# Brits In The US Military???



## Ezzy-252 (Oct 13, 2008)

A few of you may have seen my other post "Cops in the USA???", and may know that i am looking to join the US military, in order to become a citizen, i was wondering are there any Brits serving in the US Armed Forces on this forum? Or anyone who knows of anyone who has done it that i can contact? thnx.


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## Oliver295 (Oct 12, 2008)

i think you can as both contrys are allied but as there not both part of the commonwealth im not 100% sure u will get in


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## Tiffani (Dec 4, 2007)

The US is not part of the commonwealth.


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## Fatbrit (May 8, 2008)

Tiffani said:


> The US is not part of the commonwealth.


We live and learn!


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## Tiffani (Dec 4, 2007)

hahah!

We fought to get away from the Crown! No way we're going back hehe (plus, I can't see any real benefits to being part of the Commonwealth now that I'm living in a Commonwealth country... but then again Australia is thinking of going Federal)


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## Fatbrit (May 8, 2008)

Tiffani said:


> (plus, I can't see any real benefits to being part of the Commonwealth now that I'm living in a Commonwealth country...


Tea with the Queen.


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## Tiffani (Dec 4, 2007)

Fatbrit said:


> Tea with the Queen.


and legally being able to be called "Sir" if you're a knight, I suppose? 

During the Olympics we saw on the news that the Queen was going to be meeting with the British Olympians when they came home. One of my Aussie colleagues said, with mock (?) outrage, "When is she going to meet the Aussie Olympians? She's OUR Queen too!"

People here just don't care what some old lady in a highback chair is doing on the other side of the planet. Can't say I blame them.


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## Fatbrit (May 8, 2008)

Tiffani said:


> and legally being able to be called "Sir" if you're a knight, I suppose?
> 
> During the Olympics we saw on the news that the Queen was going to be meeting with the British Olympians when they came home. One of my Aussie colleagues said, with mock (?) outrage, "When is she going to meet the Aussie Olympians? She's OUR Queen too!"
> 
> People here just don't care what some old lady in a highback chair is doing on the other side of the planet. Can't say I blame them.


Well I don't think there's been any pressure from the UK to persuade the Australians either to retain the queen as head of state or stay in the Commonwealth. So their inability to do what you say they want is their own inability. I can pretty well guarantee there'd be no invasion if they voted her out.


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## Tiffani (Dec 4, 2007)

Actually, you're right. Apparently Howard was quite the loyalist and when there was a move to federalism several years back, the government somehow managed to convince people before the referendum that it would be too much of a hassle to leave the commonwealth ("we'll have to re-name everything with 'Royal' in it and change our currency and everything!")

Australians can be pretty lazy too


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## Ezzy-252 (Oct 13, 2008)

Back to the topic if you please good sirs and ladies???


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## Tiffani (Dec 4, 2007)

Ezzy-252 said:


> Back to the topic if you please good sirs and ladies???


yeah.. sorry about that.

I think the short answer is, we don't know.


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## Fatbrit (May 8, 2008)

Ezzy-252 said:


> Back to the topic if you please good sirs and ladies???


You need to be a citizen or permanent resident to join the US military AFAIK. There's no "foreign legion" stuff these days.


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## Tiffani (Dec 4, 2007)

These are the requirements for joining the Army per GoArmy.com (which, even though it's a .com, is the official recruitment site of the US army)

GENERAL QUALIFICATIONS

* U.S. citizen or permanent resident alien
* 17-41 years old
* Healthy and in good physical condition
* In good moral standing
* High school or Equivalent Education

Some positions may have additional qualifications


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## Fatbrit (May 8, 2008)

Tiffani said:


> ** U.S. citizen or permanent resident alien*


Bingo! Bingo!


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## twostep (Apr 3, 2008)

How many more times will we have to spell it out?


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## Ezzy-252 (Oct 13, 2008)

Wow, way to put a downer on it, tell you what why dont you come around my house and burn my passport then i wont be able to go and live anywhere! lol


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## twostep (Apr 3, 2008)

Ezzy-252 said:


> Wow, way to put a downer on it, tell you what why dont you come around my house and burn my passport then i wont be able to go and live anywhere! lol


Well, they do not let you join unless you have a green card or a citizenship. So where is the problem? It is rather A or B. Do you have any specific qestions? Would you mind to quit whining? Thank you.


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## EURODOG (Jul 31, 2008)

Ezzy-252 said:


> Back to the topic if you please good sirs and ladies???



I don't think you can now, although at one time you could (Viet Nam) as I know of a couple of guys who thought it was a good idea and joined the US Marine Corps........ I heard there was the possibility for RAF personnel to cross transfer to the USAF fairly recently but that I think is as far as goes now..........


