60 soldiers become American citizens at ceremony in Afghanistan

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Sixty US service members hailing from such countries as Cuba, Ethiopia, the Philippines and Vietnam became American citizens on Monday during a ceremony at the main US base in Afghanistan. Maj. Gen. David Rodriguez, the commander of US forces in Afghanistan, congratulated the soldiers on their new citizenship and thanked them for the oath they took to defend the United States. "Today they will swear a second oath to the country they've already pledged to defend," Rodriguez said. "An oath of allegiance to the nation they are supporting as a member of her armed forces, deployed in harm's way, defending the citizens of the world from terrorism. "There is no better way to recognize the sacrifices they are making here than to grant them the right to call themselves US citizens," Rodriguez said at a ceremony at Bagram coinciding with Veterans Day.