A wish before deploying to Iraq: citizenship
Posted: Tue Dec 30, 2008 1:53 am
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A wish before deploying to Iraq: citizenship
By Kevin Maurer and Mitch Weiss - The Associated Press
Posted : Sunday Dec 28, 2008 13:29:12 EST
HAMLET, N.C. — When Staff Sgt. Rene Reale deploys to Iraq for the second time early next year, he’ll risk his life fighting alongside his fellow members of the North Carolina National Guard.
But when it comes to choosing a commander-in-chief, Reale has no say. As an British citizen, Reale was unable to vote in the November election. And that’s something he’d like to change.
As a combat veteran, the 40-year-old Reale is eligible for citizenship under rules signed by President George W. Bush in 2004 that streamlined the process for service members fighting in the U.S. military. More than 5,000 soldiers have become U.S. citizens since then, and several thousand more, including Reale, are in the pipeline.
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