sound of 40 plus Legionnaires (better still a company of 150) singing in tune, on the march, with Kepis on their heads and red epaulettes on their shoulders. Songs will be sung initially in the classroom, and then later, when the words have been learnt, on the march. The songs that you will learn are not what you are used to. They are sung slowly, in unison and in a deep voice. They have to be sung slowly in order to be in keeping with the pace of the march. (In the French Foreign Legion the marching is done at 80 paces per minute as opposed to 120 in the British army). There are a collection of Legion songs, most of which you will be expected to learn during basic training, situated towards the back of the book in the Appendix section. La Presentation - Presenting Yourself. It is tradition in the Legion that when addressing someone of a senior rank Le Presente is carried out. It is a form of recital and until you have attained some rank yourself, this will initially mean saying it to everybody, except the other "Engages" (recruits). It is also said when you recieve your pay or when entering a room occupied by anyone of any senior rank. 36 Actions: Knock - wait - enter - salut - beret off.... "Engage Volontaire Antoine, Deux mois de service, Deuxieme Compagnie, Section de Lieutenant Souzla, A vos ordres Caporal/Sergent/Sergent chef/etc. " Meaning: "Recruit Antoine, Two months service, 2nd Company, Lieutenant Souzla's section, At your orders Corporal/Sergeant. " The words in italics will have to be changed for whatever details are applicable to you. Once inside the room the Sergent or whoever that you are talking to, will then say, "Mets-toi au repos. " Meaning - Put yourself into the position of "Repose". (A bit like the "Stand at ease" position in the British army). You must then reply, "Je me-mets au repos a vos ordres Sergent". Meaning: I go to the position of Repose as you order Sergent" When the senior rank has finished with you he will say, "Tu peu dispose" Meaning: "You may now leave" 37 You must then reply, "Je peu dispose, a vos ordres Sergent". Meaning: I am now leaving as you have ordered Sergent. (Actions: Beret on - Salut - About turn - exit room). This is carried on throughout your careeer in the Foreign Legion and holds true even in war. It is said particularly when talking to ranks that are more than one rank above you or if they are unfamiliar. After some time in the Legion or in times of war the Le presente may be shortened to, "Legionnaire Antoine, a vos ordres Sergent" To which the sergent or whoever would probably reply, "Oui, qu'es-ce que tu veux? (Yes, what do you want?) Each room is responsible for its cleanliness. There is not an excessive emphasis on the rooms but they are inspected on a daily basis. They are also walked around at the end of the day by the Caporal Chef/Sergent who is taking the evening Apel. There is no smoking allowed in the building but engages will often try to sneek one on the balcony. Smoking is however allowed, but downstairs and outside. Everyday, first thing in the morning and after lunch before being fell in there is the daily Corvet Quartier. This comprises of the Company forming a line and walking very slowly around the building. At each corner of the building the line is stopped and reformed to face a new direction. Since the buildings at Castelnaudary are in an "L-shape" there are six straight lines to form before progressing in each 38 new direction. All the time you are looking for cigarette ends, litter or rose petals that have fallen in the wind. There are constant yells of ïSilence by the Caporal du Jour which often fall on deaf ears and inevitably ends up in everybody doing press-ups. This ritual of Corvette Quartier will continue until you have reached Caporal status or above. (About two years normally). In each building there are two Sections of Legionnaires undergoing basic training. The older Section will be able to socialise with you almost everyday when downstairs polishing boots or smoking cigarettes. As you might expect they will try to fill you full of horror stories about what lies ahead. They will more than likely exaggerate to the extreme. So take anything you hear with a pinch of salt. Most of it will be rubbish. Bel Air, La ferme - Bel Air, the fame The big horror story you will undoubtedly hear about from day one is Bel Air. This is a large farm building situated in the countryside about ten miles from Castelnaudary. All the Sections go to Bel Air aAer about four weeks for a period of three weeks. Whilst there you will undergo training in weapons handling, (Particularly stripping and assembly of the FAMAS), weapon cleaning, physical fitness, navigation (By compass and by the stars), French language, an introduction to fieldcraft (setting up bivouacs, camouflage and concealment, target indication, first aid, fire control orders, patrolling, ambushes), drill and arms drill, marching and of course lots of singing. 39 As mentioned previously - they are not out to make you into elite soldiers at this stage - more to get you into a military way of thinking, improve your physical fitness and to try to get you talking in French. The soldiering skills are honed later on in your career. There will be pressures placed upon you and these will take the form of sleep deprivation, keeping you as stressed and traumatised as possible by shouting and requiring everything to be done in double quick time. Coupled with that there will be very little to eat. The days will be long and you will become very, very tired. Still the pressure will be on you. Here there will be many inspections of your equipment, your boots (Polish the whole of the boot whilst at Bel Air - the underside as well). Also mark them well, as they may be thrown out of the window with everyone else's (even if your's are clean). Ideally, you will want the same pair back when you go to recuperate them at the end of the night. Each day at Bel Air will start early, at around 5.00 am and by six o'clock you will be doing the morning Sport or Le Petit-footing. This will take about an hour and because there are varying degrees of fitness amongst you, the Section will normally be divided up into three groups of varying ability. You will all do the same training - just that you will all be pushed to the maximum. There will be four to five mile runs, un-armed combat, sit-ups, press ups, pull ups, rope climbing (No legs allowed), firemans carry and any other