Calling All Non-Citizens!
The military is looking for a few good foreigners.
According to a new initiative by the U.S. Department of Defense, the military is now authorized to recruit non-citizens to fill vacancies in essential service positions, namely doctors, nurses and linguists. There are thousands of foreign nationals working in the U.S. legally on temporary work visas, called Employment Authorization Documents. Green cards are one step higher, allowing the holder to live and work permanently in the United States without being a full-fledged citizen.
Until now, the military has only allowed green-card holders to join its ranks. Now, we're going one step further.
The problem is that there aren't enough U.S. citizens to fill these very important positions. So the military is doing what has to be done to ensure our soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines and Guardsmen can get the medical care they need. That's a good thing. There are benefits for the aliens who join, too -- a fast track to U.S. citizenship.
Since 2001, tens of thousands of foreign nationals have become U.S. citizens through military service in ceremonies like this one on election day, in which 186 men and women became Americans in one of Saddam's old palaces in Iraq.
My thoughts:
- It's too bad our military can't attract more of the best and brightest of U.S. citizens in the medical profession.
- Bravo to the military for getting creative to fill the need.
- If you happen to speak Igbo, Hausa or any of these other obscure languages, call your recruiter.