{"id":30693,"date":"2012-07-09T14:09:41","date_gmt":"2012-07-09T18:09:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/valorguardians.com\/blog\/?p=30693"},"modified":"2012-07-09T14:09:51","modified_gmt":"2012-07-09T18:09:51","slug":"new-citizens-in-kandahar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/?p=30693","title":{"rendered":"New US citizens in Kandahar"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The folks of the 3rd Sustainment Command (Provisional) who invited us to Fort Knox for the colors casing ceremony and provided TSO with a trip to Afghanistan held a naturalization ceremony for 44 people from the various services on the 1st of July, so they left to perform their duties as immigrants and they’ll come home citizens;<\/p>\n

KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan (July 1, 2012) \u2013 The Joint Sustainment Command-Afghanistan hosted a naturalization ceremony at Kandahar Airfield on June 29, 2012.<\/p>\n

In total, 44 service members serving in the combined joint operations area-Afghanistan took part in the ceremony and officially became American citizens.<\/p>\n

Brig. Gen. Kristin K. French, the commanding general of JSC-A, thanked everyone in attendance as these service members achieved their American dream.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday we celebrate the American dream. The dream of a nation where all people are created equal,\u201d said French. \u201cYou are here because you have not merely chosen to live in this country, you have chosen to serve this country and become an American citizen while deployed to Afghanistan.\u201d<\/p>\n

Speaking at the ceremony was the Honorable Stephen G. McFarland, the Ambassador and Coordinating Director Rule of Law and Law Enforcement for the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan. <\/p>\n

McFarland, who joined the embassy in January, said that he was honored to have the opportunity to attend the ceremony and aid in the process of naturalizing America\u2019s newest citizens. He explained that by taking the Oath of Citizenship, they were following in the footsteps of many others who had become American\u2019s many years ago.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday, you are all Americans,\u201d McFarland told the service members. \u201cBy taking the Oath of Citizenship, you\u2019re joining a long and proud tradition.\u201d <\/p>\n

For many of those naturalized during the ceremony, the opportunity to become American citizens was one that they have dreamed of for many years. <\/p>\n

When Marine Cpl. Carlos A. Silva joined the military, he said that he knew he would become a citizen one day, but was never sure of when. He said that he traveled to the United States with his parents as a young child, and grew up there. For Silva, this day was special and overwhelming at the same time.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m truly happy to be here,\u201d said Silva. \u201cToday is special day for myself and my family.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sgt. Omero Baker and Sgt. John Mesias are all smiles after officially becoming American citizens during a naturalization ceremony sponsored by Joint Sustainment Command \u2013 Afghanistan on June 29. In total, forty-four service members serving in the combined joint operations area-Afghanistan took part in the ceremony in which they officially became American citizens. <\/p>\n

Sgt. John Mesias admires an American Flag during the naturalization ceremony sponsored by Joint Sustainment Command \u2013 Afghanistan on June 29. In total, forty-four service members serving in the combined joint operations area-Afghanistan took part in the ceremony in which they officially became American citizens. <\/p>\n

The Joint Sustainment Command-Afghanistan hosted a naturalization ceremony at Kandahar Airfield on June 29, 2012. In total, forty-four service members serving in the combined joint operations area-Afghanistan took part in the ceremony in which they officially became American citizens. <\/p>\n

Service members recite the Oath of Citizenship during the naturalization ceremony sponsored by Joint Sustainment Command \u2013 Afghanistan on June 29. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Michael Behlin)<\/p>\n

Photos and story by Staff Sgt. Michael Behlin, 3d Sustainment Command (Expeditionary) Public Affairs.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I don’t think I’ve ever seen happier faces on deployed soldiers;<\/p>\n

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The folks of the 3rd Sustainment Command (Provisional) who invited us to Fort Knox for the … New US citizens in Kandahar<\/span>Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30693","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-terror-war"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30693","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=30693"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30693\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=30693"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=30693"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=30693"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}