Legio Patria Nostra

The French Foreign Legion is an integral part of the recently professionalized French regular army, yet outside of Europe and Asia, the organization remains an obscure and sometimes misunderstood entity with even some American military officers unaware of its existence. Many believed the Legion went the way of French imperialism after the country's defeat in the Algerian War in 1962. In those post-war years, however, the Legion shed its mercenary image through reorganization and real world operations and quietly rebuilt itself into a ready and relevant fighting force. This thesis summarizes the Legion's history, describes its current structure, and characterizes its place in the French military complex. In doing so, it shows that despite a rocky early history, a mercenary reputation, and recent obscurity, the French Foreign Legion has built and maintained a level of readiness and competency that is more than equal to that of other professional military organizations and it remains a vital component of the French military infrastructure.