Citizenship option in basic training tells recruits that if you wish to die for us you should be one of us

According to the article written by Susanne M. Schafer of the Associated Press titled Army, Navy add citizenship option to boot camp “Now the Army and Navy, in need of specialists and language skills in wartime, are speeding things up by allowing recruits to wrap up the process while they're still in basic training by allowing federal immigration officers access to the recruits.”  I think is a great thing and a long time in coming.  What I love best about this decision is that “military officials say it's a well-deserved break for volunteers who otherwise would have to slog through the bureaucratic ordeal during deployments around the world, often far from U.S. embassies and the military route is not a short-cut for foreigners abroad to get into the U.S. Only legal immigrants can apply, officials stress, and they must complete five years of honorable service or chance having their citizenship revoked.”

If they can be brought into the service of this country and are willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for this nation, the best reward that this country can give them is the opportunity to become a true US citizen.  Now there will be some who will misuse this opportunity but to deny it to millions more because there are a few selfish idiots mixed in does not make it right.  In our history there have been many who have served along side our protectors and some who have died protecting the rights that we now take for granted.  They were buried and are celebrated as a part of our history and there is no reason that we should stop short of celebrating those who are willing to give us their all today.

What makes this more of a feel proud moment is that it was not the brain-child of one political party or another; it was a combination of those who saw a need and was willing to fill it regardless of political affiliation.  “President George W. Bush signed an executive order allowing a more compressed time frame because the nation was in a "period of hostilities."  “The Army opened the doors at its five basic training sites to immigration officials in late 2009, and the Navy last year started hosting immigration officials at its single basic training post near Chicago, so About 1,000 soldiers and sailors completed the citizenship process at basic training sites in fiscal year 2010, which ended Sept. 30.”  I guess Lt. Col. Brian Hernandez says it best “translators he knew who were hired by the Army in Iraq and Afghanistan have come to the United States to enlist.”And they go back, not only as U.S. soldiers, but as U.S. citizens," he said. "That's awesome."