Every day, several dozen men hoping to enlist arrive in Aubagne and in other recruitment centers throughout France, officers say. The selection process is notoriously harsh, and only one in nine candidates will ever don the Legion’s trademark white kepi. Applicants must be between 17 and 40 years old.

Yet, for the yearly 1,000 trainees of the Foreign Legion, one of the most difficult challenges lies in the classroom. They have four months to learn operational French if they hope to remain part of their unit.

It’s not a simple question. As you will see it’s somewhere between 1300€ and 7000€.

There are four paths to becoming an officer in the French army, and they all apply to the Legion as well.

1. You attend Saint Cyr, the military academy.
2. You have a high school diploma (bac in French), have three or more years of service, and are 29 or younger when you begin.

39 years and 6 months

With their old identities set aside, recruits join the legion under a declared identity — a new name that they use during their first year of service.

Contrary to popular belief, the French Foreign Legion doesn’t open its arms to murderers and escaped felons. It actually requires an extensive background check before a recruit is allowed to join.

The ONLY solution to join the French Foreign Legion is to go to mainland France (in EUROPE) and knock on the door of one of the Foreign Legion recruiting centers (once you are in, free accommodation, food and clothing are immediately provided by the Legion). There is NO OTHER WAY!

You can go to retirement after 19,5 years of service, but this law is going to change in the near future. This is going to be valid for the whole French Army, not only for the French Foreign Legion.

Women are not allowed to join the French Foreign Legion. It only happened one time in history. This is Susan Travers (1909–2003), the one and only woman the French Foreign Legion ever accepted into its ranks.

5 years

The members of the French Foreign Legion, likewise, are not mercenaries. It does happen that companies offer military expertise for hire: Executive Outcomes Pty.

French Foreign Legion, French Légion étrangère, an elite military force originally consisting of foreign volunteers in the pay of France but now comprising volunteer soldiers from any nation, including France, for service in France and abroad.

After one is AWOL 30 days, one is Dropped From the Rolls (DFR). After that no one goes after you. No student loans of course, or working for a government contractor, but no one is hunting them down.

People go AWOL for a number of reasons. When most people refer to going AWOL, however, they’re referring to desertion. After you’ve been AWOL for over 30 days, you’re considered a deserter. Desertion happens for countless reasons, like: Having unrealistic expectations going in.

If caught you ll be subjected to 2000€ fee to up to 3 years in jail depending of the situation, and of course all those territories are going to be of limit for you for the test of your life!

: absent without leave broadly : absent often without notice or permission the place looked as if its caretaker had been AWOL for some time — Daniel Ford. AWOL. noun, sometimes not capitalized. Definition of AWOL (Entry 2 of 2) : a person who is AWOL.

Absence Without Leave, Unauthorized Absence, and Desertion Also known as desertion, it is no light matter and can lead to serious consequences. If AWOL for more than 30 days, a warrant for your arrest can be issued, resulting in a possible federal arrest and conviction.

a soldier or other military person who is absent from duty without leave.

UCMJ Desertion A charge of desertion can actually result in the death penalty, which is the maximum punishment during “time of war.” However, since the Civil War, only one American servicemember has ever been executed for desertion: Private Eddie Slovik in 1945.

absent without leave

For instance, being AWOL for less than three days can result in a maximum penalty of confinement for one month and forfeiture of two-thirds pay for one month. After 30 days or more, service members face dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and a one-year confinement.

Punishment for Going AWOL Besides, the maximum punishment according to the law is death or life in prison if desertion is carried out to avoid war. In fact, the vast majority of AWOL and desertion cases are disposed of with an administrative discharge.

Is an employee whose employment has been terminated due to “Absence without Leave” (AWOL) entitled to Final Pay? Yes, an employee whose was Absent without Leave (AWOL) from their job is still entitled to Final Pay.

There is no way to simply quit the military once you are on active duty. You are contractually, and perhaps morally, obligated to see your commitment through. However, you could be discharged from duty early if you are physically or psychologically unable to perform your duties.

Hardship. Hardship exists when in circumstances not involving death or disability of a member of the soldiers (or spouses) immediate family, separation from the Service will materially affect the care or support of the family by alleviating undue and genuine hardship.

Most first-term enlistments require a commitment to four years of active duty and two years of inactive (Individual Ready Reserve, or IRR). But the services also offer programs with two-, three- and six-year active-duty or reserve enlistments.

Desertion is the abandonment of a military duty or post without permission (a pass, liberty or leave) and is done with the intention of not returning. This contrasts with unauthorized absence (UA) or absence without leave (AWOL /ˈeɪwɒl/), which are temporary forms of absence.

These three lives stand in for tens of thousands of soldiers with similar stories; records show that 50,000 American soldiers deserted in the European theater during World War II.