He never imagined leaving Haiti four years ago. He never imagined putting on a U.S. Army uniform three years ago. Pfc. Guy A. Eugene, mechanic, 529th Network Support Company, deployed from Fort Sill, Okla., attached to 377th Theater Sustainment Command also never would have imagined that on May 20, he would raise his right hand and become a U.S. citizen on the U.S. Embassy steps in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

“Today is the first [naturalization] ceremony in Haiti and it is fitting that it takes place in May, because May is national military appreciation month,” said Mari-Carmen Jordan, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services deputy district director for Latin American and Caribbean region. “As you can see, USCIS brings immigration services to the military wherever they serve.

Pius Bannis, director of USCIS’ field office in Haiti, presided during the ceremony. Eugene became the first member of the military in to receive U.S. citizenship in Haiti.

“To me, this ceremony is a formality,” Eugene said. “Once I was allowed to wear this uniform, I felt part of the [U.S.] already. I feel like I am American.”

Eugene, who deployed in support of Operation Unified Response, was born and raised in Port-au-Prince. He came from a good family and regularly vacationed with his family in Canada during the summer. He had his own business, similar to a Home Depot, and was comfortable with his life.

“But there were kidnappings [occurring] and [people] burned down my business,” he said. “My wife got scared and asked me to move.”

Eugene was 36 years old when he made the decision to move to Hillside, N.J.

“I never really wanted to move to the [U.S.] because I was living pretty well here [in Port-au-Prince],” Eugene said.

Eugene’s wife immigrated to the U.S. almost 12 years ago. Eugene, who was not ready to leave his business and stable life in Haiti, stayed behind. He said living in two different countries didn’t stop his wife from visiting him often.

With her assistance, the couple filed for Eugene’s immigration to the U.S. On Jan. 21, 2006, Eugene immigrated to the country. Just over a year later, he joined the U.S Army.

“When I was young, I always talked with friends about [the Marines] as something I’d like to do,” Eugene said. “Everyone in Haiti knows the Marines. A lot of kids, when they see the Marines, say when they grow up they’d like to do [Marine training]. I thought, I’d like to see how [the training] is, see if I can do it.”

Eugene said he decided that he wanted to be part of the fight for freedom in Iraq and because he saw Army Soldiers in the news frequently, decided to join the Army and not the Marines.

He added that his wife wasn’t thrilled with his decision because she was afraid for him, but that his parents were very happy for him.

“Many Haitian people seem scared you’re going to get killed when you go to Iraq or Afghanistan,” Eugene said. “But my wife is getting used to [the idea].”

Although it wasn’t ideal for him, Eugene’s first deployment brought him back home. He said it wasn’t how he wanted to come home. He wanted to come back on vacation, not to assist in humanitarian efforts because an earthquake devastated his native country.

“I didn’t want to come back under these circumstances,” Eugene said.

In the four years Eugene had been gone, Port-au-Prince changed a lot, Eugene said, especially after the earthquake.

“When I first got here, it was hard for me to even find my way back to the embassy,” Eugene said. “I had to ask a driver how he would get there. After that, things started coming back.”

Eugene spent an evening with his family, who still lives in Port-au-Prince.

Once he returns to the U.S., Eugene said he plans on earning a college degree. “I’m going to try and get my degree in accounting most likely,” Eugene said. “It’s what we do in my family.”

Eugene said he may also reenlist, but that is still three years away. “My wife is ok with the [Army] for right now, but she doesn’t want me to reenlist,” Eugene said. “So I don’t know what I’m going to do.”

As the ceremony came to a close, the U.S. gained not just a citizen, but a proud American.

“Today America becomes more than your home, it is your country,” Jordan said. “America is thankful for your faithful patriotism and honorable service to this great country. May you share the great opportunities this nation offers and may your hard work reward you.”

