Page 83 - Mercian Eagle 2013

French Foreign Legion International Jungle Warfare Course
by t D Smith OC 10PL C COY , 3 MERCIAN
With the final exercise of PCD moved to Cyprus I always felt I missed out on a chance to gain experience, as a certain Ops Officer would say, in the ‘Big Green Office’ so when the opportunity was offered I jumped at the chance to head out to French Guiana and see what the French Foreign Legion could offer in their Jungle Warfare Centre. At the beginning of the New Year
I found myself and a Platoon Commander from the Royal Welsh on a plane to French Guiana. On arrival the climate change was a big shock to the system as the humidity was extremely high and so was the temperature.
The course introductions were given in French so the content of the course was always a bit of a challenge. We found ourselves alongside a diverse international course with a mix of European and South American Countries. The training team was made up of the Foreign Legion’s specialist Jungle Instructors, who came with a wealth of knowledge and operational experience. In the first week we were put through our
paces, with the mandatory fitness and swimming tests, which were gruelling in the heat and humidity. In the same week we were taught the history and ethos of the Legion, also shown the kit and equipment we would be using in the jungle; mainly a lot of time was spent learning the FAMAS and other weapons of
the Legion. This came
together on a day on
the ranges, where we
used the whole range
of Foreign Legion
weapons.
construction to prepare us for the survival phase, all the time we were made to run about and adopt a number of interesting gym positions. The whole time we were surviving on a few hours sleep every few days. During the first week I had taken a bad landing off a 12ft wall and unknown to
myself I had fractured my back in two places. This got worse as I continued on the course and was not helped by the Legions attitude to med plans. Eventually it became too bad, I was pulled off the course leaving a very fatigued group behind. I headed
back to the hospital for scans and some strong pain killers and eventually returned to the Germany via the UK, for a warm welcome in the Mess who were more than supportive, albeit with some helpful banter.
As the week
continued so did the
level of beasting we
received until the end
of the first week. After the first week we packed our kit and headed into the jungle; this was done in the Legion’s way which was a sleep deprivation exercise to pack kit and move blocks all night long. Once in the Jungle we were taught to live and operate; this involved fire making and shelter
As the week continued so did the level of beasting we received until the end of the first week.
The Training Camp
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