Inside the French Foreign Legion commando course that puts US troops to the test in the African desert

• A few times a year, select US troops get to attend a very special course in the deserts of Africa.
• The French Desert Commando Course usually hosts French troops training to fight Islamist extremists.

Several times every year, a few select US troops get to attend a very special course in the deserts of Africa.

Run by the elite French Foreign Legion, the French Desert Commando Course usually hosts French soldiers and commandos who are going to fight Islamist extremists in the Sahel.

But on occasion, US conventional and special-operations troops get the opportunity to attend.

Qualifying for the commando course

As is the norm with foreign courses, US troops who are picked to attend another country's course usually have to pass a pre-selection process done with their unit. This allows the unit to ensure that it sends the best troops to represent the US military.

Usually, US troops assigned to the Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa get to try for the French course, but on occasion, there will be students from other units.

"Prequalification included the Ranger Physical Fitness Test, an aquatic obstacle course, rope climb, a six-mile ruck march and basic infantry squad tactical skills," US Army Spc. Caylen De Los Reyes, a National Guardsman assigned to the 86th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, said after completing the course in mid-2021.

Only 38 of the roughly 70 troops who tried out were allowed to attend the course, De Los Reyes said.

Those tests were not all they faced. Those who pass the pre-course selection process have to complete an additional assessment in the form of a 5 mile run and water obstacle test. Those who make it are then allowed to start the actual commando course.

The French Desert Commando Course

The French Desert Commando Course takes place at the French Army's combat training center at Arta Beach in Djibouti, near Camp Lemonnier, the only permanent US military base in Africa.

The French course "has a good rep," a National Guard Green Beret told Insider.

"I haven't had the opportunity to attend it personally, but I've heard good things from folks who have been there. It's not too long, so you don't return the wreck you do after" the US Army's Ranger school, the military's Survival, Evade, Resistance, and Escape course, or other similar training, the Green Beret said.

"My understanding is that it is a combination of training and testing. Once you go there, you're pretty much going to graduate if you don't mess up, and you have the opportunity to learn some very valuable stuff," added the Green Beret, who was granted anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press.

The French Desert Commando Course lasts for almost two weeks, during which students have to complete a series of tasks, including an aquatic obstacle course, a night obstacle course, a mountain confidence course, and a knot test.

Students also participate in squad-, platoon-, and company-level training drills and they get to learn combatives, desert combat, desert survival, and desert navigation.

"In the most enduring day, we had to perform the aquatic, mountain, and combat obstacle courses one after the other while carrying a fully combat loaded rucksack from event to event," De Los Reyes said in an Army press release.

"I think what sets apart the French course from the stuff we teach is the length and scope of teaching. Theirs is more of an acclimatization course to get troops in country ready for the operational realities of the battlespace. It's a cherry-on-the-top kind of course that refines the students' skill sets," the National Guard Green Beret said.

"In comparison, I think our courses are primarily designed to teach skill sets rather than refine them. I'm not saying that the French don't do that too, but perhaps this course doesn't," the Green Beret added.

Upon graduation, US students earn the French Desert Commando Course qualification badge.

The French Foreign Legion

US forces began operating at Camp Lemonnier in 2002. The base was established by the French Foreign Legion, which is regarded as one the most interesting military units in the world, with a reputation for bravery and toughness.

Created in 1831, the French Foreign Legion has evolved is now one of the most effective units in the French military and always getting picked for no-notice deployments in hot spots around the world.

"The French are good, and their Foreign Legion is top-notch. Every time I've worked with them, I've always been impressed by their resourcefulness and 'make-do' attitude. I think it has to do with their rich cultural heritage and identity," the Green Beret told Insider.

Exchanges like those that send US troops to the Desert Command Course support the "personal diplomacy" through which US troops get the chance to impress their foreign counterparts with their physical, mental, and technical capabilities.

Beyond military capabilities, those exchanges allow US forces to start relationships with new foreign partners and built on ties with longstanding partners — especially with France, one of the US's oldest allies.

"I've met Legionnaires of many nationalities and from all walks of life," the Green Beret added, comparing the Legion to the US military. "We are a nation of immigrants, and first-generation Americans serve with distinction every day. Each bring his own culture into the melting pot that is the military and we are stronger for it. The French Foreign Legion is the same in a lot of ways. You see that diversity in how the Legionnaires train and operate."

Stavros Atlamazoglou is a defense journalist specializing in special operations, a Hellenic Army veteran (national service with the 575th Marine Battalion and Army HQ), and a Johns Hopkins University graduate.