The U.S. military needs more immigrant recruits; let’s start with Afghan refugees

My heart broke when Afghanistan fell to the Taliban last month. As a former military officer, I have traveled the country many times, commanded local troops and helped build roads and bridges. The Afghan allies who worked alongside American soldiers deserved better.

Your life is in great danger now. To give it up now is un-American. The acceptance of these allies and their families can strengthen our country in the years to come.

I know because it’s my story. I came to America from Nigeria in 1996. I spent two decades in the U.S. Army commanding troops and moving supplies across borders before starting a supply chain consultancy in Dallas. Today I am a successful entrepreneur and an effective manager for both seasoned and immigrant employees.

Refugees are more likely to start businesses than US-born citizens. They have higher retention rates and a higher median income than the American average after 25 years in the country, according to New American Economy.

Afghan refugees are also well placed to help our armed forces. Afghans who come here on special immigrant visas have worked as interpreters and in other key roles for the US military. You are bilingual, loyal to the United States, and have years of experience conducting high-stakes military operations. They are sensitive negotiators and are familiar with nation-building, economic development and responding to humanitarian crises. We will need them and others to maintain alliances in destabilized regions like the Middle East.

The fact is that our military needs more recruits, especially those with language skills. Forty-five languages ​​are considered to be of vital importance to our global operations, yet only a tiny percentage of US-born recruits can speak one of them.

Complicated languages ​​like Arabic or Chinese require native English speakers two to three years of intensive learning. According to a study published in the Small Wars Journal, the military spends an estimated $ 62,000 to $ 215,000 per service member teaching these skills. And even after all the time and money, the service agent may still lack the same language or cultural skills as a native speaker.

After 9/11, the Military Accessions Vital to the National Interest program was launched to address military deficits and enable non-citizens with critical language and health skills to serve. The program recruited approximately 10,400 immigrants, including approximately 900 dreamers, before it was discontinued in 2016. With 30,000 Afghan SIVs and their families likely to settle here, there is no better time for the Biden government to resume this program.

In my 20 year career in the military, I’ve seen how effective language and cultural fluency can be. In 2008 I was part of an anti-terrorist unit in Nigeria, a multi-faceted country with over 500 languages. I speak three Nigerian languages ​​and understand the cultural nuances of life there. This gave our unit a significant advantage and improved relationships on both sides.

Yes, we could use interpreters, but we lose a lot on translation – and service staff who speak the language show that we are fully invested. In Afghanistan the mission was usually very successful when someone spoke a native Dari or Farsi. When Afghans heard US military immigrants speak their language, it had a tremendous impact on them. Language is one of the most effective ways to overcome barriers.

Our global influence depends on our ability to understand language and culture. US Army Chief of Staff Gen. Raymond Odierno once said that “the best-equipped army in the world can still lose a war if it does not understand the people it is fighting.”

Our leaders must receive our Afghan allies with open arms and provide them – and all immigrants – with opportunities to serve in our armed forces. When I’m with my service colleagues, it doesn’t matter where we are from. We are all patriots fighting for the land we love. In the end, that’s all that counts.

Adebayo Adeleke is a retired U.S. Army major, supply chain consultant, and lecturer at Sam Houston State University. He wrote this column for the Dallas Morning News.

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