Hey, it works for the French

The Voice of America has an article by Paige Kollock about a new recruitment drive by the US Army:

The US Army is stepping up efforts to recruit more skilled soldiers by offering immigrants a fast track to US citizenship if they enlist. The move comes as the Pentagon prepares to send several thousand more troops to Afghanistan and with the war in Iraq in its sixth year.
The Army chief of staff swore in a group of recruits at a ceremony in New York. Half of these three dozen new Army recruits were immigrants from countries such as Pakistan, India, South Korea, and Bangladesh. General George Casey welcomed the new soldiers, recruited under a new initiative called MAVNI: Military Accessions Vital to the National Interest. It's a pilot program that promotes enlistment as a short-cut to US citizenship. Recruits are required to have at least two years of legal US residency.
Lieutenant Colonel Margaret Stock says the Army is looking for people with language skills or medical expertise. "We're also looking for people who have cultural ability. They understand certain cultures that we are dealing with. We found, in our operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, that having people who were culturally knowledgeable is critical to success on the battlefield," Stock said.
So far, the MAVNI program, which began in February, has enlisted 52 new soldiers, sixty percent of whom are college graduates. The Army wants people who speak one of 35 languages it deems 'strategic'.
Stephen Chi speaks Cantonese and four other languages. He will be working as a petroleum supply specialist. He says he enlisted, not for the US passport, but for the camaraderie. "I grew up in Norway, my parents are Chinese, so joining the Army will give me a chance to really belong somewhere," he said.
Twenty-four-year-old Toniya Mishra, who will start as a water treatment specialist. She says the Army approached her after finding her resume on the Internet. While her starting salary is less than she hoped to get with a masters' degree, she says there are other perks. "They provide insurance for your family, you get to travel a lot in different countries, and it's better than doing anything else in a market like today," she said.
For the recruits, the next stop is basic training, a rigorous nine weeks of physical fitness, discipline, and training. Then some will go to Iraq or Afghanistan, where they could face the dangers of combat.
Melpati Krishna, a medical doctor from India, has some concerns. "My only fear," Krishna says, "is getting through the basic training."
So far, 380 people have applied. The Army says it will accept up to 1,000 before the program expires in December.

Rico says this is a good thing; the French do it with the Foreign Legion, and it gets them both good soldiers and good citizens.