DVIDS
Story by Pvt. Samantha Hall

Col. Walter Piatt (far left), commander, 3rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, recognizes five of ten 3IBCT Soldiers who became naturalized U.S. citizens in March. From left: Sgt. Delfino Martinez, cannon crew member, 3rd Battalion, 7th Field Artillery; Pfc. Dennis Berrei David, cannon crew member, Btry. B, 3rd Bn., 7th FA; Pfc. Angel Climaco, supply specialist, Headquarters and Headquarters Btry., 3rd Bn., 7th FA; Spc. Magdi Ahmed, interpreter/translator, Headquarters and Headquarters Co., 3 IBCT; and Spc. Marlesh Mbory, interpreter/translator, Headquarters and Headquarters Co., 3 IBCT. Photo by Staff Sgt. Tim Meyer

The two men — one a Christian from the south, the other a Muslim from the north — have nothing against each other, despite the past which tore their homeland of Sudan apart for more than 20 years during a civil war.

Today they are deployed together in Iraq with the U.S. Army, where they work with the same unit as interpreters. Despite Sudan’s violent, the two men share a bright future ““ both became naturalized U.S. citizens in a ceremony at Al Faw Palace, Baghdad, March 3.

“I love my job, and I love my new country,” said Spc. Marlesh Mbory, an assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 3rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division. “I’m grateful to be American.”

Now married with two children, Mbory moved to the United States in 2003 and settled in Lincoln, Nebraska, where thousands of former southern Sudanese citizens call home. However, his path was far from easy.

At the age of 18, Mbory’s step brother and uncle were killed in the second Sudanese Civil War. He fled from Sudan to the Congo where he lived for several months, and then to the Central African Republic for five years before finally immigrating to the U.S.

Mbory learned the French, Swahili, Arabic, Nigala, Sango and Moro languages in Africa. Upon arriving to America, Mbory’s 8-year-old daughter Lidia helped him learn English in Nebraska. He hesitated joining the U.S. Army because he didn’t want to leave Grace, his then-pregnant wife, alone at home. She persuaded him to go, and Munyo, their son, was born when Mbory was in initial entry training.

“I want to see the world peaceful in the future ““ that is my hope,” he said.

Mbory’s father, four brothers, and two sisters are still in Sudan; he is thinking of returning to visit them one day. After this deployment, he plans to work as a recruiter in Lincoln, to tell other Sudanese there of the positive advantages of joining the U.S. Army.

“I moved to the U.S. for freedom, for better opportunities, for a better life,” said Spc. Magdi Ahmed, assigned to the same unit. “Joining the Army gave me the opportunity to fix things that I saw with my eyes, but I couldn’t do anything about.”

Ahmed’s parents were from Sudan, but he was born in Saudi Arabia. After working at a railway station for nearly 20 years, Ahmed’s father was forcibly retired by the government and replaced by an employee who received less pay.

The family moved to Dongla, the capital of northern Sudan, where they lived for six years during the war. Although his parents were Sudanese, they were considered foreigners because they had lived in Saudi Arabia.

“I didn’t feel like an equal in Saudi Arabia or in Sudan,” he says. Even though he had Sudanese citizenship and was a resident there, he had to pay more for college, according to Ahmed, because he was born in Saudi Arabia, a rich country.

The college faculty intentionally gave him failing grades, because he didn’t agree with the government, according to Ahmed. In Sudan, although he suffered negative experiences ““ unfairness, discrimination, and corruption ““ Ahmed thinks of these things as positive now because they prepared him for moving to the United States.

“The U.S. was the only place you could go for justice. I couldn’t get justice from my own country. The struggle I felt in Saudi Arabia and in Sudan made me feel like the U.S. would be a better place to live,” said Ahmed.

Ahmed moved back to Saudi Arabia in 2005, and immigrated to the U.S. one year later. In Wisconsin a friend of his uncle’s helped Ahmed start a new life, and after one month, he had his own apartment and job.

