ARTICLE: Pentagon targets Latinos and Mexicans to man the front lines in war on terro

dahamsta

No bloody foreigners, unless you're willing to be exported immediately to the killing zones. How anyone could find this administration acceptable is beyond me.

adam

Pentagon targets Latinos and Mexicans to man the front lines in war on terror
By Andrew Gumbel in Los Angeles
10 September 2003

With the casualty rate in Iraq growing by the day and President George Bush's worldwide "war on terrorism" showing no signs of abating, a stretched United States military is turning increasingly to Latinos - including tens of thousands of non-citizen immigrants - to do the fighting and dying on its behalf.

Senior Pentagon officials have identified Latinos as by far the most promising ethnic group for recruitment, because their numbers are growing rapidly in the US and they include a plentiful supply of low-income men of military age with few other job or educational prospects.

Recruitment efforts have also extended to non-citizens, who have been told by the Bush administration that they can apply for citizenship the day they join up, rather than waiting the standard five years after receiving their green card. More than 37,000 non-citizens, almost all Latino, are currently enlisted. Recruiters have even crossed the border into Mexico - to the fury of the Mexican authorities - to look for school-leavers who may have US residency papers.

[...]

bloggs

Reminds me of the Irish in 'Gangs of New York', getting of the boat to be sent out to the front in the American Civil War.

What next? Take criminals out of prison and hand them a rifle? Actually that would be a good idea, would keep the prisons population low and they could use it against their sentence

Turnip

Originally posted by bloggs
Reminds me of the Irish in 'Gangs of New York', getting of the boat to be sent out to the front in the American Civil War.

What next? Take criminals out of prison and hand them a rifle? Actually that would be a good idea, would keep the prisons population low and they could use it against their sentence

Except there'd probably be a Spartacus type revolt. :ninja:

The Beer Baron

Just shows you how far American racial policy has come since Vietnam. It used to be blacks. (But then I suppose shows like Benson and The Cosby Show changed all that.)


It's nothing new.
In WWII it was Injuns.
In WWIII it'll probably be Muslims.
Who knows.

mike65

Board member posts "shock horror" non-story, shock horror!

Mike.

Capt'n Midnight

If you go back to the war of independence you find a more democratic system. Anyone rich or poor could be called up.

(Though rich people could hire someone to take their place)

Don't let our govt know that the US will happily take non-nationals. Ireland makes a profit on UN peacekeeping missions - that shower down in leinster house would probaby sell out the Irish Army...

Geromino

Good Grief! Another "intelligent journalist" out to make a mockery of journalism.

Let us get some facts straight here:

1. America has a voluntary force, not a draft. That ended in the 70's. This point makes initially the article invalid.

2. There are over 200 MOS. Initially in recruitment, they are given their choices on what they can accomplish. If a Latino has electircal experience, he/she would not be a line troop unless that his/her choice. The chances of a recruit who wants to join a line unit is still one in 12.

3. Recruitment officers have quotas to fill.

4. If you have a "green" card, America's version for permenant residence, you can join the military and wait only three years instead of five to become a citizen. Again, it is a choice. In times of emergency, like a war, by an executive order from the President, the said such order could expedite such.

5. Military pay is average, but it has some extraordinary benefits. The only way Beer Baron et al would be to join such a group and find out for yourself, if you are willing to take a unique challenge.

To Beer Baron:

I guess you have not heard of the term "Nisei" or Tuskegee. The Nisei, who came from the Hawaii Islands, formed the famed 442nd regimental combat team. Both the 100th Batalllion and the 442nd won more combat awards as a unit than any other unit in the armed forces. The Tuskegee airmen, who also volunteered, became the famous 332nd Figher group. Again, they were volunteers. As for "Injuns," I guess you are speaking of the Navajos, the infamous code talkers of the Marine Corps. However, the Native Americans served with distinction in the Spanish American War, WWI, WWII, Korea, and Vietnam. President T. Roosevelt made them American citizens in 1905. There are currently five MOH (Medal of Honor winners) with three of them as officers.

The infamous Irish brigade during the civil war did not exactly like "darkies" or blacks. In fact, they did not exactly like most of the European immigrants who fought in that war, but performed superbly in battle.

TomF

I would have to agree that this is a non-story because every professional army in history except when there was general conscription, has depended upon men with few "career" opportunities to join and fight its battles. I hedged that by saying "professional" because the armies of the Islamic conquests and the Crusades were probably filled with volunteers from all walks of life.

