TF 34 Soldiers gain U.S. citizenship
Ecuador. Russia. Mexico. Three Task Force 34 Soldiers have left their roots to call the United States home.
These Soldiers were initiated as United States citizens on Nov. 4, at a naturalization ceremony held in the Water Palace at Camp Victory, Iraq.
One of these Soldiers was SGT Edison Cevallos, a D Co., 3rd Battalion, 159th Attack Reconnaissance Battalion technical inspector. A native of Ecuador, who now lives in Linden, N.J., being a citizen of the U.S. has been a life’s journey.
“Becoming a U.S. citizen was one of my goals in life,” SGT Cevallos said. “My family is very happy that it finally [has] become a reality.”
SGT Cevallos has lived in the U.S. for nearly 20 years, and serviced in the military for half of that time.
“I came to the U.S. in 1989. I was 23 years old,” SGT Cevallos said. “I traveled alone. It took me a couple of weeks to reach my destination.”
After becoming a legal resident of the U.S., SGT Cevallos joined the Army in 1999. Since being stationed in Germany, he has been deployed three times, twice to Iraq and once to Afghanistan. After serving the United States over the years, SGT Cevallos took the proper steps to gain his citizenship.
“To become a citizen, a Soldier has to initiate the process by filling out various forms, getting his or her fingerprints and photographs,” said SSG Artem Bunin, Task Force 34 Headquarters Paralegal.
Once the paperwork is approved, the applicants are ready for an interview.
“Interviews are held within days of the actual naturalization ceremony,” SSG Bunin said. “For the current ceremony, the interviews began on Oct. 30.”
The interview is conducted by a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services officer.
“He checked my paper work and asked me questions about it. [There were] also a couple of civic and American history questions,” SGT Cevallos said. “The interview lasted about 15 minutes.”
Also gaining their citizenship were SPC Jose Aguirre, E Co., 1st Battalion, 244th Assault Helicopter Battalion (AHB) Maintenance Specialist of Baton Rouge, La., originally from Mexico, and SPC Yuriy Skrubert, E Co. 1-244th AHB Maintenance Specialist from Russia, now living in Cape Coral, Fla.
At the Nov. 4 ceremony, each of the 186 Soldiers being granted their citizenship were given a certificate, American flag and coin by Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, Commanding General of the Multi-National Force in Iraq.
Spc Jodi Krause, 834 Aviation Support Battalion Unit Public Affairs Representative
8 Nov., 2008 |
