The Pentagon is now looking to immigrants to overcome a recruiting shortfall.
The Air Force and Army are utilizing a program that allows legal migrants to apply for accelerated naturalization when they join the military.
The Air Force saw 14 recruits be naturalized as U.S. citizens under the program in April. The cadets came from Cameroon, Jamaica, Kenya, the Philippines, Russia and South Africa.
The program was last in play for the Air Force in 2017 and has in recent months been restarted by that service and the Army.
Officials say the Army and Air Force are 10,000 recruits short of their goals, while the Navy is 6,000 short. Only the Marines and Space Force are expected to hit those goals.
Military officials think that that has to do with increased competition among jobs in the private sector and more Americans not hitting academic and fitness requirements. It’s why leaders see the renewal of the fast-track citizenship program as a possible solution.
Steve Beynon, an Afghanistan veteran and reporter for Military.com, says the Department of Defense needs to “pull out all the stops” to meet its enlistment goals.
The Army and the Air Force have bolstered their marketing to entice legal residents to enlist, putting out pamphlets, working social media and broadening their outreach, particularly in inner cities. One key element is the use of recruiters with similar backgrounds to these potential recruits. --->READ MORE HERE
| Bo Zaunders/Getty Images |
When Esmita Spudes Bidari was a young girl in Nepal, she dreamed of being in the military, but that wasn't a real option in her country.
Last week, she raised her right hand and took the oath to join the U.S. Army Reserves, thanks in part to a recruiter in Dallas who also is Nepalese and reached out to her through an online group.
Bidari, who heads to basic training in August, is just the latest in a growing number of legal migrants enlisting in the U.S. military as it more aggressively seeks out immigrants, offering a fast track to citizenship to those who sign up.
Struggling to overcome recruiting shortfalls, the Army and the Air Force have bolstered their marketing to entice legal residents to enlist, putting out pamphlets, working social media and broadening their outreach, particularly in inner cities. One key element is the use of recruiters with similar backgrounds to these potential recruits.
"It is one thing to hear about the military from locals here, but it is something else when it's from your fellow brother, from the country you're from," said Bidari, who was contacted by Army Staff Sgt. Kalden Lama, the Dallas recruiter, on a Facebook group that helps Nepalese people in America connect with one another. "That brother was in the group and he was recruiting and he told me about the military."
The military has had success in recruiting legal immigrants, particularly among those seeking a job, education benefits and training as well as a quick route to becoming an American citizen. But they also require additional security screening and more help filling out forms, particularly those who are less proficient in English.
Both the Army and the Air Force say they will not meet their recruiting goals this year, and the Navy also expects to fall short. Pulling more from the legal immigrant population may not provide large numbers, but any small boosts will help. The Marine Corp is the only service on pace to meet its goal. --->READ MORE HERE
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