No US Citizenship Required to Serve in the Armed Forces

With all of the talk about Obama and Trumps birth certificates, I find it interesting that not many people are aware that you do not have to be a "natural born citizen", or a citizen AT ALL to join the US armed forces.
According to my friend who just got out of training in the Marines, the requirements are H.S. dipoma or GED (which they will help the illegal immigrants with guns accquire), drug test, no visible tattoos in uniform, and appropriate weight for height (too bad this doesn't apply to cops). Now before all our military and ex-military friends start jumping all over me here, PLEASE do correct me if I'm wrong or excluded any important facts, my sources are my ex-Marine boss and my friend I mentioned, and I was quite shocked. But not really in a country where you're asked to die for it before they allow you the "freedoms" enjoyed by those of us considered to be old enough to make a rational decision. Remember the reports a few years back about young gang members joining the military to get training? And no one is concerned about THIS...

Funny. I want to join the US Army but you do need a green card. And now I gotta take the long way by studying something in order to get the damn card. But I can say that in 3 years I'll be in.

You do not have to be a US citizen but you do have to be a Legal immigrant with a green card, and No ... they will not aide or assist you with the immigration process.

Also,
A non-US citizen will automatically be excluded from any sort of career field [MOS] that requires a clearance, and they also cannot become a commissioned or warrant officer as well.

usmilitary.about.com...

There are over 30,000 foreigners in the US Army. One of the rewards is expedited citizenship. They join the Army to achieve it. The military actively recruits foreigners and has even considered opening offices overseas. Not that you were claiming otherwise, but this isn't exactly a secret.

Didn't the Ancient Romans institute a similar non-citizenship policy during their expansion and prior to the collapse of their empire? Or was it that they gave everyone who was under their empire automatic citizenship? In any event, many historians agree that it was this indiscriminate empire building which diluted an overstretched Rome and led directly to their downfall.

I just wish they were an equal opportunity employer and would take people with disabilities, like people with back problems that can still work and function just not up to 100%. Because I am sure there are a lot of little jobs that people in those positions could fill quite well. In my opinion no matter what condition your in if your willing to serve your country then you should be allowed to even if you were not battle ready.

reply to post by 12m8keall2c


Thank you for that. As I said I wasn't 100% clear on the specifics. As stated by another poster they do indeed expedite the citizenship, how nice of them...

I know that it is not a "secret" but I'm not hearing them adverising it either, just like the gang members who I'm pretty sure had tattoos identifying them as such when they joined...reminds me of Keifer Sutherland on the Simpsons, pointing and yelling, "FRONT LINE INFANTRY!"

The No Citizenship requirement kinda makes military service almost like being a mercenary.

Now you know why they want the illegals here.

Originally posted by KAOStheory
reply to post by 12m8keall2c

 

I know that it is not a "secret" but I'm not hearing them adverising it either,

But you are not the target of their advertising so you shouldn't be expected to hear it. Military recruiters visit immigrant communities. They are unlikely to show up on my doorstep.

Originally posted by jaynkeel
I just wish they were an equal opportunity employer and would take people with disabilities, like people with back problems that can still work and function just not up to 100%. Because I am sure there are a lot of little jobs that people in those positions could fill quite well. In my opinion no matter what condition your in if your willing to serve your country then you should be allowed to even if you were not battle ready.

I agree wholeheartedly. There ought to be a way. I'm a good example. I retired at 55. I'm not sick. I'm not going to test out on PE very well, but I have lifetime skills that could be put to good use. I don't have an attitude problem and I'm already a grown-up. I don't care about pay. I don't even really need it. There are a zillion support jobs that someone like me could take on and fulfill well.

Originally posted by SphinxMontreal
Didn't the Ancient Romans institute a similar non-citizenship policy during their expansion and prior to the collapse of their empire? Or was it that they gave everyone who was under their empire automatic citizenship? In any event, many historians agree that it was this indiscriminate empire building which diluted an overstretched Rome and led directly to their downfall.

