Soldiers earn citizenship on eve of deployment

[unhappycamper]

Soldiers earn citizenship on eve of deployment
The Associated Press
Posted : Sunday Jan 20, 2008 17:33:37 EST

TULSA, Okla. — Three Oklahoma National Guard members in El Paso, Texas, preparing for deployment to Iraq have become United States citizens.

Jamaica native Sgt. Gareth Wilson, 27; Spc. Oyewale Hotonu-Oyerinde, 28, from Nigeria; and Tulsan Sgt. Adam Ngotngamwong, whose father is from Thailand and whose mother is Canadian, all gained their citizenship on Friday, expedited by their service with Oklahoma’s 45th Infantry Brigade.

An executive order signed by President Bush shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks means the normal wait required for legal residents of the U.S. is waived for those serving in the military, along with the application fee.

“I just wanted to go to Iraq as an American citizen,” said Tulsan Ngotngamwong, 25, who previously deployed in 2004 to Afghanistan. “It makes it closer to home. You are fighting for your country, instead of just being a legal citizen.”

Wilson also is from Tulsa, and Hotonu-Oyerinde is from Oklahoma City.


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/01/ap_citizenship_080120/