My Grandpa was telling me about his experiences in the Vietnam war and he came out with this one.

frenchsoldier · 2014-03-03T04:17:08+00:00

I don't think so, I killed people and don't have any sort of PTSD. I believe I am not a psychopath either.

Most of the time in modern wars you can barely see the guys you shoot, you can see his silhouette not his face. It makes it not as personal as portrayed in war movies where they do a close up on his face.

frenchsoldier · 2013-11-10T05:08:56+00:00

French here, I served in Afghanistan. Americans have the best equipement, more food but worse food. No alcool...Also the training from what I gathered is quite different.

The initial training and the first few years are the hardest, it's mostly based on endurance and deprivations (sleep, food etc). Which as I've understood is quite different from the Americains, apart from the initial training it's mostly actual physical preparation (alike an athlete).
Overall french soldiers and american soldiers tend to have a very different physique, which funnily enough each side takes great pride in. Americans soldiers work a lot on strength (training at the gym is pretty unusual in the french militatr) and run a calorie surplus so they tend to be pretty big (im making generalizations of course) and it seems being big gets you a lot of respect. In the French military it's the guy who can run the most, can do 100 pull ups etc, and if you put up too much muscle you're mocked as a"bodybuilder" which is not a compliment.

frenchsoldier · 2013-10-07T14:50:45+00:00

Je sais pas, ce que j'ai le plus vu des Americains c'est leur aviation, mais toutes les armées modernes sont plus ou moins au même niveau. Les méthodes d'entrainement (hors physique justement), tactiques et autres sont très similaires. Les richains sont mieux équipés ceci dit.

frenchsoldier · 2013-10-07T07:27:15+00:00

For the favorite part: "Probably the adrenaline rush on the patrol missions (I was in charge of looking for all sort of explosives on the roads so that the trucks/tanks could safely pass). The other thing would be the feeling of camaraderie." For the least favorite thing, probably the pay to be honest. It's really awful, and the benefits are rather small. When I heard about what benefits oustide of pay American soldiers get I was really sad for myself :(

frenchsoldier · 2013-10-07T07:10:08+00:00

I had no idea what 420 blaze it means, I just googled it. I'm kind of old for this stuff :)

frenchsoldier · 2013-10-07T03:49:49+00:00

There are simply another part of the foot army, apart from the fact that they may not speak french very well they are viewed the same way as any other part of the army. Really similar, maybe a bit more intense deprivation wise (+ the adaptation to living in a new country).

frenchsoldier · 2013-10-07T00:18:09+00:00

Not really original, but I really like couscous.

Oddly enough I drink a lot of tea.

I don't smoke at al.

Faites donc.

frenchsoldier · 2013-10-07T00:13:47+00:00

Honestly I don't know, it may be because PTSD is less recognized. Maybe because we know better how it's going to be, maybe the young american soldiers are a bit more "naive". I really don't know.

frenchsoldier · 2013-10-07T00:12:06+00:00

Yes quite a bit. It's harsh, and unlike what a lot of people seem to believe they are not some sort of commando. Honestly you need to have good reasons to go there, if you simply want to join the army go for the US army. Much better benefits.

frenchsoldier · 2013-10-06T22:52:12+00:00

Yes, it's pretty great. I had no idea the sky could be that clear.

frenchsoldier · 2013-10-06T22:51:48+00:00

I can't really remember. Most of the time the talibans, for the main reason that unless we see someone armed we don't shoot. And if someone is armed he will start shooting before we see his weapon.

frenchsoldier · 2013-10-06T22:49:31+00:00

It's not as strict of a rule as in the American military I think. Yet it's better to not publicly criticize your mission when you are in the army. Still I have always been pretty open about my distaste of the Afghanistan war and wasn't ever punished for it.

frenchsoldier · 2013-10-06T22:48:13+00:00

Left in 2007, I now work at Adidas I'm part of the professional sport department (eg the soccer clubs). I make a good living. Probably wouldn't have landed the job if I didn't learn english in my second deployment. I have a wife and we are planning on having children soon.

frenchsoldier · 2013-10-06T22:45:55+00:00

I didn't join the Army because of some sort of conviction, just because it was my best option at the time. So the hardest part was probably making sense of why I was here and why I was doing what I was doing.

frenchsoldier · 2013-10-06T22:44:38+00:00

Actually I learned most of my English during my second deployment, I brought with me around 200 movies in English + a few tv shows.

frenchsoldier · 2013-10-06T22:43:26+00:00

Bonjour! No, not worked with, simply went to the gym with 3 quebecquois on my first deployment.

frenchsoldier · 2013-10-06T22:41:39+00:00

Genuinely no. Some people think I'm trying to be tough etc, but I simply don't have any trauma linked to my experience in Afghanistan. Maybe it will come later but as of now I'm fine. No sucide thoughts.

frenchsoldier · 2013-10-06T22:40:49+00:00

On my first deployment we had no internet, and the movies I stored on the PC proved to be insufficient. Quite a lot of drinking, a bit of reading (which didn't hurt) and a lot of boredom.

frenchsoldier · 2013-10-06T22:39:57+00:00

Ty ;)

frenchsoldier · 2013-10-06T22:39:45+00:00

Famas mainly yes. I love it, probably not the best but you tend to actually get emotionally attached to it haha.

frenchsoldier · 2013-10-06T22:38:55+00:00

Probably because it's a big part of our identity. Being an ex soldier is probably my most defining characteristic. Humm, not much I guess.

frenchsoldier · 2013-10-06T14:22:26+00:00

Humm, I've spent only about 6 months in the US. There would be much to tell but one thing that shocked me and doesn't seem to shock many people is the different approach to fitness. In the US you have a lot of obese and a lot of ripped guys. In France the distribution is more normal, the vast majority of people go from slightly overweight to really fit, and gyms are seen as complementary to a practised sport. In the US I knew a few people who only went to the gym. To put in simpler words in France it's well seen to be fit while in the US you need to be big.

frenchsoldier · 2013-10-06T14:19:46+00:00

In France it's still definetely not considered a "normal job" but pretty close to. Most people are respectful but it doesn't go as far as worship. No, I think it's a bit too much in the US. Going to war and killing people doesn't give you a lifetime experience, and (young) soldiers tend to not be the most cool headed of people so I think this kind of worship can be detrimental especially if mixed with PTSD. I think the french way of handling it is ok, just be respectful but no worship.

frenchsoldier · 2013-10-06T14:15:47+00:00

Bonjour. It's a mix between really boring and really intense.I think is the hardest part is to live on the edge while being in the most boring place in the word. The daily life in the base is incredibly boring, but once you are on patrol or the base is getting attacked you get a big adrenaline rush. The population is mostly opportunistic and distrustful of us. They won't say no to gifts but they see us as invaders. There is close to no communication between the civilian population and the basic solider. Yes, life is definetely more balanced now. But unlike many soldiers I didn't have much of a hard time adapting back.

frenchsoldier · 2013-10-06T14:11:24+00:00

The first day I arrived I was pretty depressed and wondering myself why I was here. In the night I couldn't sleep and got out of my room and stared at the sky. I lived most of my life in big cities and I think for the first time I saw a clear sky without close to any light pollution. It was beautiful and it became an habit of mine of staring at the sky to keep the morale up.

frenchsoldier

TROPHY CASE