A U.S. military 'at its breaking point' considers foreign recruits
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By Bryan Bender The Boston Globe
Published: December 26, 2006
WASHINGTON: The armed forces, already struggling to meet recruiting
goals, are considering expanding the number of noncitizens in the
ranks, including disputed proposals to open recruiting stations
overseas and put more immigrants on a faster track to U.S. citizenship
if they volunteer, according to Pentagon officials.
Foreign citizens' serving in the U.S. military is a highly charged
issue, which could expose the Pentagon to criticism that it is
essentially using mercenaries to defend the country. Other analysts
voice concern that a large contingent of noncitizens under arms could
jeopardize national security or reflect badly on Americans' willingness
to serve in uniform.
The idea of signing up residents who are seeking U.S. citizenship is
gaining traction as a way to address a critical need for the Pentagon,
while fully absorbing some of the roughly one million immigrants that
enter the United States legally each year.
The proposal to induct more noncitizens, which is still largely on the
drawing board, has to clear a number of hurdles. So far, the Pentagon
has been quiet about specifics, like who would be eligible to join,
where the recruiting stations would be, and what the minimum standards
might involve, like English proficiency. In the meantime, the Pentagon
and the immigration authorities have expanded a program that
accelerates citizenship for legal residents who volunteer for the
military.
Since the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the number of immigrants in
uniform who have become U.S. citizens has increased from 750 in 2001 to
almost 4,600 last year, according to military statistics.
With severe manpower strains because of the wars in Iraq and
Afghanistan, and a mandate to expand the overall size of the military,
the Pentagon is under pressure to consider a variety of proposals
involving foreign recruits, according to a military affairs analyst.
"It works as a military idea and it works in the context of American
immigration," said Thomas Donnelly, a military scholar at the
conservative American Enterprise Institute in Washington and a leading
proponent of recruiting more foreigners to serve in the military.
As the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan grind on, the Pentagon has warned
Congress and the White House that the military is stretched "to the
breaking point."
President George W. Bush and Robert Gates, his new defense secretary,
have acknowledged that the size of the military must be expanded to
help alleviate the strain on ground troops.
That has led Pentagon officials to consider casting a wider net for
noncitizens who are already in the United States, said Lieutenant
Colonel Bryan Hilferty, an army spokesman.
Already, the army and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement division
of the Department of Homeland Security have "made it easier for
green-card holders who do enlist to get their citizenship," Hilferty
said. Other army officials, who asked not to be identified, said
personnel officials were working with Congress and other parts of the
government to test the feasibility of going beyond U.S. borders to
recruit soldiers and marines.
Currently, Pentagon policy stipulates that only immigrants legally
residing in the United States are eligible to enlist. There are about
30,000 noncitizens who serve in the U.S. armed forces, making up about
2 percent of the active-duty force, according to statistics from the
military and the Council on Foreign Relations. About 100 such
noncitizens have been killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.
A recent change in U.S. law, however, gave the Pentagon authority to
bring immigrants to the United States if it determines it is vital to
national security. So far, the Pentagon has not taken advantage of it,
but the calls are growing to use this new authority.
Some top military thinkers believe the United States should go as far
as targeting foreigners in their native countries.
"It's a little dramatic," said Michael O'Hanlon, a military specialist
at the nonpartisan Brookings Institution and another supporter of the
proposal. "But if you don't get some new idea how to do this, we will
not be able to achieve an increase" in the size of the armed forces.
Other nations recruit foreign citizens: In France, the famed Foreign
Legion relies on about 8,000 noncitizens; and Nepalese Gurkhas have
fought and died with British Army forces for two centuries.