COUNTERING MILITARY RECRUITMENT
Articles: Military Recruiting: Youth of Color
Will Iraq and Afghanistan wars produce a thorny new dilemma?
Carlos Guerra, MYsa.com
12/29/2006
If the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq have turned into seemingly interminable quagmires, brace yourself for the policy and moral dilemmas we may soon face.National Guardsmen and reservists are already serving multiple tours, and active-duty terms are being extended. But even so, our military is seriously strained, and sending 20,000 more troops to Iraq will only worsen the situation.
Young men must still register for the draft, but opposition to its revival is so widespread that it isn't likely to happen soon.
Defense Department officials insist that they are having no problems maintaining troop levels or meeting recruitment goals.
But recruitment and re-enlistment incentives have been raised to five- and even six-digit levels, and the Pentagon has also lowered standards for recruits and raised the maximum age for enlistment.
The all-volunteer military that once turned away high-school dropouts now offers programs like Army Plus, which gives potential recruits crash GED courses.
Now, another little-discussed element that has helped keep troop levels up is being discussed as a way to boost future recruitment of better-qualified enlistees.
Changes in the law have made it easier and quicker for documented immigrants to become citizens by volunteering and serving. Last year, at least 30,000 noncitizens were wearing U.S. military uniforms and almost 5,000 became citizens. About 100 of these soldiers have died in Iraq and Afghanistan.
But as our military entanglements drag on — and officials look for ways to avoid a new draft — some policy wonks are openly encouraging the Pentagon to recruit foreigners, here and abroad.
University of California-San Diego professor Jorge Mariscal is a Vietnam vet who follows military recruitment issues closely.
Only green-card holders can join the military, he says, but it wasn't until last year that recruiters started seeking them out.
Now, some extreme proposals are being floated that even the Pentagon would find problematic.
"Bringing in total foreigners who have no ties to the United States is risky," Mariscal says. But surfacing such a proposal could make others more palatable.
"There are extremists who are saying, 'Let's put recruiting stations in foreign countries,' and no one is going to go for that," Mariscal says. "But then they can take a step back and say, 'But what if we just take these undocumented people who are already here and get them in?' and m exicanitos will be rushing to join up.
"I think the Pentagon would be far more interested in facilitating ways for undocumented people who grew up here to get in," he says, because they would more likely have American educations and cultural sensibilities.
One such proposal — which has been touted as a humanitarian measure aimed at helping children whose undocumented parents brought them here — already provides for recruitment of undocumented immigrants.
As proposed, the DREAM Act would provide temporary green cards to undocumented young people who have lived most of their lives in the United States and graduated from high school. These green cards would become permanent after they have completed two years of college or served two years of active duty.
This measure certainly has humanitarian aspects. Considering the financial situation of most of these young people, the likelihood is that most will opt for the military, not college. That could also pave the way for the creation of a culturally distinct American warrior class. That's too risky.
who was 6 when she traveled through the Southern California desert with her mother to enter America illegally. "Nobody can kick me out of here.
My rights will be defended."
In exchange, Quintero-Espinoza and her comrades assumed
responsibilities and risks, including being sent to fight in Iraq or Afghanistan. Phone,
24, the airman first class who came from Burma in 2002, didn't hesitate to
volunteer to serve a nation willing to help him get ahead in life.
"I would be grateful to meet somebody who offers you what you want" in
return for accepting an obligation, said Phone, who became a citizen
about
two years after enlisting. "That's fair -- totally fair -- I think."
A history of service
That deal, with the promise of naturalization, has appealed to millions
of
immigrants and the military throughout American history. The Army, in
particular, has sought out and relied on immigrant recruits, especially
during wars.
In the 1840s, almost half of all recruits were not U.S. citizens, said
Conrad Crane, director of the Army Military History Institute at the
Army
War College in Carlisle, Penn. "They're just right off the boat,
basically."
During the Civil War, the government promised citizenship to
immigrants,
and recruiters sailed overseas to make the pitch. Noncitizens
constituted
as much as 20 percent of the 1.5 million-man Union Army.
