Guns For Hire: French Foreign Legion

Fighting for a new identity:

The French Foreign Legion, a mercenary force with a long history, is made up of non-French citizens who join under a false name and whose past criminal records are often overlooked. After five years of duty the Legionnaires are given a new French passport with the name of their choosing.

The age old profession of hired guns is experienceing a rebirth not seen since the rise of the nation state over three hundred years ago. With up to forty thousand private soldiers assisting in the occupations of Afghanistan and Iraq the business of hired guns has become a hundred-billion dollar industry. This project looks at the many forms of hired guns from the institutionalized forms to more fringe elements.