Lodge Act part deux?

[frostfire]

I've sent a PM to an SF recruiter, talked to an NG recruiter, and will drive to an AD recruiter this afternoon. To those in-the-know and recruiters on this site, does this program apply for the 18X/REP63 option?



http://www.defenselink.mil/releases/release.aspx?releaseid=12384

IMMEDIATE RELEASE No. 1001-08
December 05, 2008

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

New Accessions Pilot Program Authorized


The Defense Department announced today that it has authorized the military services to implement a pilot program; temporarily permitting enlistment into military service certain legal aliens (who have lived in the United States for at least two years) who hold skills that are critically needed in the military.

The pilot will address health care professionals holding needed medical specialties (physicians and nurses) and people with skills in certain strategic foreign languages and cultures, qualifications important to present and future military operations. A fact sheet detailing the languages and basic requirements is available.

“The services are doing a tremendous job of recruiting quality personnel to meet our various missions,” said Bill Carr, deputy under secretary of defense for military personnel policy. “This pilot seeks to provide yet another opportunity to fill the gaps, with people who are highly qualified and eager to serve this nation.”

The military services will review their requirements and determine the pilot’s efficacy within their service. If they choose to participate, they will provide implementation plans within 45 days. The pilot may recruit up to 1,000 people, and after one year, its value for enhancing military readiness will be evaluated.

Non-citizens have served in the U.S. military since the Revolutionary War. Today about 29,000 non-citizens serve in uniform, and about 8,000 permanent resident aliens (green card holders) enlist each year. This initiative expands non-citizen eligibility for military service to include not only the green card holders, but also those visa holders legally present in the U.S., such as doctors, nurses, and students.

Those volunteering to serve the nation by joining the military during a time of war would be eligible for accelerated citizenship – as are all others who serve in the military – by virtue of the July 3, 2002 executive order which allows expedited naturalization for those non-citizens who serve in our armed forces.

http://www.defenselink.mil/news/MAVNI-Fact-Sheet.pdf
MILITARY ACCESSIONS VITAL TO NATIONAL INTEREST (MAVNI) RECRUITMENT PILOT

The Secretary of Defense authorized the military services to recruit certain legal aliens whose skills are considered to be vital to the national interest. Those holding critical skills – physicians, nurses, and certain experts in language with associated cultural backgrounds – would be eligible. To determine its value in enhancing military readiness, the limited pilot program will recruit up to 1,000 people, and will continue for a period of up to 12 months.

ELIGIBILITY
1. The applicant must be in one of the following categories at time of enlistment
a. asylee, refugee, Temporary Protected Status (TPS), or
b. nonimmigrant categories E, F, H, I, J, K, L, M, O, P, Q, R, S, T, TC, TD, TN, U, or V
2. The applicant must have been in valid status in one of those categories for at least two years immediately prior to the enlistment date, but it does not have to be the same category as the one held on the date of enlistment; and
3. An applicant who may be eligible on the basis of a nonimmigrant category at time of enlistment (see 1b above) must not have had any single absence from the United States of more than 90 days during the two year period immediately preceding the date of enlistment.

Health Care Professionals
• Applicants must fill medical specialties where the service has a shortfall
• Applicants must meet all qualification criteria required for their medical specialty, and the criteria for foreign-trained DoD medical personnel recruited under other authorities
• Applicants must demonstrate proficiency in English
• Applicants must commit to at least 3 years of active duty, or six years in the Selected Reserve

Enlisted Individuals with Special Language and Culture Backgrounds
• Applicants must possess specific language and culture capabilities in a language critical to DoD
• Applicants must demonstrate a language proficiency
• Applicants must meet all existing enlistment eligibility criteria
• Applicants must enlist for at least 4 years of active duty (Services may add additional requirements)

Languages
• Albanian
• Amharic
• Arabic
• Azerbaijani
• Bengali
• Burmese
• Cambodian-Khmer
• Chinese
• Czech
• Hausa
• Hindi
• Hungarian
• Igbo
• Indonesian
• Korean
• Kurdish
• Lao
• Malay
• Malayalam
• Moro
• Nepalese
• Persian [Dari &
Farsi]
• Polish
• Punjabi
• Pushtu (aka Pashto)
• Russian
• Sindhi
• Sinhalese
• Somali
• Swahili
• Tamil
• Turkish
• Turkmen
• Urdu
• Yoruba

