Expert: Cynthia Bedell - 7/14/2008

Question
Dear  Cynthia

I am a illegal Latino in the U.S. , a police officer that is my friend told me that if i don't want to go to jail I should became a military  , the police officer cousin of a military army general , is the one  of the idea ... the bad stuff is that the general told the police officer that the Latin soldiers are the ones that are send to war and fight in battles that they will loose because the U.S. army don't cares about Latin people ..is that true ? please i need a complete respond i am afraid! help !

Answer
Dear Carlos --

If you enlist in the US military, you will be treated like all the other recruits.  You will be in a unit that has completely mixed races, and you will all work together as a team.

Unlike during World War II when the US had black units and Japanese heritage units that fought separately from the all white units, we no longer have segregated units.  You will fight side-by-side with Soldiers of all heritages and walks of life.

Because non-citizen Soldiers cannot have US security clearances, some jobs will not be open to you.  However, you can get your citizenship faster (if you want US citizenship) by serving in the military.  Then you will no longer be an illegal, and you can leave the service when your tour is up, as a new US citizen, able to openly get a job and vote, and run for public office, if you wish.

Please don't join the military because a bully of a police officer told you to.  But if you are interested in military service, please visit a recruiter and talk about your options.

You can chat with an Army recruiter on line at:

http://www.goarmy.com/ChatIndex.do?redirect=true

Good luck to you.