2023-06-16 14:54:52
When Esmita Spudes Bidari was a child in Nepal, I dreamed of being in the armed forces, but in his country it was not a real possibility.
Last week, she raised her right hand and took the oath to join the US Army Reserves, thanks in part to a recruiter in Dallas who is also Nepali who contacted her through an online group.
Bidari, who will receive her basic training in August, is the most recent of a growing number of legal migrants enlisting in the US militarywhich are very active in looking for migrants, offering a fast track to citizenship to those who sign up.
The Army and Air Force have had a hard time bridging the shortfall in recruitingTherefore, they have reinforced their marketing to attract legal residents to enlist, disseminating brochures, promoting them on social networks and expanding their outreach to the community, especially in marginalized areas. A key element is the use of recruiters with backgrounds similar to those of potential recruits.
“It’s one thing for the locals to tell you about the military, but it’s another for your fellow countryman, from your country of origin, to do it,” said Bidari, who was contacted by Squad Sergeant Kalden Lama, the army recruiter in Dallas, in a Facebook group that helps Nepalese in the United States connect with each other. “That brother was in the group, he was recruiting, and he told me about the military.”
The military has been successful in recruiting legal immigrants, especially those seeking employment, educational benefits and training, as well as a fast track to becoming US citizens. But they also require doing additional background research and providing more help filling out the forms, especially to those with less English proficiency.
Both the Army and the Air Force they say they won’t hit their recruiting goals this year, and the Navy expects to fall short as well.
While getting recruits from the legal migrant population does not imply large numbers of staff, any additional increase is good. The Marine Corps is the only segment that is on track to meet its objective.
The deficits have led to the implementation of a wide series of new recruiting programs, campaigns and other incentives to help the military compete with private sector jobs that are less risky and often offer better pay.
Furthermore, they say that just over 20% meet the physical, mental, and character requirements for enlistment.
“We have large populations of legal residents of the United States who are exceptionally patrioticThey are exceptionally grateful for the opportunities this country has provided them,” said Air Force Maj. Gen. Ed Thomas, chief of the service’s recruiting command.
In October of last year, the Army re-established a program for legal permanent residents in order for them to apply for expedited naturalization as soon as they reach basic training.
The Air Force initiative began this year, the first group of 14 people graduated from basic training and took their oath of citizenship in April.
Among them were recruits from Cameroon, Jamaica, Kenya, the Philippines, Russia and South Africa. By mid-May, there were about 100 people in basic training who had started the citizenship process, and about 40 who had completed it.
Thomas said the program required making changes to Air Force policy, coordinating with US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and perform a careful vetting procedure to make sure there are no security risks.
“We have to take exceptional measures to be able to do thorough assessments and the investigation to be able to grant security clearance,” he said. And added that in many cases migrants are not immediately assigned to positions that require accreditation for top secret matters.
With the new program recruits are quickly entered into the system for citizenship And when they start basic training, an expedited process begins that includes all required documentation and testing.
For when the new members of the Air Force they complete their seven weeks of training, the process is complete, and they are sworn in as U.S. citizens.
The first group of 14 included several people who are seeking various medical jobs, while another wants to be an air transport specialist.
Thomas recounts that Airman First Class Natalia Laziuk, 31, immigrated from Russia nine years ago, has dreamed of becoming a US citizen since she was 11, and learned about the military by watching American movies and TV shows.
“In speaking to this young pilot, he essentially said: ‘I just wanted to be useful to my country’”, he pointed. “That is the story we see over and over again. I have talked to many of these people from all over the country. They are eager to serve.”
For Bidari, who came to the United States in 2016 to study at the university, fast track to citizenship was important because it will make it easier for you to travel and bring your parents to the country for them to visit.
In a phone call from Chicago a day after he was sworn in, he said he enlisted for a six-year term and hopes his future citizenship will help him become an officer.
In Chicago this year, Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth learned from various recruiters of the increased outreach to migrant communities. and how it helped them achieve their recruiting goals.
In the 2022 budget year, they noted, Chicago’s recruiting battalion enlisted 70 legal permanent residents and this year it’s already 62.
In general, in the Army, nearly 2,900 people joined during the first half of this year budget, compared with about 2,200 during the same period last year.
The largest numbers come from Jamaica, with 384, followed by Mexico, the Philippines and Haiti, but there are many recruits from Nepal, Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon, Colombia and the Dominican Republic.
“When I was a little girl, I always looked up to them (the soldiers),” says Bidari, recalling the British forces in Nepal. “Yesterday, when I was able to take my oath… I don’t think I have the words to really explain how I felt. When they said, ‘Welcome back, future soldier,’ I thought, ‘Oh my God, this is happening.’
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