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Nov. 10, 2004 With the current intense battle for Fallujah in Iraq, as well as the security concerns there; as well as the ongoing situation in Afghanistan and the rest of the World-Wide war on terror, the time has come to ponder an American Foreign Legion. Our country seems to have three clear choices: 1. Abandon Iraq and Afghanistan (unacceptable for many reasons), 2. institute a draft to increase the size of a military that is currently stretched too thin, or 3. form a foreign legion, made up of volunteers from other countries, with American Non-Commissioned Officers (NCOs) and Officers. Volunteers would be sought from any nation (save those considered a terrorist state), but no one country should contribute more than 15% of the total (to keep legionnaires from sedition, espionage, insurrection, mutiny, or revolt). Well- qualified American NCOs should staff the beginning Legion, to be replaced by legionnaires promoted from the ranks, as available. Legion units will always be commanded by American officers. Recruitment will be effected by good pay (by third-world standards), room & board, uniforms, espirit de corps, U.S. citizenship upon completion of a satisfactory first five-year enlistment, and retirement at the end of twenty- five years. Volunteers will have their backgrounds checked as thoroughly as is possible, of course. Recruiting from many nation will also help with the current shortage of translators and linguists. The American Foreign Legion will be approximately 100,000 in number (excluding officers) and will consist of ten regiments. The Legion will most often be used in peacekeeping, low-intensity, third-world civil unrest and UN-type missions, freeing up U.S. conventional and special forces units for tasks more suited to their strengths. Legion units will be lightly armored, with wheeled armored personnel carriers and tanks. The Legion will carry a carbine version of the M-16, the squad automatic weapon as a machine gun, and be assigned light mortars, man-portable anti-tank and surface-to-air missiles. The Legion will have no organic air or naval assets, but will receive assistance from other U.S. forces in the area, as needed. The American Foreign Legion would solve or help alleviate many problems the U.S. military is having today (i.e., keeping Guardsman and Reservists on extended active duty, active personnel rotation to hostile areas, morale, cost issues, etc.) The Legion would be a cost- effective solution to many of today's defense problems, without the political problems of reinstating the draft. ------------ About the author: Fred Paxson is a recent Phd. graduate. He is a Mortgage Broker in Biloxi, Mississippi, and was an Intelligence Analyst with the US Army from 1978-83. His website is: http://www.millenniummortgagemississippi.lenderhost.com Email: sandbear1960@yahoo.com Tell a friend about this site! ------------ |
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