Ahmed’s parents, five brothers and one sister live in Saudi Arabia, and other relatives of his still live in Sudan, where his uncle died during the war. Southern Sudan will become a separate country in 2011, and Mbory adds, “God is watching.”

Ten of the 251 Soldiers who became naturalized U.S. citizens in a ceremony at Al Faw Palace, Baghdad, March 3, serve with the 3rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division based at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii. They are:

–Spc. Marlesh Mbory, interpreter/translator, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 3rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team

–Spc. Magdi Ahmed, interpreter/translator, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 3rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team

–Pfc. Dennis Berrei David, cannon crew member, Battery B, 3rd Battalion, 7th Field Artillery

–Pfc. Angel Climaco, supply specialist, Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 3rd Battalion, 7th Field Artillery

–Pfc. Leiry Elisa Dominguez Vargas, automated logistics specialist, D Troop, 3rd Squadron, 4th U.S. Cavalry Regiment

–Sgt. Alfredo Floresreyes, team leader, Company B, 2nd Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment

–Pfc. Allan Macaraeg, rifleman, Company D, 2nd Battalion, 35th Infantry Regiment

–Sgt. Delfino Martinez, cannon crew member, Battery B, 3rd Battalion, 7th Field Artillery

–Spc. Dana Noori, interpreter, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 3rd Brigade Special Troops Battalion

–Spc. Michael Eluang, cavalry scout, 3rd Squadron, 4th U.S. Cavalry Regiment

DVIDS
Story by Staff Sgt. Tim Meyer

A former war refugee traveled across countries and continents in search of a better life — a remarkable journey that ended in the United States when he became a U.S. citizen and a soldier.

Army Spc. Samuel Ladu, 20, a translator with the 4th Infantry Division’s 1st Brigade Combat Team, grew up in Sudan during the country’s second civil war, and vividly remembers his life during that time.

“It was miserable because of the war,” Ladu said. “We were living to survive. From day to day, if we woke up in the morning, we thanked God.”

Ladu called a small farming community on the fringes of Juba, Sudan, his home for about 20 years. Ladu and his family were surrounded by two fighting factions.

“In the city, there were bombings every day,” Ladu said.

Ladu’s father died when he was 6. Soon after, his older brother, Charles, developed glaucoma. Two unsuccessful surgeries by underqualified doctors left Charles blind for life, Ladu said.

This left Ladu and his mother to care for Charles in a war-torn area with scarce food and money. His opportunity to leave Sudan came shortly after receiving a blessing from his mother to move away and search for a better life.

Ladu led Charles and his cousin to neighboring Ethiopia in search of treatments and an education. He continued his high school education there while living on rations of beans and corn provided by shelters and refugee camps. Surviving in Ethiopia became more difficult as time passed.

“While I was in Ethiopia, I considered going back to Sudan,” he explained. “I couldn’t go through with it, though. In Ethiopia, I didn’t talk to anyone, and I didn’t have any food to eat, so life became so difficult.”

At one point, he said, he realized anything could happen to him and his family while at the camp, so he took a chance and went to Kenya with a small amount of money.

“When I went to Kenya, I assumed a refugee status at a camp on the Kenya and Somalia border,” Ladu said.

Disease and famine plagued the camp. Ladu said he believes he was lucky to have stayed only four months before his processing became complete, and he boarded an aircraft to the United States.

“Some people stay for years in the camps, and even die there waiting to get out,” he said.

Arriving in New York in 1994, Ladu immediately became eligible for work and other benefits, and he moved across the country to San Diego. He struggled to find steady work there, often spending up to 80 percent of his wages toward rent.

While he was working at a convenience store as a cashier, armed criminals robbed Ladu at gunpoint on three separate occasions. The local police caught the criminals each time. His employer offered him an additional $4 an hour to remain with the store, but he decided against the raise.

“I decided I had better move on before I ended up getting hurt,” Ladu said.

He moved to Rochester, Minn., in 1996, where he attended welding school and worked as a welder at a factory. He eventually flew his girlfriend and brother to the United States to live with him.

