Lee Gibbs

Age: 20

Occupation: Fabricator of uPVC windows

What made you join the Legion?
My girlfriend put in the initial application and I thought it would be a laugh. I was wrong.

What was good about the experience?
Meeting new people and seeing what they were like. Everybody was totally different and I felt incredibly normal, like I was the only normal one.

What was bad about the experience?
The lack of food and water. I felt that we weren’t given enough.

What did you learn from the experience?
How to deal with a lot of arrogant people, especially the sergeant. I don’t think anyone is above anyone else and that’s how he treated us.

Why did you leave?
I took a very bad dislike to the sergeant. I can take orders, but get really angry if I feel I'm being mistreated. I thought I was going to fall out with the sergeant and square up to him – it felt better to leave.

Any regrets?
None – the experience did me a lot of good.

What would you do differently?
I’d do whatever the sergeant told me to do – I’d swallow my pride and just get on with it.

What do you think of the Legion's approach to team-building?
It was good. They need to break people down in order to build them up. But some of the stuff felt unnecessary, like making us march with a massive rock in our backpack.

Any advice for anyone thinking of joining the Legion?
If you’re a normal person and not forced to join, don’t do it! If you’ve got a loopy side, then go for it.

Did you get a sense of achievement from taking part and has it lasted?
Dunno – don’t feel I achieved much.

Loic Le Gaillard >