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| Green Card Mercenaries |
| 2005-06-07 |
| Raymond Ritzau is sitting in the Rocky Bottom bar in the Washington DC suburb of Bethesda, and nervously stirring his drink. "Of course I am scared," says the 23-year-old who, despite being from Landshut, Germany, looks like many young Americans with his brush cut and his blue football jersey. Ritzau is troubled because, day by day, his mission is Iraq is coming closer: as a soldier in the US National Guard, he will have to fight in Mesopotamia in three weeks. According to the Pentagon, he is one of more than 32,000 foreigners serving in the US military. They make up 1.2 percent of the US forces, and are mostly Latinos. For the majority of them, the longing for adventure or patriotic feelings for the United States are less important when they sign up than the advantages they are promised, which include having university tuition fees paid by the military and, most importantly, US citizenship. "I wouldn't have been able to afford it," Ritzau says of his business studies course at Montgomery College in Rockville, Maryland. "Get your degree tuition free," advertises Maryland's National Guard for new recruits. That sounded very attractive to Ritzau, and now the National Guard is paying his tuition of about USD 1,500 (EUR 1,190) per semester at the community college. According to Pentagon spokeswoman Lieutenant Colonel Ellen Krenke, the foreigners serving in the US military come from almost 190 countries around the world, and nearly 6,400 foreign soldiers in US uniforms are currently deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. Seventy foreigners have already died in the wars and insurgencies in Afghanistan and Iraq. Mexicans have seen the highest toll, with 25 having died in combat. With about 3,500 soldiers, Mexicans constitute the second-largest group of foreign nationals in the US military and are outnumbered only by 5,600 Filipinos. "As a foreigner, you get exactly the same treatment," says Ritzau when asked about differences between foreigners and US nationals in the military. "I am already quite Americanised," he adds. Ritzau came to the United States in 1999 with his father and brother. His father married a woman from the United States, and all three got a 'green card', a permanent residence and work permit, but none has citizenship yet. That might change for the 23-year-old after his service in Iraq. Ritzau was recruited by the National Guard in August 2001 - one month before the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington. One month after those attacks, the United States was at war in Afghanistan and the Iraq invasion followed 17 months later. "I knew that I would possibly have to go to war," he says. At the beginning, everything was pretty easy in the Guard, Ritzau says, more like a student's job than the army: one weekend of training per month and two weeks of military exercises in the summer. But since December, Ritzau has known that his infantry unit was going to Iraq. After the autumn semester ended just before Christmas, he had to take a break from college. For the past four months, he has gone through intense military training in the states of Georgia and California to prepare for the deployment. He and his comrades have trained in how to set up checkpoints, raid buildings and go on patrol. "You can never really prepare yourself for a war," he admits. "It will always be a little different from what you expect." But unlike many of his countrymen, Ritzau says the war in Iraq was right: "I think, since we [the US military] went to Iraq, many things have turned out well. I think that overall it was a good idea." "I am proud to go to [Iraq] under this flag," he adds. But for his fear, there is no cure. "When I lie in bed at night, I dream of the war," he says. |
| Posted by:too true |
| #6 "When I lie in bed at night, I dream of the war," And yet, he will go. Only fools have no fear. But what he is doing? Thats the true mark of a man. A true example of courage. Someone that I will be very glad to have as a fellow citizen and fellow veteran. |
| Posted by: OldSpook 2005-06-07 22:48 |
| #5 I certainly have more respect for Raymond than I do for the jackoff at expatica.com who came up with the obviously prejudicial title. He's smart, aware, and normal. I am happy he's here. I may go sponsor him with Operation AC when he ships out. Such worthy people make America worthy, thanks, bro. |
| Posted by: .com 2005-06-07 20:57 |
| #4 At least Mr Ritzau is fulfilling his obligation. That's more than you can say for losers like Pablo Paredes.....and this guy isn't even a citizen (yet). Thanks for your service, Mr Ritzau! |
| Posted by: Desert Blondie 2005-06-07 14:53 |
| #3 somehow i suspect serving in the military will be very good training for citizenship. They'll learn english fluently, if they dont already know it, will be socially assimilated by their fellow american soldiers, will learn initiative, ability to follow orders, etc, etc. Plenty of worse ways to get new citizens. |
| Posted by: liberalhawk 2005-06-07 14:44 |
| #2 That's the Rock Bottom Brewery, and the beer and food there are pretty good. Didn't know I could get a new SS# there. Thought I had to go to Pakistan for that. ... Maybe we should have Rantapalooza there. Beer and fake ID's all around! |
| Posted by: Seafarious 2005-06-07 12:52 |
| #1 But for his fear, there is no cure. "When I lie in bed at night, I dream of the war," he says. Somehow, I have this suspicion that the apprehension he's feeling was inspired by none other than the Media and their frequent tales of Iraqi doom. |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2005-06-07 12:38 |