Originally Posted by Sam Hoy

Tangowrangler,
How was your experience in the legion compared to your time in the US Army?
Was it harder physically? What other doctrinal differences were there?

The legion had some pretty major differences compared to the US Army.

The first was the emphasis on running and marching.
Running:
Army - longest run 1.25 hrs medium pace
Legion - longest run 3 hrs fast pace
Army - average 2 mile time was 14:30 age 17-23
Legion - average 3.2 kilometers was 12:25 age late 20's early 30's

Marching:
Army - longest march was 50 miles slow pace
Legion - longest march was 160 miles (estimate) medium to fast pace

***overall the physical fitness of a legionnaire was far superior to that on a Army soldier

The second major difference was the gear:
US Army - there was the ability to use your own gear most of the time, the quality of the gear was far superior (personal and unit)
Legion - you were not allowed to use anything except for standard issue gear, the quality of the gear was literally third world in nature
*The standard issue Legion boots did not come in half sizes, so you either lose toe nails because they were tight or you got blisters on your feet and wore two socks (either way you feet hurt really bad often)

The corporal punishment aspect:
US Army - got to the point that cursing was not even allowed if in conjunction with a lawful order. I got sick and tired of the direction the US Army was going in and how soft they were becoming (might be different now)
Legion - I was punched in the stomach by a corporal within the first day and simply dealt with it because I deserved it. I saw SGTs issue an order to non-comms and the non-comm out right refused and a fight ensued. The non-comm won the fight didn't do the task, but that night he got jumped by seven SGTs and learned his lesson. Fighting was not always the answer, but it was encouraged during certain time frames.

Rights versus limited rights:
US Army - the concept was that of a trust volunteer, so you are able to get cell phones and such
Legion - the concept was that of non-trust volunteers, so you had to have Regimental approval for a cell phone (pay as you go only), not allowed to have a civilian drivers license, if yo left base at night as a non-comm you needed to wear your dress uniform.

Uniform preparation:
US Army - the overall appearance of the soldiers uniform was more of a discussion and there was a wide berth when punishment was needed. I would say the except would be the Old Guard.
Legion - there was zero tolerance for any uniform that was not perfect. The guard duty was an incredible preparation task that often involved 12-18 hours of ironing, shining, and redoing everything. I have seen commanders rip pockets off of soldiers shirts if there was a stain or the pleats were not dead accurate within a metric ruler. This would require the soldier to have a second or third uniform pressed and ready to go at all times.

Overall enjoyment:
US Army - I learned so many thing from the Army and was able to excel beyond my original concept of the military, which allows me to know that the US Military is truly bad-ass.
Legion - I always wanted to partake in a unit that deviates from the norm and has a history. The group of guys were great to be around and at times I wanted to kill each of them slowly. There was a different feeling of pride and respect when I was in the legion that I still get to this day from new people I meet.

That is it in a nutshell...


P.S. I was consulted and treated slightly different because of my US Army experience. There were times that the company or regimental commander would ask for my opinion on topics or tactics. This was important during our companies transition to MOUT because no one in our company had experience except for me.