The American Foriegn Legion

[metarat]

HERE'S a juicy one!

An American Foriegn Legion: good idea whose time has come, or free transportation and ammo for all the terrorist sleeper cells?!?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081206/..._recruiting_13


Pentagon expanding number of foreigners recruited


By PAULINE JELINEK, Associated Press Writer Pauline Jelinek, Associated Press Writer Sat Dec 6, 8:57 am ET

WASHINGTON – The Pentagon plans to recruit more foreigners in a fresh effort to make up for chronic shortages of doctors, nurses and linguists available for wartime duty.
The Defense Department already draws from aliens living in the United States on green cards and seeking permanent residency. But under a trial program, it will now look to also recruit from pools of foreigners who've been living in the states on student and work visas, with refugee or political asylum status and other temporary visas.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates has authorized the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps to recruit certain legal residents whose critical medical and language skills are "vital to the national interest," officials said, using for the first time a law passed three years ago.

Gates' action enables the services to start a one-year pilot program to find up to 1,000 foreigners who have lived in the states legally for at least two years. The new recruits into the armed forces would get accelerated treatment in the process toward becoming U.S. citizens in return for military service in the United States or abroad.

"The services are doing a tremendous job of recruiting quality personnel to meet our various missions," sometimes with bonus pay and tuition for medical school, said Bill Carr, deputy undersecretary of defense for military personnel policy. But they haven't been able to fill their need for 24,000 doctors, dentists and nurses in the Defense Department.

The Pentagon's doctor and nurse corps remain 1,000 short of the numbers needed to treat all the military's patients, and Carr said he hoped the program would fill the gaps.

The military's most pressing need is for neurosurgeons and dermatologists to treat troops coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan with brain and burn injuries.

The force also lacks nurses with a broad range of specialties, Carr said.

At the same time, the U.S. Special Operations Command needs more people with special language and cultural skills for a war on terrorism that has taken the armed forces to more remote places across the globe.

Though the military has been looking for more Arabic speakers and others to help with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the new program looks to recruit those proficient in some three dozen languages, including Albanian, Korean, Punjabi, Somali, Turkish, Burmese, Chinese, Czech, Malay and Swahili.

There are now 29,000 non-citizens in uniform today, Carr said, with about 8,000 more enlisting every year.

He expects that among those who will be interested in the new effort are doctors with work visas who are employed at hospitals around the country, a program aimed at tackling shortages among U.S. medical professionals.

[Wounded Ronin]

We'll just send George W. Bush a Lionheart DVD.

[elipson]

It's about time they did something that wasn't stupid. Maybe next they will stop firing gay people just for being gay.

A year or two ago, John Stewart had a Arabic translator that was fired for being gay. Guess they didn't really need native speaking Arabic translators.

[taijiamn]

I felt a little conflicted about that case. Regardless of the gay issue, He talked about things he knew he shouldn't on governmnet equipment. As a linguist he has the potential to get classified information, if he's willing to say things that could get him fired, what's keeping him from saying things that are classified?

Honestly I saw the whole things as a security issue. I do think it's about past time to let women and gays go to the front to fight, if they can do the job, put 'em out there.

Oh yeah, I'm pretty sure he wasn't a native speaker.

[metarat]

Not quite the shitstorm I meant to start; our gubbermint suddenly trying to hire a LOT of greencard labor, in a hurry, for quite skilled/important tasks?

I see that as a disaster in the making.


FWIW, I was in the Reserves for 21 years, with assorted short periods on active duty. There are a LOT of gays in the military, active and reserve. They keep their private life private, they work, they get along with people without feeling driven to do any 'activism' or making a big deal out of their orientation. I've know several and never had a problem with them; nor did I feel it my duty to "inform" anyone of any suspicions I might have had about them.

The gay people who have had problems or tragically come to grief in the military couldn't/wouldn't keep their personal life out of the workplace, or pissed off a coworker who subsequently narced them out, or fell in with some real psychos and couldn't get transferred fast enough.

Let's face it; the military in general is no place to be if you feel an overwhelming compulsion to dress like Robert Smith in the 90s. Its a stressful environment, with draconian rules that are spelled out pretty plainly, and a lot of rough, uneducated people. If you go in on tilt, with your personal life a mess, things will probably get worse and not better. In that case, the best thing that can happen to some people is they get shown the door before something really bad happens.

[vigilus]

What's more important to you;

Citizenship by birth or citizenship by earning it?

As for romo's, I wonder how many soldiers the US would get if they allowed people to serve their country and not have to lie about who they are.

[mrm1775]

Sounds like its just an expansion of the current policy. It hasn't caused any problems so far.

I say if someone is willing to earn their citizenship by serving this country, let them. Too many people who were born here take it for granted.

[vigilus]

Right on
Take it for granted or don't deserve it IMO.

[Sam Browning]

Incidently the American military has previously traded citizenship for needed skills. In the 1950s we brought over thousands under legislation called the Lodge Act. Much of this talent, including a bunch of Finns were used to help start our special forces.

[Teh El Macho]

It's been an ages-long tradition to incorporate foreigners in the military (not as mercenaries, which is a different thing altogether), and having them earn their rights as citizens or some other better social/legal status. Implemented correctly, this would be a good thing.