Schism as a working hypothesis?

What I learn from my illustrious elders, these old legionnaires, discreet and modest in light of their military experience, is the need they feel for what they call "prioritizing the Brotherhood." This intimate and vital need to give meaning to what they have experienced and to what we are experiencing. Especially when we are confronted, and this is increasingly the case in our contemporary world, with absurd and difficult-to-accept situations.
Of course, we can continue to exist by trivializing these situations. These illustrious predecessors explain, to anyone who knows and wants to listen, that we cannot watch people die and risk their own lives, telling ourselves that it makes no sense. Something positive must come of their experience.
Thus, to live fully is to give meaning to what we experience!
The astonishing thing about this point of view is that we, legionnaires, are always seeking, despite all the vicissitudes, in the valorization of our fraternity, the profound meaning of the message left by our elders.

No hypocrisy, no doubt, the legionnaire fights well for France, but no idea lasts long in the face of the experience of war. All testimonies agree that the legionnaire only does his job, honestly, with loyalty and professional conscience. These professional soldiers, because they know what they owe to themselves, hold fast to a kind of intertwining that makes them united with close comrades but also with those who, through the ages, share a common past, similar to their own. Thus, we are as far from the overly enthusiastic soldier as we are from the bad soldier.
This foreigner in the service of France, who has sometimes exchanged his home for a hovel, his family for comrades, has chosen to carve out his life in simplicity, in the harshness of a sober life, a life of servitude and rigor, in the service of a greatness beyond himself; he He measures his feelings in light of daily events and finds his balance in the very imbalance linked to the problems and situations he must confront, both in the barracks and on operations.
Experienced in this way, the experience leaves simple, but not simplistic, memories effectively buried deep within individual memories, yet ready to spring forth at the slightest warning.
The love of life, the pride of not having given in during trials, the feeling of not having abandoned his comrades and of having been able to count on them, reinforce in him the image of the soldier, the legionnaire who wages war as a simple profession, in the noble sense, as a selfless priesthood. This image is less dark than some pacifists present it. It just needs to be true....

Brotherhood and solidarity, the pride of belonging to a good community, find their echo within our associations, which must allow, even ensure, a generational social mix and affirm the bond army-nation—so stretched at times—the pride of having served, of being what we are.
That these be grouped into a federation is a fundamental need that responds to the necessary coherence of such a whole, which is, by construction, scattered across the globe. The idea, then the union of our associations into a Federation, are not recent. It was during his active retirement that General Rollet ardently desired this, in a France in the midst of an economic crisis since 1929. At the end of his life, the "First Legionnaire of France" was concerned with uniting former legionnaires to allow them to exist in the eyes of the French people, and to have the right to be heard, a voice in voting on the direction of the destiny of their adopted country.
A dual action, administrative and legislative, was necessary to remedy an unacceptable situation. Only the weight of a federation could tip the balance in favor of the justice owed to former legionnaires.
Indeed, in addition to the material difficulties encountered by the new former legionnaires, about a hundred of whom arrived at the port of Marseille every month, having returned to civilian life, were moral difficulties. The significant number of rebuffs the veterans received testified to France's indifference and ingratitude, which were very difficult to bear, especially when the price to be paid was compounded by a war wound, an amputation, etc.
Many difficulties and obstacles presented themselves to them on a path strewn with pitfalls they barely understood, and as a result, a feeling of injustice increasingly emerged, fueling the discontent of these servants of France.

Unemployment proved to be the major difficulty encountered by them, who were completely ignorant of the formalities to be completed. Having risked their lives for a country that seemed to reject them and finding themselves unemployed before even having started working, worse, finding themselves even working without papers added to the discontent and incomprehension.
Only the strength created by unity has allowed for a considerable improvement in the situation of these veterans. What about today?

The F.S.A.L.E., heir to the union of social and family movements of the 1930s, continues its unifying work for the benefit of former legionnaires. For its action to be effective, it requires, and this is a sine qua non condition, the total, loyal, and almost unconditional support of all the associations and their leaders. Let us imagine that a lack of loyalty – a cardinal virtue of the Legion, if ever there was one, inscribed on its flags – would emerge among certain leaders of associations who do not understand the point of being grouped, federated, and who would put the particular interests of these hypothetical associations – since we are presenting hypotheses for reflection – before any other consideration, in order to, in unsupported legionary language: “show off”. This “gang leader” spirit, so little appreciated in our ranks, would absolutely not be acceptable. A schism? But we are not Pope and Avignon has already given. A “war of secession” under the seven-flame grenade? Who could even imagine it? No, we refuse to imagine it even as a working hypothesis. The Federation, this force which is the sole official representative of all former legionaries, animates our real struggles. Thus, that of making this foreigner French “not by the blood received, but by the blood shed”. There are many ongoing actions to be taken. Let us remain faithful to the legacy of our ancestors. Let us continue to combine our strengths, our efforts, and our wills toward shared successes recognized by all. Together, let us push our Sisyphean rock in a constantly renewed effort. Let us not fight the wrong battle, for nothing would justify, among all of us, raised to be faithful to the spirit of "Camerone," a schism or the isolation of a Legionnaire's association.

"...to make a true Legionnaire, it's not enough to have a drink..."

Retired Commander Christian Morisot