Ladu said that since he was a child, he often envisioned becoming a soldier to serve his country. In fact, he attempted to join the Army three times, but was not proficient enough in the English language.

In March 2007, he received his chance when he enlisted in the Army Reserve and attended advanced individual training at Fort Jackson, S.C., to become a translator.

“When I look at my life, I see that the U.S. has done a lot for me,” Ladu said. “They brought me from Africa and gave me many opportunities. I asked myself what I could do to pay the government back, so I decided to join the Army.”

Upon completion of AIT, he immediately deployed to Iraq and arrived here in early August. Shortly after his arrival, he bumped into Bol Madut, a linguist with 4th Infantry Division’s Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, 1st Brigade Combat Team. The two immediately recognized each other from middle school in Sudan.

Madut said he heard that a person from Sudan was coming to work, and he was surprised to find out it was his childhood friend.

“In Sudan, Ladu was a very religious man,” Madut said. “He carried a Bible around with him all the time, trying to spread the word of Christianity. When I saw him in Iraq, I asked him where his Bible was.”

Ladu currently translates for Army Command Sgt. Maj. Michael Bobb, the senior enlisted leader for the 1st BCT. His duties include providing assessments on culture, politics and significant information released by the Iraqi media before each patrol.

“Ladu is very informative, and he isn’t from Iraq, so we know his assessment is impartial to the different religious groups,” said Army Spc. Sam Krasnican, an infantryman from Bloomington, Ill., assigned to the personnel security detachment. “He is a major asset to the Army and the unit.”

Following his deployment, Ladu said, he plans to spend time with his wife, six children and his brother, Charles, who went on to earn bachelor’s degrees in international relations and political science.

He also plans to fly his ill mother to the United States for treatment.

“When I was younger, I would point out airplanes flying in the sky and tell my mother that someday she will be sitting next to me flying to the U.S.,” Ladu said.

(Army Sgt. David Hodge serves in the 4th Infantry Division’s 1st Brigade Combat Team public affairs office.)

DoD
By Army Sgt. David Hodge
Special to American Forces Press Service

It’s not uncommon for Army units to have Soldiers striving to earn their United States citizenship. After all, the Army has made earning citizenship a recruiting incentive for enlistment.

Eight Soldiers from 40th Engineer Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, are earning their United States citizenship while deployed in Iraq. The Soldiers differ in age, gender, and job but their drive to become U.S. citizens unites them. All see the U.S. as an opportunity for something better, and are willing to fight and die for the right to call it home.

Specialist Tarikawe Daniel’s story is just one of several equally powerful stories of a quest for U.S. citizenship.

“I’ll be proud to be an American and all the opportunities that it will offer,” said Daniel, from Arlington, Va., a Combat Engineer in Company C, 40th Engineer Bn. “It will allow my children to have the chance to grow up in a place like America with so many opportunities.”

Daniel was born on the Horn of Africa in Ethiopia. This was the country for which Bob Geldof organized the rock concert Live Aid in 1985 to raise money for relief due to a devastating famine which shocked the world. Ethiopia was in the midst of a decade long civil war which had ravaged the country and brought it to the brink of total disaster. A by-product of the war was a crushing famine and resulting starvation. This was the world Daniel was born to in 1982.

Daniel lived in the capital city of Addis Ababa where the country’s dictator was fighting forces from Eritria.

“The Tigre tribe of Eritria was attacking Ababa because they wanted to overthrow the government of Ethiopia. They believed their tribe was being discriminated against by the ruler,” Daniel said. “I remember artillery shells going off in the middle of the city. It scared me and my mother and twin sister”¦ we would hide underneath trees for protection.”

His father was head of the agriculture department and left the country in fear for his life because he had worked for the Ethiopian government. He believed there was no hope in Ethiopia, and wanted a better life and opportunities for his family.

He left in 1986 for another country in Africa.