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## flyboy95355 (Dec 13, 2008)

As a retired Air Force member I have known many foreign nationals that have enlisted from different countries. Some from England, Italy, Germany etc... The one stipulation to becoming a citizen and staying in the service is you have to have earned your citizenship within ten years or you are out of service and country.


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## Fatbrit (May 8, 2008)

flyboy95355 said:


> As a retired Air Force member I have known many foreign nationals that have enlisted from different countries. Some from England, Italy, Germany etc... The one stipulation to becoming a citizen and staying in the service is you have to have earned your citizenship within ten years or you are out of service and country.


At the time this question was answered. you definitely needed to be either a citizen or permanent resident to join the military. On Dec 5 of this year, there was the following press release:

_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._

Still no information on how they are going to implement this -- but it possibly opens it up to few more people. However, it is *not* a solution for the OP.


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## synthia (Apr 18, 2007)

Ezzy-252 said:


> Wow, way to put a downer on it, tell you what why dont you come around my house and burn my passport then i wont be able to go and live anywhere! lol


I'm actually a little tired of people reacting to the facts by claiming we are dumping on their dreams. It hasn't been easy to come to the US to work for years, we are becoming less and less welcoming, even while taking in more and more immigrants.

I can't move to any of the European countries, and you can't move here.


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## twostep (Apr 3, 2008)

flyboy95355 said:


> As a retired Air Force member I have known many foreign nationals that have enlisted from different countries. Some from England, Italy, Germany etc... The one stipulation to becoming a citizen and staying in the service is you have to have earned your citizenship within ten years or you are out of service and country.


The infomation you posted is absolutely outdated.


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## MAJORO4 (Dec 20, 2008)

*US Army wants you*



Ezzy-252 said:


> A few of you may have seen my other post "Cops in the USA???", and may know that i am looking to join the US military, in order to become a citizen, i was wondering are there any Brits serving in the US Armed Forces on this forum? Or anyone who knows of anyone who has done it that i can contact? thnx.


I was just getting ready to answer your other email, but decided to open this one first.
First you need to get a permanent visa-green card. Once you have this you are qualified to join the US Army. That is a shortcut to citizenship by several years.
Now if you want to be a Military Policeman like I was, prior to becoming a civilian cop, find out if you need a secret clearance to get that job. You may need that, in which case, you almost always need citizenship first. If you go into many other army jobs, no clearance required.
One big clue-don't join the army. It sucks. Join the Air Force. They treat you better and you get the sme rights in every way.
Also, you can simply join the reserves if you don't want to do it every day.
I know most of this stuff because my wife is from another country. She was going to join,but saw how I-as a captain-got treated so badly by deeply inferior people. She doesn't want anything to do with the army now.
Anyway, if you have any other specific questions you can reach me at my home email: [


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## Fatbrit (May 8, 2008)

MAJORO4 said:


> First you need to get a permanent visa-green card.


Therein lies the problem. He has no basis to be petitioned for a GC.


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## freeda (Dec 20, 2008)

When I was in the Air Force, my direct superior was British. I don't know if he had gotten his American citizenship, though. Your best bet is to go talk to a recruiter. Good luck to you!


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## twostep (Apr 3, 2008)

freeda said:


> When I was in the Air Force, my direct superior was British. I don't know if he had gotten his American citizenship, though. Your best bet is to go talk to a recruiter. Good luck to you!


Let's try this again - no Green Card no enlistment! Very simple!


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## freeda (Dec 20, 2008)

twostep said:


> Let's try this again - no Green Card no enlistment! Very simple!


I maintain that speaking with a recruiter for official information is always the best way to go. (Seeing as how some things changed with the "war on terror".)

This article is pretty good, however.

Serving a Nation Not Yet Their Own

Relevant Highlight: In 2002, Mr. Bush issued an executive order waiving the three-year waiting period for naturalization for noncitizens in the military. One day of active-duty service now qualifies a noncitizen soldier to apply for citizenship.

A year later, Congress streamlined the naturalization process by waiving all fees, granting posthumous citizenship to any noncitizen killed in combat and extending eligibility for citizenship to surviving spouses.

Legislation passed in January potentially changed the landscape of noncitizens in the military. *The new law by Congress provided uniformity for the five military services, allowing the various service secretaries to waive the requirement that noncitizen recruits hold lawful permanent resident immigration status if "such enlistment is vital to the national interest."

Officially, none of the services – Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force or Coast Guard – will accept any new recruit who is not a citizen or green-card holder.* And noncitizens cannot enlist for any specialty that requires a security clearance.

