One more reason to love Spain is that it has a Foreign Legion, known as Tercio de Extranjeros or Bridegrooms of Death.
The unit was started in the 1920s to help Spain in its African campaigns. It was modeled after the infamous French Foreign Legion.
In post-Franco Spain the Legion has deployed to Afghanistan, Yogoslavia, Iraq, and participated in UNIFIL’s Operation Libre Hidalgo.
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One more reason to love Spain is that it has a Foreign Legion, known as Tercio de Extranjeros or Bridegrooms of Death.
The unit was started in the 1920s to help Spain in its African campaigns. It was modeled after the infamous French Foreign Legion.
In post-Franco Spain the Legion has deployed to Afghanistan, Yogoslavia, Iraq, and participated in UNIFIL’s Operation Libre Hidalgo.
Today the Bridegrooms of Death largely support UN peacekeeping missions.
Can you join the Spanish Foreign Legion? Yes, foreigners can join but you need to possess a Spanish visa or citizen in good legal standing. Be 18 years of age or not 29 and pass a physical, medical, and psychological examination.
Below you can watch a very cool old video of Franco’s Foreign Legion. These guys look legit.
The Bridegrooms of Death use a variety of weapons, among them the most prominent are:
The Spanish Foreign Legion has its own special operation unit called La Bandera de operaciones especiales de la legión (BOEL) which translates to Legion Special Operations Battalion.
Unit members are volunteers from within the Legion. They receive training in maritime Warfare, diving, Arctic and mountain Warfare, sabotage and demolitions, parachute operations, Close-Quarter Combat, insertion and extraction methods. They also undergo an equivalent of SERE (Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape) school. I must say, it sounds pretty badass to be part of this unit.
Most of the Legion’s specialized training takes place at Ft. Bragg in the United States. Interestingly enough, it seems for a short period of time their SOF unit reported to US Special Operations Command but now reports to Spain.
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¡Viva la muerte! or for you Gringos…”Long live death!”
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