Fort Bragg welcomes new citizens

By Amber Avalona-Butler
Paraglide

	Photo by Amber Avalona-Butler/Paraglide Fort Bragg’s newest citizens wave flags as a recorded version of “Proud to Be an American” plays in the background at Monday’s naturalization ceremony.

In the United States, you can be born a citizen but you must become a patriot. For Soldiers, Airmen and Family members at Fort Bragg, the act of dedicating themselves to the United States of America became a reality during Monday’s naturalization ceremony.

“Part of the oath states that you will defend the constitution of the United States against all enemies foreign and domestic. Many of you have already done this and done it freely even though you were not yet citizens,” said Lt. Gen. Frank G. Helmick, commanding general of XVIII Airborne Corps and Fort Bragg. “If you are going to fight and die for our country, you should also be a citizen of our country.”

Shortly after 2 p.m. inside Memorial Hall, located on the ground floor of the Soldier Support
Center, Helmick welcomed foreigners into a cultural, religious and ideologically diverse group of citizens who form the United States of America.

The path to citizenship is a long, intense process that makes navigating the birth canal look easy in comparison. Naturalization applicants must prove high moral character, ace a background check, pass English and civics exams, and submit fingerprint, signature and photo identification. At the end of this process, naturalized citizens may know more about the United States than the average citizen.

The standard application and photo fee of $675 is waived for Soldiers who pay the higher price of wearing a military uniform. The United States Immigration Service and Fort Bragg continue to improve procedures for military applicants, streamlining the process to a mere 60 days —down from a year.

This is good news for attendees like Adriana Maria Jaramillo, wife of Danny Jaramillo, a naturalized Soldier with the 95th Civil Affairs Brigade who has served for the past three and a half years. They came from Columbia, South America, to design the life of their dreams in a country of multicultural opportunities.

“I’m proud to be an American citizen,” Jaramillo shared after the ceremony. “I like this country — the opportunities are huge.”

She graduates from Fayetteville Technical Community College in December, and will use her Associate in Business Administration as the foundation for future studies.

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