Origins of Caesar\'s 10th legion

[Paullus Scipio]

I don't think 'normal' counted in wartime, certainly not in the late Republic/Civil War era, or earlier for that matter ....consider the Cannae Legions of 218 BC, sent in disgrace to fight in Sicily and ultimately accompany Scipio at Zama in 202 BC....at least 16 years continuous service, and similar lengths of time for legions who accompanied Scipio to Spain and 'volunteered' for the African expedition....indeed it is the increasingly lengthy periods of service throught the second and first centuries that turn Roman peasants, mobilised for a campaign and discharged, into an increasingly professional Army, in turn leading to massive social change in Italy.....