Another year has passed away, holidays are coming. For our website, the first five-year contract has been proudly finished this September. And a new contract to serve the Legion during the next period was already signed. See the results and future plans.

What has been already done?

In August 2012, the Foreign Legion Info website started as an online project offering a well-ordered list with links to interesting and useful Foreign Legion web pages, official or unofficial. Its initial aim was to replace a similiar website with a database of such Legion links, created back in the 1990’s and being heavily outdated at that time (James’ website).

As a bonus to the links’ list, the new website was transformed into a blog in September, to post videoclips from YT, related to the Legion (plenty of fresh videoclips were uploaded to YT on a regular basis back then). Nevertheless, the initial aim changed. The works on the website have continued in presenting as much information about the Legion as possible. In 2013, the current structure was roughly established.

Since then, the website has been constantly updated and extended.

In 2016, two important events took place. First, a Facebook page was launched. Since its beginning, the FB page has become an independent part of this website, with its own content. Second, the Foreign Legion ended publishing information about its current overseas operations and deployments. The French Army made a decision to not present such sensitive info and the Foreign Legion, as an integral part of the French Army, had to follow the order.

It was a chance that, at the same time when the info about deployments was banned, there had been a new activity already established. Historical events related to the Foreign Legion were being collected and published on FB on daily basis.

So, in 2017, in the fifth year of its existence, the Foreign Legion Info website started to transform itself. Initially planned for Facebook only, the historical events changed a lot of things. They moved to the original website and created an important part of the updated content there. Currently, the events wait for their own well-ordered structure in a single place. But the twenty-two-month week-by-week research focusing on information in books, magazines and other sources (to get the important data about the Legion’s historical figures, units or operations) has been an awesome journey through the whole history of the Foreign Legion. And one has to understand well that institution to love it.

How the website’s transformation will end? Nobody knows yet. The website will be more oriented on the history of the Legion, however.

What should be done?

What are the plans for 2018? What should be done?

Historical events. As stated, they need a well-ordered structure within a single page.

Indochina units. Even if several of them were published this year, there are still many other Indochina units’ pages postponed from 2017 to 2018.

Parachute regiments’ pages. The First and Second REPs are very popular and their history pages should be reworked. They were created in early years of this website. Due to the historical events’ researches, many interesting documents were bought. They should be used to refresh both pages properly.

1961 Putsch’s page. Promised to Joe (Voltigeur) already in 2016, the page would be finally created.

Uniforms’ page updating. Uniforms’ page was created in 2013. In 2013-15, the new combat uniforms were distributed to French soldiers, including legionnaires. However, it’s temporary and they would be replaced by a new one in 2018. Once done, the page will be updated.

As always, there are several additional plans to be implemented yet…

What should be said?

Designs in our Shop. There are some “copycats” stealing the designs and selling them on eBay and other marketplaces on t-shirts, hoodies etc. Please, don’t support them and buy only products within the Foreign Legion Info’s Shop. It’s not for becoming rich. It’s for supporting this website. Thank you. The original shop on Redbubble will be closed next week.

That’s all. Hope you will appreciate the website’s changing mission and will find the information always useful and helpful. It’s nice to see you are still enjoying it.

Wish you courage, hope and faith to overcome all of the hurdles you may face in the coming year. Happy holidays to all of you. Legio Patria Nostra!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 2018.

Joyeux Noël et Bonne Année 2018.