Yes, they did. A 25 year hitch in the Legions bought you citizenship. I don't know who your "many historians" are, but the Fall of the Roman Empire has been greatly exaggerated and, in any case, you have hundreds of reasons to blame for the "fall" now that it is after the fact, from lead pipes to incest. I blame Constantine, myself (but that's just me.) The "Roman Empire" consolidated, certainly, then the Eastern half suddenly became the Byzantine Empire and lasted another thousand years. Meanwhile, after Rome settled down, the Holy Roman Empire took over effective control and expanded into Europe. Even Henry VIII didn't kill it. So did Rome fall? Yeah, kinda, but the Empire did not.

reply to post by schuyler


Yes, I agree, I thought of that as I posted it...I have run across several people quite surprised at the fact. The number is pretty large if correct...
I was born with Marfans so I'd never be able to serve, not that I want to, but the thought crossed my mind when I was younger, communications would be an interesting field.
I just feel bad for the vets and future vets, I still have friends going in thiinking its going to be a great career only to find out that they are not going to be taken care of. Why that's a surprise to them, I don't know...

The real shame, IMO, is that experienced service members who have devoted their youth to the service, are often forced out at an early age. In the Navy this is called "High Year Tenure." If you haven't made E-7 by 20 years, you leave. Other ranks have different years of service. E-9 is 30 years.

Now you can say, well, if a guy can't make Chief by 20, something is wrong. He screwed up or is incomptent so he should get out. There is a certain amount of truth to that I can't deny. On the other hand, I have personally seen where promotion to E-7 is a highly political issue. A friend of mine was probably one of the smartest guys in electronics in the Navy, bar none. He held a Top Secret SCI clearance and worked with very advanced stuff. In the early days of computers he knew more than anyone else. he was falsely accused of sabotage when a senior chief didn't know what he was doing. My friend was exonerated, but this false accusation basically prevented him from making E-7. He was out of the navy at age 38 looking for a job. His pension is about $1500 a month, certainly not chicken feed, but hardly enough to raise a family on.

You do get "taken care of" after a fashion. Retired vets get Tricare for Life. Some people think it is the best medical care you could ever get. Some people think it is the worst. Where I live in the middle of several Navy bases, the consensus is that it is not perfect, but pretty good. Nobody wants to give it up. The GI Bill these days is fantastic compared to when I was in. You get all your tuition paid plus E-5 housing allowance. If a guy retired and went back to school he could make it on his pension and housing allowance. It's that good. (I think I got $195 a month.) The unstated goal of the Navy is to get every enlisted person a Bachelor's degree by the time their hitch is up. There are golden opportunities to do this everywhere you turn (and some rip offs, too) Someone who is highly motivated should have no problem furthering their education while in.

And that's kind of the issue. If you are highly motivated and intelligent, you can do very well. If you are not motivated, intelligent or not, you can do poorly very easily. I'm afraid I was in the latter category. There are no do-overs.

reply to post by schuyler


Thanks for the info, that's all very interesting to hear. I suppose its pretty much like any career, you can get lucky and have a good boss or get screwed, you can stay motivated to advance or not...
Probably the same amount of factors determining the outcome as any other career, give or take a few.
I am currently fortunate enough to be employed full time with benefits and a liveable(-ish) salary, some of my bosses are good and some aren't. Last week I had two meetings within an hour, one to commend me on my performance over 2010 and to give me the maximum raise allowed, 20 minutes later another to put me on a "performance evaluation" based on this year... So, yea... Where I end up from here depends on what I do today, and/or or my bosses mood, just like anywhere else.
I can't completely knock the military, despite my personal beliefs, I know that it has provided a lot of people oportunities that they otherwise may not have had. Some will be better off and some won't, but in the mean time, be glad you have a job at all!

Originally posted by schuyler

Originally posted by jaynkeel
I just wish they were an equal opportunity employer and would take people with disabilities, like people with back problems that can still work and function just not up to 100%. Because I am sure there are a lot of little jobs that people in those positions could fill quite well. In my opinion no matter what condition your in if your willing to serve your country then you should be allowed to even if you were not battle ready.

I agree wholeheartedly. There ought to be a way. I'm a good example. I retired at 55. I'm not sick. I'm not going to test out on PE very well, but I have lifetime skills that could be put to good use. I don't have an attitude problem and I'm already a grown-up. I don't care about pay. I don't even really need it. There are a zillion support jobs that someone like me could take on and fulfill well.

Off-topic to a degree but either of you could join the civil service. Essentially finding a military job without having to wear a uniform and be deployed in the event of war.

When the figures come out with something like 2 million people work for the government, it's not all military and congress. There's a lot of us civilians supporting the military and the country in general.