Saturday, July 25, 2009

The Foreign Legion's Epic Fail!

Unlike other units of the French Military, I have great respect for the Foreign Legion. Despite being commanded by French officers, the bulk of it's force is comprised of a bunch of lads stronger, more intelligent and more courageous then any other French soldier because they're all from countries other than France.

So it came as quite a surprise to me to hear that troops from the 1st Foreign Legion regiment almost destroyed the French city of Marseille in a training exercise!!!

Apparently, in violation of standing orders, they began training with tracer rounds. These projectiles contain pyrotechnical material such as phosphorous or magnesium and appear to light up when fired. They are used in very restrictive conditions outside combat as they have an obvious side effect of igniting wood or debris upon impact. And that's exactly what happened here in Carpiagne triggering a huge wildfire that ripped through 2,718 acres of brush and damaged homes in the suburbs of Marseille. The fire was the worst to hit southern France in three years.

No one was killed but one fireman suffered burns and four rescuers were treated for smoke inhalation. At dawn, firefighters said the blaze was under control, but this did little to calm the anger of local officials. Local prefect Michel Sappin, the French government's senior regional official and police chief, criticized the "imbecilic" actions of the military. Marseille's mayor and senator Jean-Claude Gaudin demanded that the military help out with the clean-up operation. "We did the best we can but, when you're faced with this kind of incredible stupidity, you need to say so with a certain force," he added. Thick black smoke swirled around the area, as nearly 500 firefighters — backed up by water dropping planes - tackled the blaze.

Source: Fox News

1 comment:

Civilian Overseer said...

Well if Marseille's Mayor wants the French military to help clean up this mess he should just demand their surrender.