games the training team can devise to get the blood flowing faster. Although the running will tend to get faster over the three weeks the upper body strengthening excercises may not 40 achieve as much since the food intake is limited and the pull ups, press ups and rope climbing excercises are carried out as much as two or three times a day. Before each meal the Caporaux will gather you round and there will be what is referred to as the L 'Aperitif - a series of three or four of the above excercises which are carried out. When so much work is placed on a particular muscle group the muscles have little time to recover and benefit from the work done. Each day the kit worn will be washed by hand in the basins, then hung out to dry for the next day. Make sure the kit is well marked. The three weeks at Bel Air culminates in a fifty kilometre non tactical march with Sac a Dos (Rucksac) and FAMAS. You have three days to complete the march but it is normally done in two. This is the only test before you receive your Kepi Blanc. It is often argued by Legionnaires that the Kepi Blanc should only be received after the Le Raid at the end of basic training when a much longer march is carried out. This thirty miler is not hard and by this stage you will already have marched many times from Bel Air back to the Quartier. If you have been a soldier in any army prior to joining the Legion, you will have heard of many methods of how to harden your feet. Examples may be rubbing white spirit into your feet, urinating on them, switching them from the hottest water you can bear to the coldest water you can bear. Most people find that the best way to wear in your feet is to march a lot - and that you will. And preferably in boots that are well worn in. Legion boots generally are not a bad fit anyway, even when new. There may be some truth in the notion that submersing bad fitting boots in water when new and going for a couple of miles on a run 41 will help wear them in quicker, but you are unlikely to be in a position to put this method into practise in the Legion. Feet do heal very quickly and there is always a foot and body inspection after every march. Do not, if you have the chance however rip the skin off a blister to expose open flesh. Any insertion into a fluid filled blister should be made with a sterilised needle merely to drain the fluid inside the blister out. The foot should of course be cleaned before such action. Do not bother with ointment or dressings unless it's really bad; just put a clean pair of socks on. Before you know it you will have different set of blisters to worry about. La Remise Du Kepi Blanc - The Presentation of the white Kepi. Throughout the weeks leading up to Bel Air and during your time there, you will all be learning Le Code D 'Honneur. This is - as it sounds - a code of honour which is learnt be heart by all Legionnaires. Together you must recite it in unison at the end of your three weeks at Bel Air. You will spend many hours, learning it, reciting it and then getting the vocal synchronisation together. It will be said by you at the Remise Du Eepi Blanc (Presentation parade) prior to donning the famous white Kepi. If you can learn it by heart before you get there, you will be one very large stride ahead. It goes as follows: 42 Le Code D'Honneur. "Legionnaire, Tu ex un volontaire servant la Erance avec bonheur et fidelite. " (Legionnaire, you are a volunteer serving France with honour and faithfulness) "Chaque Legionnaire est ton frere d'arme, quelle que soit su nationalite, sa race, sa religion. Tu lui manifestes toujours la solidarite etroite qui doit unir les membres d'une meme famille. " (Every Legionnaire is your brother in arms, regardless of nationality, race or religion. You show him always the close solidarity which must unite the members of the same family) "Respectueux des traditions, attache a tes chefs, la discipline et la camaraderie sont ta force, le courage et la loyaute tes vertus. " (Respectful of the traditions held by your seniors, discipline and camaraderie are your strength, courage and loyalty your virtues) "Fier de ton etat de legionnaire, tu le montres dans ta tenue toujours elegante, ton comportement toujours digne mais modeste, ton casernement toujours net. " (Proud to be a Legionnaire, you show this in your dress; it is always elegant, you are always dignified but modest in the way that you behave and your quarters are always in order) 43 Soldat d'elite, tu t'entruines avee rigeur, tu entretiens ton arme comme ton bien le plus precieux, tu as le souci constant de ta horme physique. " (As an elite soldier, you train with rigour, you look after your weapon as your most precious possession, and you always take care of your physical fitness.) "La ndssion est sacree, tu l'executes jusqu'au but, a tout prix. " (The mission is sacred, you execute it to the very end, at all costs). "Au combat, tu agis sans passion et sans haine, tu respects les ennemis vaincus, tu n'abandonnes jamais, ni tes morts, ni tes blesses, ni ter armes. " (In combat, you fight without passion and without hatred, you respect the defeated enemy always, you never abandon your dead, nor your wounded nor your weapons). You are not actually at any time during instruction asked to translate the Code D'Honneur into your own language, but it is included here for your interest. At the Remise Du ICepi Blanc there will be another Section from Castelnaudary to act in a supporting role as part of the Remise. The Chef de Corps (Camp Commandant) will present the Legionnaires with a small badge which signifies that they are now officially accepted as part of the 4eme RE. He will pin that to each Legionnaire's chest. The formalities will be followed by big eats, some singing, and a photo session by a photographer hired by the Legion for some formal group shots. Depending on how good or bad the singing is - will 44 depend on whether you march back to the Quartier or are taken back by camion (lorry). When handling the Kepi make sure that you touch only the black peak and not the white parts. The white cloth stains very easily, and if you don't handle it by the peak, you'll end up scrubbing it. After Bel Air, Castelnaudary will seem like a hotel. The camp was modernised in 1985 and is extremely plush considering the sort of images that most people conjure up in their mind when they hear talk of the French Foreign Legion. La Place D'Arme (The Parade square) is of an oacre type tarmac