On the Irish in the U.S. Civil War, I read a book years ago about the notorious Andersonville prisoner-of-war camp run by the Confederates. A passage that shocked me was the description of a large contingent of Union soldiers from Ireland who called themselves "The Brennans", I think, from the song "Brennan on the Moor" who robbed food and clothing from weaker fellow prisoners and thus survived the camp for the most part while thousands of others died of starvation and disease.

When I think of gallant Irishmen in the wars, I tend to picture them as so many Roy Keane's in military uniform dispensing gallantry left and right to the foe!

sovtek

Originally posted by Geromino
Good Grief! Another "intelligent journalist" out to make a mockery of journalism.

Let us get some facts straight here:

1. America has a voluntary force, not a draft. That ended in the 70's. This point makes initially the article invalid.

No it doesn't.. the article is pointing out the fact that the Pentagon is looking increasingly from the Latino "market" and obviously from Latino's that aren't in this country.
No where does the article say anything about there being anyone drafted.

2. There are over 200 MOS. Initially in recruitment, they are given their choices on what they can accomplish. If a Latino has electircal experience, he/she would not be a line troop unless that his/her choice. The chances of a recruit who wants to join a line unit is still one in 12.

This assumes that someone has a choice economically, which is a legal means of making money to support their families...it should be obvious that alot of Latino Americans don't as well as Mexicans, which is why they are coming into America in the first place.
Electricians and cooks die in war too.
This is another point where you don't refute anything the article says.

3. Recruitment officers have quotas to fill.

So I guess they should fill it no matter how then eh? That include approaching school children before they graduate as well as checking them out before they've even shown an interest in the military?
Third point where you haven't refuted anything the article has stated.

4. If you have a "green" card, America's version for permenant residence, you can join the military and wait only three years instead of five to become a citizen. Again, it is a choice. In times of emergency, like a war, by an executive order from the President, the said such order could expedite such.

Again you assume an immigrant has a wide variety of choices economically.
Fourth instance where you have yet to refute the article.

5. Military pay is average, but it has some extraordinary benefits. The only way Beer Baron et al would be to join such a group and find out for yourself, if you are willing to take a unique challenge.

Like provide you and your family with healthcare, education and housing. Something that might be beyond reach by many Latinos, especially immigrant ones.
I think Beer might not want to die to make a few people on the East Coast rich.

I guess you have not heard of the term "Nisei" or Tuskegee. The Nisei, who came from the Hawaii Islands, formed the famed 442nd regimental combat team. Both the 100th Batalllion and the 442nd won more combat awards as a unit than any other unit in the armed forces. The Tuskegee airmen, who also volunteered, became the famous 332nd Figher group. Again, they were volunteers. As for "Injuns," I guess you are speaking of the Navajos, the infamous code talkers of the Marine Corps. However, the Native Americans served with distinction in the Spanish American War, WWI, WWII, Korea, and Vietnam. President T. Roosevelt made them American citizens in 1905. There are currently five MOH (Medal of Honor winners) with three of them as officers.

You just pointed out another group of people who have historically been denied access to a decent standard of living. Surprise surprise they volunteered for the military.
Again ya don't refute any of the article nor Beer Baron's assertions.

The infamous Irish brigade during the civil war did not exactly like "darkies" or blacks. In fact, they did not exactly like most of the European immigrants who fought in that war, but performed superbly in battle.

They were racist as most people of European descent were at the time...especially people that were about to compete with them for manual labor jobs.
Sounds like some other groups of people we've discussed so far that volunteered. See a connection yet?

keeaumoku_tofu

is what this policy used to be informally called. The number of military recruiting offices in poor minority neighborhoods in the states is a stark reminder of the opportunities available to residents. In addition to a possible career path, it also provides a way to finance higher education, which even at public state universities can end up costing well over $10,000 year.

Since college exam scores tend to be linked to socioeconomic status, going to college straight out of high school isn't likely for poorer students. Private schools like Harvard, Yale, etc. have something known as "legacy admissions" which is when the spawn of an alum is given preference for admission. You really don't think George Bush got into college based on his grades and SAT scores now, do you? Also, veterans get preference for hiring in certain federal jobs, like the post office. (Insert jokes here.)

Minorities have always served in the military at levels disproportionately high when compared to their respective populations. The above offers some explanation but it really comes down to a lack of other opportunities. Much of the industrial/factory work, which once might have been the heart of a community like the auto industry in Detroit no longer really exists since so much of the work has been shipped to other countries.