Iraq, Afghanistan vets become U.S. citizens

[cec]

Iraq, Afghanistan vets become U.S. citizens




By Matthew Barakat - The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday May 22, 2007 5:21:53 EDT

MOUNT VERNON, Va. — Reginald Cherubin, an eight-year Navy veteran with experience in Afghanistan, volunteered earlier this year for a special assignment in Iraq. Despite a lack of volunteers, he was rejected.
That is when the 30-year-old Haitian realized he needed to become a U.S. citizen.
Cherubin was among three American military members who became U.S. citizens Monday at a naturalization ceremony held at George Washington’s Mount Vernon estate.
The U.S. military includes 40,000 members who are eligible to become citizens, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Between 6,000 and 7,500 service members become citizens every year, helped in part by special rules enacted since 2002 that expedite applications for those in the armed services.
“I think it speaks volumes to the patriotism of the immigrant community,” said USCIS Director Emilio Gonzalez, himself an immigrant and Army veteran. “Immigrants come here to participate.”
In the military, citizenship is more than just ceremonial. Non-citizens are barred from some opportunities, including the officer corps and certain security clearances.
Cherubin had only been in the United States a few months when he enlisted in September 1999. He wanted to earn money for college and expected to return to civilian life after four years. But he said the Navy has become “a second family, a second home.”
His family in Haiti initially questioned his desire to enlist. “But they see a whole lot of changes in me now. I’m more disciplined. They support me now,” he said.
Army Sgt. Jeremy Tattrie, born in Canada but living in the United States since age 4, volunteered four years ago after watching Saddam Hussein’s statue topple in Baghdad shortly after the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
“It was just this epiphany, I guess, that I had to do something a little bit bigger with my life,” Tattrie, 24, said.
And Marine Gunnery Sgt. Brian Joseph, 38, a native of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, said he figured that after a 16-year military career that included a tour in Iraq, it was time to become a citizen.
Joseph, who has lived in the U.S. since he was 8, said it never felt strange to be defending a country of which he was not a citizen.
“I’ve always felt like an American,” he said. “In a way, this is like a formality for me.”



Iraq, Afghanistan vets become U.S. citizens - Military News, Marine Corps News, opinions, editorials, news from Iraq, photos, reports - Marine Corps Times




-