Verified answer

The French Foreign Legion is not a training ground for people who want to get good training and then go home to use that training. If you state that's what you want they will refuse you. There's a lot of money and effort put in the training, the Foreign Legion wants it for its own use.Marines, despite the hype in Hollywood, are just 'regular' army, the Foreign Legion is more into elite shock troupes/commandos. There's only 8,000 legionnaires.

If you get recruited, you are in a military unit. You can communicate with your family, you can even go home after the first year for visits.

You can find all that information on their website. Including the fact that their recruiting office is in France and going there by your own means is your first exam. Are you dedicated enough to bother doing the trip.

http://www.legion-recrute.com/en/

Being a Marine will certainly help as you have already received physical training and some training in communication, technicians are always needed. But you have also to go through a psy exam to make sure that you have what it gets and you're not a psychopath.

The French Foreign Legion does not have reservists, if you make it through the recruitment process - and only 1 in 8 do - you will be contracted to the Legion for 5 years. You are certainly allowed to remain in contact with family by mail and, once you've undergone “military regularization of situation” can go abroad on leave.

Have a look at the Legion's recruitment web pages, but be aware that you can only enlist in France, so you'll need a valid passport and possibly a return airfare - just in case you don't make it into the Legion.

They do recruit from many countries. For good information try:

http//www.legion-recruite.com/en

http://french-foreign-legion.com/