THE LEGIONNAIRE WHO WON’T TRIM HIS BEARD

News

Michael Coy / 2009-11-29 14:45:46

No need for an identity card then!

Sub-lieutenant Remon is a legend in his own lifetime. A veteran of the Spanish Foreign Legion, he famous for his tattoos and his luxuriant facial hair.

Not many of us know about the Spanish Foreign Legion. Formed by General Franco in the 1920’s, this elite corps of light infantry forms the spearhead of Spain’s armed forces. Like many crack outfits around the world, the Legion is accorded certain perks and privileges. One is that the “squaddies” are allowed to wear their tunics unbuttoned, showing off their manly chests.

Tattoos are also permitted. Most interesting, perhaps, is the Legion’s traditional right to grow facial hair. Soldiers are free to develop a “full set”, beard and moustache, and quite a few legionnaires have taken this liberty to extremes, with eccentric growths of inordinate length.

But now the Spanish army is trying to crack down. Lieutenant-General Virgilio Sañudo, chief of Spain’s land forces, has issued a direct order requiring all soldiers to conform to general standards – buttoned tunics, absence of facial hair and so forth. When the Lieutenant-General paid a recent visit to the Legion’s base in Almeria, some of the men put on a “demonstration”, sporting their luxurious beards with pride.

The best-known of the Legion’s “rebels” is Sub-Lieutenant Remon, a somewhat eccentric character who has seen front-line service in most of the world’s trouble spots during his 30 years in the elite corps. Very much an individual, Remon sports a tattoo of Popeye on one forearm, and is the curator of the Legion’s regimental museum.

He has now become the focus of a national controversy, because the army is introducing TIM, a nationwide military ID system, which requires all soldiers to carry a photo card. Sub-Lieutenant Remon has been told to get his beard cut in time for his official photograph. And he is saying “no”.

A compromise may be just around the corner. Remon says he is prepared to retouch his photograph, using “Photoshop”, an electronic tool for altering digital images. The army seems disposed to accept his offer. Which rather makes a mockery of having identity cards bearing images, doesn’t it?