Extracted from an Ares Arms internal note on military units present in Caracas as of early 2073
The 1er régiment étranger de cavalerie (1er REC), stationed in Orange, is a light tank regiment of the French Army, part of the 6e brigade légère blindée. The regiment numbers around 900 personnel, divided into five squadrons: one command and logistics squadron, three combat squadrons and one reconnaissance squadron. Current commander is Colonel Thomas de Launay.
Within the French armed forces, Foreign Legion and Marine regiment are first-wave units. Their job is to fight with limited support and establish outposts. The 1er REC is a spearheading force.
The three combat squadrons each have 10 Lansquenet wheeled light tanks, the French version of the Landsknecht produced by Saeder-Krupp’s subsidiary GIAT Industries. The 2 nd and 3 rd squadrons have been modernized to D2 standard, whose main feature is ruthenium polymer coating. The 1 st squadron should receive those in the coming years. The Lansquenet weight of 15 tons allows air transport. The 4th recon squadron Panhard Daguet 4x4 all-terrain armored vehicles also integrate ruthenium polymer technology. The squadron also relies on Lockheed Optic-X aerial drones. The command and logistics squadron can deploy 4 Esprit Commandant mobile command center vehicles. The 1er REC currently has 9 magicians on duty, assigned to the command and logistics squadron. Standard operating procedures require 3 magicians to provide astral and magical cover to each squadron.
> Tanks will be even more useless in the scenario that keeps the French generals awake at night: the day Amazonia will decide it wants French Guiana too.
As a regiment of the Foreign Legion, the 1er REC enlisted personnel and non-commissioned officers are legionnaires. A tenth of the officers are promoted from NCO ranks. The rest of the officers are French.
Though only foreign nationals can enlist as legionnaires in theory, the tradition makes it possible for French citizens as long as they claim to be and register as foreign nationals (usually from Quebec or Switzerland). About 21% of legionnaires are actually French. Within the 1er REC, the rate reaches 34%. The legionnaires’ origins mirror past and ongoing international events. Polish and Amazonian recruits are still the most numerous.
> It's really diverse. You can also count on Colombian, Venezuelan, Californian, Ute, Tsimshian, whatever from Africa, the Chinese states and the Balkans, and even some Cross Applied Technologies employees (yeah, Fuchi used to be common too, a few years ago).
> Legionnaires get a special class SIN, which can be turned into a regular French SIN at the end of their contract. The database is small, so it's next to impossible to forge one without being noticed. On the other hand, the Legion does not share it with anyone except the French authorities and Esprit Industries, so who can tell if it's not a real one ?
Foreign Legion recruitment differs from private military contractors like MET2000 as it does not seek previous military experience. The high physical requirement results in a high number of dwarfs and orks within the ranks. Though the law does not explicitly prevent them from joining, female orks and trolls that could pass always have been driven out of the selection so far.
> They raise the bar for augmented people, though just slightly enough to still make it an asset. A lot of hopeful candidates spend their last money in some ware that can help them. However, be warned that the selection and training are known to make low quality ware break horribly. And that they really don't like pain editors.
For officers of the French Army, a Foreign Legion regiment is a prestigious assignment. Moreover in 1er REC case, officers of aristocratic descent traditionally choose cavalry as their specialty. General Antoine d'Orléans, former president of the French Republic, served in the Foreign Legion as an infantry officer. He is also a descendant of King Louis-Philippe, who founded the Legion in 1831, and his great grandfather Henri d'Orléans enlisted in the Legion during WW2, because the exile law (repelled since) forbade him from serving in the French armed forces. Antoine d'Orléans’ former second in command and former chief of staff general Alexandre de Rochefort did serve in the 1er REC as a cavalry officer. The accusation against both men regarding the leading role they played in the conspiracy to overthrow the fifth republic and get Antoine d'Orléans elected president had little effect on their popularity within the armed forces, and especially in the 1er REC. French security services do believe the 1er REC officers could play a key role in case of a military coup d'état, even if such an attempt is deemed unlikely. We suspect one of the reason colonel de Launay was given the command of the French forces in Caracas was to seclude him.
> So far, the government only sacked the officers of aristocratic descent who were the most compromised. Going further would be difficult without beheading the armed forces.
> A lot of those officers found shelter and employ with Esprit Industries, where retired general Alexandre de Rochefort enjoys corporate immunity as a member of the board.