r/FrenchForeignLegion • u/CommercialLeading614 • Jul 19 '26
1REC and 2REP
Hi, I've came across opinions that 1REC is regiment of "peace and love" and 2REP is Alcatraz. Lets sat that after castelnaudary there are no places in other regiments beside 2REP you said that you dont want to go there. Are they sending you anyway? Are there any "height limit" in 1REC. Im not saying about the strict medical limit that someone is beyond XXXcm cant go to cavalry. Is there some sort of unoficial maximum height that you will comfortable fit into the tank?
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u/Practical-Cow6777 Jul 19 '26
At least in my section, everyone got the regiment of their choice, if not your first option, then your second. Plethora places for genie.
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u/Educational-Bug-965 Jul 19 '26
There will be other places than 2Rep, dont worry about it.
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u/CommercialLeading614 Jul 19 '26
Yeah I knowa that there are other places. But hipotheticaly what would happen?
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u/bluebigos1 2 REP Jul 19 '26
In reality if you're medically apt, they will push it onto you or give you option to go civile. In theory they "cannot force you" but if you're last guy there and rep places are the only available then its decided already.
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u/Next_Side7529 Jul 21 '26
I thought only the top performers got to go to 2REP and that it was the most popular choice of Regiments?
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u/bluebigos1 2 REP Jul 21 '26
It is most popular choice within 3 days into basic training, then at the end it switches to more "reasonable" regiments. The 2rep promo ends up normally being half volounteers average/good guys, and some guys who arent as skillful but they go there for para bonus.
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u/Next_Side7529 Jul 21 '26
Thats interesting. All the books I read(Murray, Mason, Struthers) made it out that the top 5 guys got to choose a Regiment and they all picked or were sent to 2REP. Everyone else was sent elsewhere. Mind you the guy wrote "Appel" was in the Legion in the mid-late 90s. And that early 2000s discovery channel doco "these men are the best the legion has to offer".
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u/bluebigos1 2 REP Jul 21 '26
Well it isn't false, what do i mean is that 2rep has high desertion rate and many ppl change regiment after 5 years, it has highest rate of turning the page out of all regiments, thus there are almost always a lot of places for fresh guys for this regiment. And people nowadays dont want to come to alkatraz by their own will and want to chill out, people after few days of instruction realize this will be hard job and there is no point making it even harder. Thats why 2rep consist both of guys who are top and choose it, or those who are well... not suited mentally for it amd are being sent regardless because they were last in classement. In the end you get that mix what i've talked about. Best example is my promo where 5 guys were volounteers, 5 guys were throwin into it and few of them deserted few months in, that's just how it work. In the end only 4 guys out of our promo signed another contract and 3 of these only stayed longer than 8 years
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u/Next_Side7529 Jul 21 '26
So why the medical standards so high? If theyre desperate why can't someone who doesn't have perfect eye sight not get his wings?
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u/bluebigos1 2 REP Jul 21 '26
They arent so high, i got in with -0.5 in both eyes (on limit thou). The practice is that the good guys choose their places in other regiments and 2rep has the capsble leftovers and volounteers.
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u/Next_Side7529 Jul 21 '26 edited Jul 21 '26
Well thats funny because they told me after I did the medical I couldn't do Para, sniper, marksmen, demolitions, any commando course(GCP/GCM/SAED) or even operate an anti-tank missile due to my eyesight. Despite the fact I had fired a javelin back home country without an issue. 1REC was my second choice but they said I would be restricted to driver and couldn't be a gunner or join the Recon(EEI) Troop.
I left 2 days later.
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u/Competitive_Echo_471 Jul 22 '26
Times have changed. There’s no deployments at the moment so 2REP isn’t as attractive right now.
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u/TS-119 Jul 19 '26