BACKGROUND
Non-citizens have served in the military since the Revolutionary War. The Lodge Act of 1950 permitted non-citizen Eastern Europeans to enlist between 1950 and 1959. Additionally, the United States officially began recruiting Filipino nationals into the Navy in the late 1940s, when it signed the Military Bases Agreement of 1947 allowing U.S. military bases in the Philippines. In total, over 35,000 Filipinos enlisted in the Navy through the program between 1952 and 1991. Today, about 29,000 non-citizens serve in uniform, and about 8,000 legal permanent resident aliens (green card holders) enlist each year. Law ensures that the sacrifice of non-citizens during a time of national need is met with an opportunity for early citizenship, to recognize their contribution and sacrifice.
In fact, today's service members are eligible for expedited citizenship under a July 2002 Executive Order, and the military services have worked closely with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to streamline citizenship processing for service members. Since Sept. 11, 2001, nearly 43,000 members of the Armed Forces have attained their citizenship while serving this nation.

[frostfire]

I know one shouldn't judge a book by its cover, but I wonder how some these recruits pass the tape test at MEPS. Also from another website I was expecting all recruits to score more than 90 on the AFQT

http://www.voanews.com/english/2009-04-13-voa18.cfm
US Army Recruits Immigrants, Rewards Them With Citizenship
By Paige Kollock
New York City
13 April 2009

The U.S. Army is stepping up efforts to recruit more skilled soldiers by offering immigrants a fast track to U.S. citizenship if they enlist.

The move comes as the Pentagon prepares to send several thousand more troops to Afghanistan and with the war in Iraq in its sixth year.

The U.S. Army chief of staff, himself, swore in a group of recruits at a ceremony in New York. Half of the 32 new Army recruits are immigrants from countries such as Pakistan, India, South Korea and Bangladesh.

General George Casey welcomed the new soldiers, recruited under a new initiative called MAVNI - Military Accessions Vital to the National Interest. It's a pilot program that promotes enlistment as a short-cut to U.S. citizenship. Recruits are required to have at least two years of legal U.S. residency.

Lieutenant Colonel Margaret Stock says the Army is looking for people with language skills or medical expertise. "We're also looking for people who have cultural ability. They understand certain cultures that we are dealing with. We found, in our operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, that having people who were culturally knowledgeable is critical to success on the battlefield," Stock said.

So far, the MAVNI program, which began in February, has enlisted 52 new soldiers, 60 percent of whom are college graduates. The Army wants people who speak one of 35 languages it deems "strategic."

Stephen Chi speaks Cantonese and four other languages. He will be working as a petroleum supply specialist. He says he enlisted, not for the U.S. passport, but for the camaraderie. "I grew up in Norway, my parents are Chinese, so joining the Army will give me a chance to really belong to somewhere," he said.

Twenty-four-year-old Toniya Mishra, who will start as a water treatment specialist, says the Army approached her after finding her resume on the Internet. While her starting salary is less than she hoped to get with a masters degree, she says there are other perks. "They provide insurance for your family, and you get to travel a lot in different countries, and it's better than doing anything else in a market like this today," she said.

For the recruits, the next stop is basic training, a rigorous nine weeks of physical fitness, discipline and training.And some then will go to Iraq or Afghanistan, where they could face the dangers of combat.

Krishna Melpati - a medical doctor from India - has a concern. "My only fear," Krishna says, "is like, getting through the basic training."

So far, 380 people have applied. The Army says it will accept up to 1,000 before the program expires in December.

[Visith]

Stephen Chi speaks Cantonese and four other languages. He will be working as a petroleum supply specialist.

Guy speaks five languages and he signs up to pump gas?! Don't we already have plenty of guys from India doing that?

His recruiter screwed him and/or his English reading comprehension really sucks.

[wet dog]

some of the best SF soldiers had their beginnings in supply, food distribution, signal, intel, admin., etc. Let him enlist, the cream will always rise to the top. Skill is seldom over looked. Let him learn the Army culture, adjust to Army methodologies, age, mature, excell.