"Some of them were attracted, of course, by glory; some of them by a
chance
for adventure," Crane said. "For a lot of them, citizenship is the
promise."
So many immigrants populated the ranks during World War I that the Army
was
dubbed the "American foreign legion" in Europe. After the war, an Army
unit
of 14 nationalities toured the United States to recruit immigrants,
touting
the promise of naturalization.
Many immigrants fought in World War II, but patriotism more than
citizenship drove enlistment, Crane said. Conscription also helped fill
the
ranks and continued to do so until the all-volunteer military returned
in
the 1970s.
Military resource
Given that history, Bush's executive order fast-tracking citizenship
was no
surprise, Crane said. With the Iraq war in its fourth year and military
recruiters struggling, speedy naturalization can attract volunteers and
is
a fitting reward.
"When times get tough to fill the Army and immigrants are available,
they're a resource," Crane said.
Despite raising enlistment bonuses and offering other new incentives,
the
Army has had a tough time attracting people. It missed its target last
year
by 6,600 recruits. April was its worst month effort since last summer.
The military typically accepts only U.S. citizens or legal residents.
Illegal immigrants have slipped in, in some cases with fake citizenship
or
immigration documents, said Stock, the U.S. military academy professor.
As a result of Bush's order, illegal immigrants serving honorably on
active
duty and meeting other requirements are eligible to apply for
citizenship,
Stock said. Also, a new law gives the military the authority to enlist
at
any time anyone, even an illegal immigrant, whose enlistment is deemed
"vital to the national interest."
"They could form a foreign legion right now," Stock said. "I get calls
all
the time from illegal immigrants who want to join the military."
For the most part, recruiters have not targeted noncitizens, said
Douglas
Smith, spokesman for the Army's recruiting command. Recruiting that
targets
populations of noncitizens likely accounts for at least some of the
noncitizen recruits, he said.
California's Army National Guard recruiters do not systematically seek
noncitizens, Guard officials said. They do point out that soldiers can
get
on the naturalization fast track, said spokeswoman Lt. Toni Gray.
"For us, noncitizens contribute valuable language and cultural
expertise,"
Gray said. "The value of their skills, however, is often surpassed by
their
sincere appreciation and commitment to our nation."
Noncitizens have been military standouts, according to a May 2005 study
by
the Center for Naval Analyses, a federally funded research organization
serving the military. For instance, they are about half as likely as
their
U.S.-born comrades to wash out before completing their enlistment.
The military's need for foreign-language speakers recently spurred the
Army
to relax enlistment requirements, including maximum age and English
proficiency, to attract people with such native skills, reported the
Center
for Naval Analyses.
Opposition
Not everyone is pleased at the prospect of increasing the number of
noncitizens in the military.
Among the critics is Krikorian, head of the group that wants stricter
immigration controls. What concerns him is the potential for the
combination of military needs and political pressure from immigration
advocates to widen the ranks and expand benefits for noncitizens.
"This is one of those feel-good issues, at least for politicians," he
said.
"There's no reason that it wouldn't be tacked on to an immigration
bill, if
one were to come up."
Krikorian hasn't much of an argument, says Rep. Hilda Solis, D-El
Monte,
who favors expanded benefits for noncitizen soldiers. The California
congresswoman said immigrants have proved their value to the military
and
have earned their benefits.
"I think he's barking up the wrong tree," Solis said.
Spc. Cristianne Silva, 29, said enlisting in the California Army
National
Guard helped her complete a journey that began eight years ago, when
she
left her native Brazil and illegally entered America in search of a
better
life.
After cleaning houses and doing other jobs, Silva hired an immigration
lawyer and became a legal resident. She learned that her military
service
could help her become a citizen after she joined the Army in 2003 and
was
sent to Iraq.
"I'm still, actually, kind of shocked that I have accomplished this,"
said
Silva, who was naturalized in April in Sacramento.
"After so long of dreaming, now, finally, I can say: Yes, I am a
citizen."
Times staff writer Steven Harmon contributed to this story. Reach Dogen
Hannah at 925-945-4794 or dhannah@cctimes.com.
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