Alex Rowe (soldier)

Alex Rowe
Born(1966-11-11)11 November 1966
AllegianceFrance
Service / branchFrench Foreign Legion
Years of service1987 - 2010
RankChief Adjutant
Battles / warsChad,
Bosnia,
Kosovo,
Ivory Coast,
Afghanistan
AwardsFive citations for bravery, including the Chevalier of the Légion d'honneur
RelationsTwin brother Mark, Captain in the Royal Engineers

Chief Adjutant (French:Adjudant-Chef) Alex Rowe (born 11 November 1966 in Newcastle upon Tyne) is a British member of the French Foreign Legion, one of the most decorated members of the Legion and the first British legionnaire to be invested into the Légion d'honneur, France's highest order of merit. Born and raised in England, he was unable to join the British Army at age 17 on medical grounds, and instead elected to join the Foreign Legion at age 20. After 23 years service, Rowe reached the second highest level of rank among the corps of non-commissioned officers in the French Army, and had been awarded five citations for acts of bravery in operational theatres around the world, culminating in 2009 with the Légion d'honneur for a second tour of Afghanistan.