“My family doesn’t know where he went in Africa, the next time we heard from him is when he was in England,” he added.

His father was approved as a political refugee in England, where he lived for a short time with relatives in London. In 1991, Daniel left with his twin sister and mother for England, but his father was already in America. The family stayed in London less than a year, living with an aunt in London, before immigrating to the U.S.

Daniel’s father was a cab driver in Washington, D.C. and the family lived there for several years.

“There is a large Ethiopian population in D.C., that helped my father out,” said Daniel. He also had a dream of becoming a U.S. citizen. He earned his citizenship through hard work and determination, character traits Daniel remembered as he grew up.

Daniel’s father told him that education was a vital component to becoming successful in the U.S. so he moved the family to Arlington, Va. because he believed the school system was better than in D.C.

In Arlington, Daniel attended public schools and graduated from Yorktown High School in 2002, but had not yet obtained his citizenship.

“I didn’t have time to work on getting my citizenship because I was not a green card holder for five years,” said Daniel.

In 2003, at the age of 22, Daniel joined the U.S. Army.

“During that time I struggled to please my father. He wanted me to go to college but I was not a good student, I had a “˜C’ average. I spent a lot of time working to help support the family and have money for myself. The classroom environment was never my place.”

One day, Daniel’s father asked him what he was going to do with his life and he told him he would join the Army. His father scoffed, telling him he couldn’t make it.

“My guidance counselor in high school also told me I couldn’t make it in the Army. I wanted to prove them both wrong,” he said.

Daniel enlisted and became a combat engineer. His first assignment was Fort Irwin, Ca. Soon after arriving, Daniel deployed to Iraq in 2004.

“We helped set up the first elections that year,” he said, noting that he was a driver. “I always liked going outside the wire. I found purpose there and I was happy with my squad leader because he always congratulated me on my performance.”

After his tour and return to Fort Irwin, he changed duty stations and was assigned to the 2nd Infantry Div. in Korea for a one-year tour where he met the woman who would become his fiancé.

After his tour of duty he was assigned to the 40th Engineer Bn., 2nd BCT, 1st Armd. Div.

In April, Daniel’s unit deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Although Daniel was a proud and successful member of the Army, something was missing in his life – becoming a U.S. citizen. And, because of an executive order signed by President George W. Bush, non-citizens on active duty are allowed to file for citizenship right away, instead of having to complete a three-year tour of duty. Daniel’s path to citizenship was on the fast track, if he could complete the necessary paperwork.

A combat engineer’s typical day on a route clearance mission is more than 12 hours long, and full of mentally and physically exhausting work. But Daniel was bound and determined to earn his citizenship once and for all, and filed all the necessary documents.

“The Army has given me so many opportunities and has always taken care of me,” said Daniel. “All I have left to receive my citizenship is one interview and the swearing in. I consider myself an American. I don’t feel like I am not a citizen, but having that citizenship will allow me to vote.”

DVIDS
By Pfc. Evan Loyd
2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division

Houston Chronicle

Since arriving in the United States from war-torn Lebanon in 1989, Samar Spinelli pursued the American Dream.

She got a college degree.

She joined the military and rose to the rank of captain.

She married, had children and served the United States with two tours of duty in Iraq.

But her life was built on lies.

On Tuesday, the truth caught up with the 39-year-old Marine captain when she pleaded guilty in Detroit to conspiracy to commit marriage, immigration, citizenship and passport fraud.

“Yes sir,” Spinelli said repeatedly as U.S. District Judge Avern Cohn questioned her about the charges and a plea agreement that could cause her to spend 9 months in prison and possibly lose her citizenship and be deported to Lebanon. She also agreed to resign from the Marines.

Spinelli, who was on track to become a major and was within five years of retirement, will lose her Marine pension, her lawyer said.

“This is an absolute tragedy,” her lawyer, Christopher Andreoff of Detroit, said as Spinelli was processed by U.S. marshals after pleading guilty.

No. it’s not.