Fighting for the French Foreign Legion: Memoirs of a Scottish Legionnaire

A 38 year old man makes the cut to join a Para Regiment of the French Foreign Legion? That is a book worthy accomplishment! Included are vignettes of schools, assignments, and deployments. The details are foggy, like trying to write about school days long after graduation. Daily details, names, and relationships are lost as are the feelings and opinions experienced at a younger age and different time. I would have a difficult time filling a book about my own enlistment long after the fact. So goes this book. You get some very specific information about brief events that left a mark on the author - difficult assignment, workplace success and recognition, and loss of a friend. Example: he describes the military food as “nourishing.” After 45 years even I can remember a lot more than that about chow. Next you get the author’s modern view of world politics from the perspective of a long time Legion pensioner after 15 served. Does anyone care how another old guy views past history of nations? No, tell us how it made you feel at the time. Then it’s this regiment went here or there and some "we're the best in the world" hype. Very difficult to keep reading at times. The author missed a big writing opportunity. He was a failed student, failed artist, police officer with multiple UK departments, divorced, turned to alcohol, and at 38 was an unemployed lay about living in his parents’ home against their wishes. When he left to wander Paris his mother wouldn't even say goodbye. For his failures, he takes almost no personal blame. In fact he names his bosses, his ex-wife, and his parent’s lack of love and understanding of his learning disability as the cause. He says that only an above average man has what it takes to make it in the Legion. Maybe true, but up to this point his performance was well below average. The big story here should have been about a life on the skids and heading for tragedy. Then an impulse decision is made after meeting an on leave Legionnaire drinking in a Paris barroom. Fellow recruits were interviewed about why they wanted to join and some were rejected. The author wonders why he was not sent packing. It could be a common Legion story. A way down on his luck character with no friends, family, or prospects and a drinking problem might use the military to turn himself around. He might even be very loyal to his “new family.” I do not review very often. I do wish we heard his real story. If you are looking for a far better Legion story albeit from another time era, look to Simon Murray’s memoirs.

I've always found the topic of the French Foreign Legion to be fascinating. There is something inherently exciting and romantic about becoming an adopted son of France, enduring the hardships of a Legionnaire, and being almost guaranteed service in a combat zone, as France prefers to put the Legion in harm's way before utilizing their native army.Alex Lochrie's FIGHTING FOR THE FRENCH FOREIGN LEGION is the first book I've actually read on the topic, and I am glad that it was my first. Lochrie does an excellent job showing us what led him to the Legion--a life of success and failure, and a desire to challenge himself--and then delves into life in the Legion and the assignments he held. Lochrie was an experienced man prior to enlisting, having been a police officer in his native Scotland, a pilot, an artist, and a homeless vagrant, all before fleeing to France. Thus, Lochrie's account reads like an old hand's narrative, refreshingly free of hubris or self-aggrandizement.The only bit I wish there was more of is an in-depth look at the training a Legionnaire undertakes. Lochrie shows us reporting to the Legion's headquarters and the in-processing, but everything between arriving and the Kepi Blanc March is essentially glossed over. Whether it was because he found it to be uninteresting or for reasons of operational security is unknown.That doesn't detract from the narrative, though. It's a thrill to read in some parts, and horrifying in others. In particular, Lochrie's service in Sarajevo will leave the reader in disgust at both the United Nations' infamous inaction during the 1990s and at individuals who disgrace the title of "journalist" in search of a story, which is no doubt what built to despots and autocrats seizing on those disgraceful actions in order to silence the entirety of the media in the modern day West.FIGHTING FOR THE FRENCH FOREIGN LEGION is a grounded account, and yet it does not dispel the notions of romance and adventure many seeking the information experience. Instead, it adds humanity and substance to those notions and serves as a subtle warning: there is romance and adventure, but there is also hardship and psychological trauma to be had. The life of a Legionnaire is not one for the faint of heart, and from the account, Lochrie is certainly made of a stern constitution.Excellent read. Highly recommended.

This book provides an excellent overview of the French Foreign Legion's composition, structure and missions. It is not a minute-by-minute memoir of pain & suffering experienced during training and while on station. There are other books that focus on that dimension of life in an elite military unit. After reading this book you will have a good understanding of what the Legion is all about.

I purchased this book for 2 reasons ; I am a Scot and worked for several months in Djibouti where the FL have a significant presence. I hadn't known a lot about this Legion beforehand but it has made very interesting reading throughout. The standards are even higher than I believed and contrary to my previous now misconceptions, possible criminal elements are eventually weeded out. The author comes over as a character indeed, very courageous and beyond all doubt, adventurous. He was late to enter the FFL at 38, having served in 2 of Scotland's Police Forces. I have another couple of chapters to go before ending his tale but would recommend to anyone out there, who has been curious what makes this iconic regiment tick and the tests and trials these men undergo. Discipline is extremely strict and the highest standards demanded. Any guy who comes through is worthy of respect.

This is a really good outline of the FFL, its organisation, training requirements and how it operates. It is told in a laid-back, matter-of-fact way without the usual detailed descriptions of horrendous training regimes seen in most such memoirs. The author's bitterness at journalists, the UN and politicians comes over strongly later in the book, when he is on active service. I have never served in the military, but in working abroad I have seen enough incidents similar enough to those he describes as to have every sympathy with his viewpoint.The Legion does come across as much more of a "family" than does the British military. I know a fair number of former and serving soldiers, including Paras and Marines, and I don't think any British military formation I'm aware of looks after its veterans as well as Alex Lochrie describes the Legion as doing.Well worth a read.

I was hardly able to put this book down once started. At the finish I felt that I had learnt a lot from a man who told his story honestly and truthfully. I had heard of the Legion but knew nothing about them. From this account, they now have my greatest respect and admiration.

A very good book. Well written by a man who has had a full and varied life.I've been interested in the legion for many years and I have read a lot of books by former legionaries.This is joint best with Simon Murray..