Would America benefit from a Foreign Legion?

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 28 Aug 2016 09:48:29 -0400

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 28 at 2016 9:51 AM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 28 Aug 2016 09:51:56 -0400

I believe that a Foreign Legion would help people for direct access to become a US Citizen, and they could also be used for operations around the globe that the traditional US Military does not get involved with. Good examples would be Africa, Philippians, and other areas with rising extremism.

Response by CPT Jack Durish made Aug 28 at 2016 9:52 AM

CPT Jack Durish — Sun, 28 Aug 2016 09:52:07 -0400

I don't see how America would benefit but can well imagine how others might

Response by Capt Richard I P. made Aug 28 at 2016 11:17 AM

Capt Richard I P. — Sun, 28 Aug 2016 11:17:42 -0400

Do you think we don't already have one?
https://www.rallypoint.com/answers/are-mercenaries-good-or-bad

Are mercenaries good or bad? | RallyPoint

Mercenaries have been around for thousands of years. They have been used and extolled by some leaders and condemned and decried by others. At their best they offer deniability, they offer loyalty, they offer competence. At their worst they mask atrocities, they betray employers, they are second-rate. On net are mercenaries a good thing? Do they offer a necessary gray area? Are they bad? Diminishing accountability and threatening freedom and...

Response by Capt Richard I P. made Aug 28 at 2016 11:19 AM

Capt Richard I P. — Sun, 28 Aug 2016 11:19:54 -0400

Another RP member seemed to think it was a good idea:
https://www.rallypoint.com/answers/us-foreign-legion

US Foreign Legion | RallyPoint

A lot has been said about allowing illegal immigrants to serve in the military. My question to RP is, do you think that the US could benefit from establishing a foreign legion, as opposed to simply allowing immigrants into one of the current branches. It could be used as a method for earning legal status in this great nation of ours; complete 4 years of honorable service on a special visa and be granted permanent residency, or some similar...

Response by SMSgt Roy Dowdy made Aug 28 at 2016 11:35 AM

SMSgt Roy Dowdy — Sun, 28 Aug 2016 11:35:16 -0400

We already have a Foreign Legion.....contractors of which we have approximately 27,000 currently in the Middle East.

Response by SFC George Smith made Aug 28 at 2016 12:59 PM

SFC George Smith — Sun, 28 Aug 2016 12:59:47 -0400

Interesting Theory... But It would not work In America... At least Not at this Time...

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 28 at 2016 1:52 PM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 28 Aug 2016 13:52:52 -0400

Countries that have a foreign legion usually do so out of necessity, not practicality. For example, the French Foreign Legion exists today as a work around to avoid breaking an old law which restrict the percentage of the French military that may be deployed outside of the country. As many Legionnaires have not received their citizenship yet, France can deploy them without violating their own national law. In the past, they were stood up as a way to rapidly bolster the military with trained mercenaries.

The problem with foreign legions is that they are consistently seen as outsiders and are not fully integrated within the military they serve. Again using the example of the French Foreign Legion, they do not swear allegiance to France, they swear allegiance to the Legion. Using France as an example again, one of their biggest problems concerning immigrants is that they are not assimilating into French society and culture.

The US would be better served integrating immigrants into the actual military where they serve the nation alongside American citizens and not in cohorts of nothing but other foreign nationals.

Response by PO1 Brian Austin made Aug 28 at 2016 8:39 PM

PO1 Brian Austin — Sun, 28 Aug 2016 20:39:46 -0400

In my opinion we already do...private contractors. They don't count as "boots on the ground" and if they get killed the public and the government doesn't care since they're only "mercs", only their families grieve. You don't see their flag draped coffins at Dover AFB. The government doesn't have to worry about a public opinion backlash.
The government is only concerned that the PMC lives up to its contract. The "mercs" are just numbers.

Response by SPC Sheila Lewis made Aug 29 at 2016 2:13 PM

SPC Sheila Lewis — Mon, 29 Aug 2016 14:13:30 -0400

No, just keep as all volunteer force, at least some good apples will outnumber the bad ones.

Response by Maj Mike Sciales made Aug 30 at 2016 11:55 AM

Maj Mike Sciales — Tue, 30 Aug 2016 11:55:54 -0400

As people have said - private contractors were simply out of control mercenaries. There were a lot of bad things that happened, but I think the collective "we" are learning and responding to the changing nature of the threat.

We lack any real capacity for HUMINT in a lot of the remote places we are shifting to. If we want to chase Boko Haram or some villain we will need contractors who can give us local HUMINT on demand. We can use the power of the American citizenship for locals who do the best job. It's like a foreign legion, only instead of being a physical presence (we have Delta for that) it's an intelligence capability.