VVA Calls on DoD to Stand Up for Immigrant Recruits, Troops, Veterans, and Families for Good of National Security
Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2018 6:22 am
VVA Calls on DoD to Stand Up for Immigrant Recruits, Troops, Veterans, and Families for Good of National Security
(Washington, D.C.) – “Since the founding of our nation, immigrants have played a vital role in the United States military, and they’ve been a tremendous part of what makes America great -- one only needs to see the number of immigrants whose names are etched into the black granite of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial,” said John Rowan, President of Vietnam Veterans of America. “After recent reports of a purge of immigrants from the military and the bureaucratic strangling of service-for-citizenship programs, the time has come for Secretary of Defense James Mattis and Under Secretary of Defense Robert Wilkie to fix this mess, once and for all.”
Over the past 13 months, there have been a series of disturbing reports about immigrant service members, veterans, and families facing broken promises, uncertainty, and threats of deportation. The hampered Military Accessions Vital to the National Interest program has left the military short on critical positions, including doctors and translators. The threat of deportation of military spouses while their husbands and wives deploy is a serious threat to readiness and the mental well-being of troops and their families.
“We call on Mr. Wilkie to consider using his remaining days as Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness to address these problems,” said Rowan. “If America continues to break promises made to the men and women who have stepped forward to defend our nation with their own lives, soon conscription may be the only means of building a fighting force to preserve our independence and American way of life.”
(Washington, D.C.) – “Since the founding of our nation, immigrants have played a vital role in the United States military, and they’ve been a tremendous part of what makes America great -- one only needs to see the number of immigrants whose names are etched into the black granite of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial,” said John Rowan, President of Vietnam Veterans of America. “After recent reports of a purge of immigrants from the military and the bureaucratic strangling of service-for-citizenship programs, the time has come for Secretary of Defense James Mattis and Under Secretary of Defense Robert Wilkie to fix this mess, once and for all.”
Over the past 13 months, there have been a series of disturbing reports about immigrant service members, veterans, and families facing broken promises, uncertainty, and threats of deportation. The hampered Military Accessions Vital to the National Interest program has left the military short on critical positions, including doctors and translators. The threat of deportation of military spouses while their husbands and wives deploy is a serious threat to readiness and the mental well-being of troops and their families.
“We call on Mr. Wilkie to consider using his remaining days as Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness to address these problems,” said Rowan. “If America continues to break promises made to the men and women who have stepped forward to defend our nation with their own lives, soon conscription may be the only means of building a fighting force to preserve our independence and American way of life.”