Noncitizen recruits must pass a language proficiency test and go through extensive criminal background checks before enlistment. They must obtain citizenship during the first term of enlistment before they can re-enlist.

The extra scrutiny isn't lost on the noncitizen soldier, Dr. Stock said.

"They know they have to clear more security and undergo more vetting than the U.S.-born soldier," she said. "They also know that if they become naturalized, they can lose their citizenship if they receive a less-than-honorable discharge. They simply have to be better soldiers than the native-born ones."

In the wake of Mr. Bush's 2002 order, a few illegal immigrants enlisted using forged documents. The military now accepts only the government-issued I-551 green card or confirmation by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services that a potential recruit has LPR status.


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## Fatbrit (May 8, 2008)

Where's the "banging my head against a wall" smiley when you need it?


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## freeda (Dec 20, 2008)

Fatbrit said:


> Where's the "banging my head against a wall" smiley when you need it?


Can't imagine why you would need one. If the statement is "you must have a green card" but the policy is "exceptions may be made", you can't continue to claim that the green card is 100% mandatory. It may apply to 99.99999% of enlistees, but stating it as absolute truth is erroneous.

With that, I bounce. Have a wonderful Christmas!


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## Fatbrit (May 8, 2008)

freeda said:


> Can't imagine why you would need one. If the statement is "you must have a green card" but the policy is "exceptions may be made", you can't continue to claim that the green card is 100% mandatory. It may apply to 99.99999% of enlistees, but stating it as absolute truth is erroneous.
> 
> With that, I bounce. Have a wonderful Christmas!


If we want to get in to the really obscure, you can get a Senator to pass a private bill for your green card. There are a handful of such acquisitions each year from strange cases that fell afoul of the rules but touched somebody's sympathetic side.

And a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you, too!


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## twostep (Apr 3, 2008)

freeda said:


> Can't imagine why you would need one. If the statement is "you must have a green card" but the policy is "exceptions may be made", you can't continue to claim that the green card is 100% mandatory. It may apply to 99.99999% of enlistees, but stating it as absolute truth is erroneous.
> 
> With that, I bounce. Have a wonderful Christmas!


Would you please name ONE of these exceptions? Thank you.


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## Tiffani (Dec 4, 2007)

twostep said:


> Would you please name ONE of these exceptions? Thank you.


My guess would be someone who speaks Russian, Arabic, Persian, and Mandarin Chinese with native fluency and no accent, and has a doctorate in nuclear engineering with a minor in international politics.


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## Fatbrit (May 8, 2008)

Tiffani said:


> My guess would be someone who speaks Russian, Arabic, Persian, and Mandarin Chinese with native fluency and no accent, and has a doctorate in nuclear engineering with a minor in international politics.


You forgot the CPR certification! Without that, it's surely a no-go.


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## Tiffani (Dec 4, 2007)

sorry, I thought the CPR certification went without saying


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## twostep (Apr 3, 2008)

Tiffani said:


> My guess would be someone who speaks Russian, Arabic, Persian, and Mandarin Chinese with native fluency and no accent, and has a doctorate in nuclear engineering with a minor in international politics.



Sorry Tiffany - that is the six months crash course in San Diego. Welcome to the world of Rosetta Stone:>)


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## synthia (Apr 18, 2007)

I think one of the legislative actions was for a woman who had lived in the US for over ten years and had two American daughters approaching puberty (yes, this is critical). The family was from an African country, and when her husband divorced her, she was required to leave, along with her two daughters (yes, we do deport our own citizens). The woman's husband had refused to allow her to apply for papers of her own. Being thoroughly assimilated, she got a lawyer to fight the deportation on humanitarian grounds, because her daughters would be forced to have female circumcision if they returned. The immigration court or whoever ruled that they had to return, and Congress overrode the decision. At least, that's how I remember the story.


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## Leevancleef (Dec 22, 2008)

I spent some of my years in the british air force, during that time me and some friends looked into the possibility of transfering to the USAF. I got contact details from thier website and sent them an email. The response was thus..

Yes they would consider me even though im not american, based soley on my experience and qualifications, given that its widely recognised that the british forces are highly trained, and personel are trained technically, to a higher standard than the US (Me being avionics, my role in uk forces was more extensive than the us counterpart). However they also said that because i had already been a enlisted to a non-us armed force, i could not join.


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## Tiffani (Dec 4, 2007)

that's an interesting catch-22, isn't it?


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## synthia (Apr 18, 2007)

With the economic downturn, recruiting within the US will probably get a bit easier.


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