As a boy in South Korea, Se Hoon Kim was taught that his country's freedom was made possible through the sacrifices made by U.S. servicemen who fought in the Korean War.
After moving to the United States and living for 15 years on a student visa, Kim enlisted in the Army Reserves as a way to repay the country he said has given him so much.
"Joining the military was the best option that I could actually choose,'' the 24-year-old Palisades Park resident said recently. “It's my turn to give back by serving."
But he and thousands of other recruits like him are now stuck – unable to fully serve their adopted country -- because of a new directive requiring additional security checks. They claim those checks aren’t being done and that enlistees are being trapped in basic training for months, unable to deploy or advance in their military careers. At the same time, a hold has been placed on U.S. citizenship applications submitted by these recruits, causing some to lose their legal status to remain in this country.
Kim has been attending monthly weekend drills since he joined the reserves in March 2016. He was supposed to ship out to basic combat training last September, but the military put him on hold. He said he was scheduled for a counterintelligence interview a few weeks ago, but it was abruptly canceled.
"Every one of us are ready to give our lives for this country, just that we need to be given a chance,” he said.
More:
http://www.northjersey.com/story/news/2017/06/11/new-jersey-immigrant-soldiers-path-citizenship-stalled/350266001/Congratulations to the US military for really raising the bar on "hurry up and wait."
