|
US military to recruit immigrants, offer citizenship
2009-02-15
WASHINGTON (AFP) - The Pentagon will begin recruiting skilled immigrants with temporary status in the United States and offer them an express path to citizenship, The New York Times reported Sunday. Citing military officials, the paper said that under the proposed program, recruits would be able to become US citizens in as little as six months. Permanent residents, or holders of so-called "green cards," have been eligible to enlist in the US military for a long time. But for the first time since the Vietnam War, the military, which is stretched thin due to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, will now open its doors to immigrants with temporary visas if they have lived in the United States for a minimum of two years, the report said. Recruiters expect that temporary immigrants will have more education, foreign language skills and professional expertise than many Americans, helping the military to fill vacancies in medical care, language interpretation and field intelligence analysis, The Times wrote. "The American Army finds itself in a lot of different countries where cultural awareness is critical," Lieutenant General Benjamin Freakley, the top recruitment officer for the army, told the paper. "There will be some very talented folks in this group," he said. The program will be first limited to 1,000 enlistees nationwide in its first year and mostly involve the army, the report said. If the pilot program succeeds, it will expand for all branches of the military and eventually provide as many as 14,000 volunteers a year, or about one in six recruits, The Times noted.
|  |
 US Marines launch large offensive in Afghanistan (2009-12-04) | | 'The Age of Stupid': a wakeup call on climate (2009-09-19) | | Mary Travers of Peter, Paul and Mary dead at 72 (2009-09-17) | | Girl in Iconic Vietnam War Photo Brings Message of Hope (2009-09-10) | | NFL player Merriman accused of choking reality TV star (2009-09-07) | | Fort Campbell welcomes home Vietnam vets (2009-08-16) | | US looks to Vietnam for Afghan tips (2009-08-06) | | Too few Medals of Honor for Iraq, Afghan valor? (2009-08-01) | | A Brief History of the Fat Acceptance Movement (2009-08-01) | | Cronkite eulogized as newsman, friend, father (2009-07-23) | | US marks 40 years since man stepped on the moon (2009-07-19) | | Robert McNamara Dies: No Escape from Vietnam (2009-07-07) | | McNamara, defense chief during Vietnam War, dies (2009-07-06) | | CIA documents shine light on secretive Air America (2009-04-15) | | AP: POW benefit claimants exceed recorded POWs (2009-04-11) | | Playwright, screenwriter Horton Foote dies at 92 (2009-03-04) | | Broadcasting pioneer Paul Harvey dies at age of 90 (2009-03-01) | | Americans relieved as Obama pledges Iraq winddown (2009-02-28) |  US military to recruit immigrants, offer citizenship (2009-02-15) | | New photo exhibit pictures black America in racially riven US (2009-01-30) | | Officials: Army suicides at 3-decade high (2009-01-29) | | RI Sen. Pell, creator of Pell Grants, dies at 90 (2009-01-01) | | China, Vietnam settle long-disputed land border (2008-12-31) | | Sultry `Santa Baby' singer Eartha Kitt dies at 81 (2008-12-26) | | 'Apocalypse Now' actor Sam Bottoms dies in LA (2008-12-18) |
|
|
|
|
|
