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Airmen raise hands, take last step to citizenship

  • Published
  • By Greg Allen
  • 27th Special Operations Wing Public Affairs
CANNON AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. --  Five Airmen here once again raised their right hands and vowed to protect and defend the United States as they became America's newest naturalized citizens July 20. 

Airmen 1st Class Rafael Jamandre, Yetbark Berhe, Aung Soe, and Addisu Yifru, all from the 27th Special Operations Logistics Readiness Squadron, and Airman 1st Class Michael Lazarus, assigned to the 27th Special Operations Civil Engineer Squadron, had their road to citizenship shortened considerably because they volunteered to serve in the Air Force. 

Elizabeth Lee, the field office director for the U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services office in Albuquerque, N.M., administered the oath as 27th Special Operations Wing leadership and members of their flights attended to congratulate what, for these Airmen, was a momentous occasion. 

"It means everything to me," said Airman Lazarus, who is from Trinidad-Tobago. "It's the biggest moment in my life because it is the key to my future. Life is great." 

Opportunities, education and training were some of the reasons why Airman Berhe said he joined the Air Force, along with a goal of becoming an American citizen. His was a longer road than the rest of his new fellow citizens. He arrived in the United States just days before Sept. 11, 2001, and the process of getting a green card, the first step in becoming a citizen, was arduous. 

"I waited a long time for my card because of the uncertainty after September 11," he said.
A green card is necessary to joining the military. But what takes most new arrivals at least five years to accomplish can be shortened to months if an individual joins the military. That's because Congress modified immigration laws in 2004 to streamline the process for foreign-born military members. 

Elijah Williams is one of the first individuals a non-citizen Airmen sees upon arrival to Cannon. Mr. Williams works for Dellew Corp., a contractor and is a senior customer service representative who processes identification cards and naturalization requests for the 27th Special Operations Mission Support Group. 

"After I get a printout of foreign-born Airmen, I contact their first sergeants to begin the paperwork," said Mr. Williams, an Air Force retiree. 

He personally prepares the Airmen and coordinates everything through the U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services office in Albuquerque. Airmen can begin the process as soon as they arrive to their first duty station. 

Mr. Williams has guided more than 150 Airmen at Cannon to citizenship during the last six years, and his newest crop of naturalized American are explicit in their gratitude for his efforts.

"Mr. Williams did everything to make this easy for me," said Airman Soe, who left life under a military dictatorship in what is officially called Myanmar, but he calls Burma. "I now have a future in the Air Force and a stable and free life." 

Foreign-born Airmen who do not become citizens while in the Air Force must separate after six years. 

Following their oath, Col. Stephen Clark, 27th Special Operations Wing commander, congratulated the new Americans, telling them that by serving their country in the Air Force, "You have already done more for your country than 99 percent of fellow citizens who were born in the United States. You raised you hand once before, to defend your nation." 

He then presented each Airman with a Commander's Coin of Excellence, something he had previously done only three times before, since he assumed command at Cannon May 27.

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