Photo By Staff Sgt. Mike Hagburg | (From left) U.S. KFOR Soldiers Spc. Roberto Arteaga, Los Angeles, Spc. Cristian...... read more read more
Story by: Spc. Drew Balstad
CAMP BONDSTEEL, Kosovo — Eight Multinational Battle Group East Soldiers became citizens of the United States on March 25. Three of those soldiers, all members of Multi-National Battle Group-East's 1-144th Maneuver Task Force, originally came to the United States from El Salvador.
Spc. Cristian Alfaro, Encino, Calif., Spc. Roberto Arteaga, Los Angeles, and Spc. Juan Medrano, Los Angeles, all came with their families from El Salvador to the United States seeking a better life.
Arteaga's mother came to the United States two years before he did, and went through the immigration process, getting a green card and eventually meeting and marrying his step-father.
"She wanted a better life," said Arteaga. "She wanted a good job, because back in El Salvador, there were no jobs. There was no future for me, or her."
Arteaga acquired his own green card and started going to school in Los Angeles. He joined the military when he was 17 and still in high school after looking at all the benefits the military could offer him.
For Medrano, his mother also left El Salvador for the United States seeking a better life for her family. She left his home country in 1991, as El Salvador's brutal civil war was
still ongoing. Medrano said his mother left because there were no opportunities for her or their family in El Salvador; she didn't even know how to read or write.
For all three, citizenship has been something they have been looking to attain for a while, but the naturalization process is generally a long one. During mobilization last year, 1-144th MTF administrative specialist Cpl. Gerald Thomas learned of the three El Salvadoran's and five other Soldiers wanting to get citizenship. Thomas started to put together the paperwork that would speed up the process.
Because they were in the military and deployed, the soldiers were able to get citizenship much faster than would normally be possible. Thomas made sure that all the soldiers had their paperwork filled out correctly and tracked them through the process of attaining citizenship through the Department of Homeland Security.
After their paperwork was accepted, a member of the Department of Homeland Security came to Camp Bondsteel to conduct interviews with all the candidates for citizenship.
Arteaga said he was interviewed and also asked questions about the basics of civics in the United States, such as how many members are in the U.S. Senate, as well as basic U.S. History questions, such as who the first president was.
After this final step, citizenship was granted to all eight Soldiers who were interviewed. Arteaga said that he sought citizenship for the multiple opportunities that it would afford him for schooling and jobs in the future. For Medrano, the longing to be a U.S. citizen goes as far back as he can remember.
"It's been a dream of mine since I was small," said Medrano. "I was given my first pair of shoes by a Marine in El Salvador."
Thomas expressed his feelings about his role in the eight Soldiers' achievement.
"[Being a part of this process] made me feel good," said Thomas. "It made me feel good that we have new citizens, and that I could help."
During the ceremony, 1-144th MTF's commander, Lt. Col. David Brady, Modesto, Calif., offered words of encouragement to all the new citizens.
"One of the things that made America great is that it's a melting pot. We all come from different lands and it doesn't matter if you've been here 300 years or just a couple of generations like my family," he said. "I challenge each and every one of you to strive to be citizens of character, morals, honor and integrity. This is what the country needs."
Medrano expressed gratitude for his new-found citizenship.
"I am happy and glad for all the opportunities this country has given me," said Medrano. "There are no words to describe this. I'm free."
| Date Taken: | 03.25.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 04.09.2010 05:31 |
| Story ID: | 47875 |
| Location: | CAMP BONDSTEEL, ZZ |
| Web Views: | 199 |
| Downloads: | 135 |
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