04/12/2026
𝐅𝐑𝐎𝐌 𝐒𝐏𝐀𝐍𝐈𝐒𝐇 𝐋𝐄𝐆𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐍𝐀𝐈𝐑𝐄 𝐓𝐎 𝐃𝐄𝐏𝐔𝐓𝐘 𝐒𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐅𝐅
C.L. Eduardo Escarrá, a legionnaire who arrived in in 2008, has, over the years, become a Deputy Sheriff in the Charlotte district ( ), always keeping the name of the Legion held high in the United States.
My name is Eduardo Escarrá, and although I was born in Cuba 🇨🇺, I arrived in Spain with my family when I was still a child.
My great-grandparents were a mix of Catalans and Canary Islanders.
I grew up in Barcelona, where my parents raised me with discipline, effort, and humility.
From a young age, I felt a special attraction to military life; I would dress in camouflage and march around the house.
In 2008, at the age of 20, I enlisted at the Bruch barracks in Barcelona with a firm idea: I wanted to become a legionnaire gentleman.
Many advised against it due to its harshness and distance, but that was precisely what attracted me.
I knew that in the Legion, indomitable spirits are forged—that brotherhood of honorable men I had read so much about.
Training in Cáceres took place in the midst of the harsh Extremaduran winter.
We learned to “be a number,” to receive orders and carry them out without incident, to control our emotions, and not to give up every time doors were closed on us.
Only one hundred and eighty of us swore allegiance to the flag out of nearly three hundred who started.
I was chosen as number one in my section by my comrades—an honor I understood as an obligation toward them.
My destination led me across the Alborán Sea toward Africa, to the city of Melilla, where I joined the Tercio Gran Capitán 1st of the Legion, among the so-called “magnificent seven,” my comrades whom I still call brothers.
There, the real test began: the UIL (Unidad de Instrucción Legión), weeks so demanding that the four months in Cáceres seemed like a vacation.
It was a stage of great physical, mental, and moral demand, where we learned the history of the Legion, its spirits, its deeds, its essence, close-order drill, and more.
FROM MELILLA TO CHARLOTTE, THE LEGIONARY SPIRIT KNOWS NO BORDERS
I had the fortune of serving under great commanders. It would take pages to name them all, but I especially remember Corporal First Class Santín, who led my UIL and was also my platoon leader, from whom I learned more than words can express; then-Captain Delgado, commander of our 2nd Company (La Pulgosa); and then-Lieutenant Colonel Salom (commander of our glorious 1st Flag).
From them I learned the perfect balance between toughness and the paternal care with which a legionnaire is forged.
I was part of the sapper squad, where I had the honor of marching on “La Castellana” (Madrid, Spain 🇪🇸) in front of His Majesty King Juan Carlos I.
Wearing the open green shirt and carrying the Chapiri tilted to the side, with the pride and swagger that only a legionnaire understands, was—and still is—one of the greatest honors of my life.
A short experience, but intense and full of memories and friendships for a lifetime.
Years later, life took me to the United States 🇺🇸.
At the age of 36, with a family already formed, after a demanding selection process, I had the opportunity to join a historic American law enforcement agency: The Sheriff’s Office.
The values I learned in the “Tercio” stayed with me throughout the selection process and during the police academy, where I was elected class president—something that allowed me to support my fellow recruits in a demanding experience, both academically and physically.
After a solemn graduation ceremony in March 2025, I had the honor of becoming a Deputy in the Sheriff’s Office, an institution that in many ways reminded me of the spirit of service, sacrifice, and honor of the Spanish Guardia Civil, as it retains military ranks, we wear green, and we have similar responsibilities, while respecting the differences and particularities of each country.
Today, I serve in District 2 of Charlotte County, patrolling with the same pride and commitment I once felt in Africa.
On patrol, I always carry my Chapiri with me, as a constant reminder of who I am and where I come from.
Source: Revista La Legión
