A French Soldier's View of US Soldiers in Afghanistan

[Hmac]

Very interesting article. Very gratifying that they were impressed.

http://www.warriorlodge.com/blogs/news/ ... fghanistan

What follows is an account from a French ISAF soldier that was stationed with American Warfighters in Afghanistan sometime in the past 4 years. This was copied and translated from an editorial French newspaper.

A NOS FRERES D’ARMES AMERICAINS

"We have shared our daily life with two US units for quite a while - they are the first and fourth companies of a prestigious infantry battalion whose name I will withhold for the sake of military secrecy. To the common man it is a unit just like any other. But we live with them and got to know them, and we henceforth know that we have the honor to live with one of the most renowned units of the US Army - one that the movies brought to the public as series showing "ordinary soldiers thrust into extraordinary events". Who are they, those soldiers from abroad, how is their daily life, and what support do they bring to the men of our OMLT every day? Few of them belong to the Easy Company, the one the TV series focuses on. This one nowadays is named Echo Company, and it has become the support company............

[Rip Van Winkle]

I'll sleep better tonight knowing the Frogs are impressed with our Airborne units.

On a more serious note, It was a very good article.

Thanks for posting.

[2in2out]

Nice article.

[Randygmn]

What they fail to mention is that the Frenchmen were making their observations in a rear view mirror. Harder to get perspective that way

[wasfuzz]

Cheese eating surrender monkey's.

[Spartan]

I'd think it was a compliment but the last elite Frankish troops were commanded by Napoleon, rode horses in battle and used muskets, lances and sabers.

[45Badger]

I'd think it was a compliment but the last elite Frankish troops were commanded by Napoleon, rode horses in battle and used muskets, lances and sabers.

You're off by about a hundred years. They hung in pretty (very) well in First World War. Their combination of courage and obstinate/stubborn leadership literally lost a generation of young men.

The war was almost exclusively fought on French soil and the French civilian population was regularly bombed, shelled, shot, commandeered and displaced. Makes their reticence and lack of appetite for war in 1940 understandable. As far as their lack of support for our foray into Iran, they are either feckless allies or pretty wise. I suspect that history will not be kind to our view of that adventure.

Nice article. Our soldiers continue to be the best in the world.

[Spartan]

Sorry, I m not actually wrong ... the French leadership you speak of were fools .. the soldiers were forced over the top at gun point ... racing to their death from Gerry's machine guns ... I didn't say they were cowards I said they were not good soldiers ... which is true ... poorly trained compared to empire troops and Germans... the war was in France ... why ? The german plan, co called schliffen plan was not a huge secret ... again poor leadership, poor training , poorer weapons. The average French solider was the poorest, trained, equipped and led on the western front 1914-1919.
Now in the La Grande Army....C 1810-1815 the French were the best trained and equipped with the best leadership in Europe. Defeated only by Russian winter and a weird coalition on the plains of Waterloo by Wellington and Von Blucher. Post Marshal Murat, French leaders are idiots ..

[Ironbear]

In humorous serendipity, I am reading a book where the French Foreign Legion was referred to as, "that famous regiment of victorious failures and successful suicides".