Army CID keeps an eye on 09 Lima

Last night my friend Erick Stakelbeck reported that some soldiers at Fort Jackson, SC are under investigation for trying to poison the food supply at the base.  Chris Gray, the public affairs officer for the US Army's Criminal Investigative Division confirmed yesterday afternoon that these soldiers were a part of a fairly new Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) called "09 Lima."

Every soldier in the Army carries an MOS.  I was 11 Bravo, which is the designator for an infantryman.

The 09 Lima school is centered at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, and it's a special school that falls under the "Civilian Acquired Skills program"  This program is put in place for people who already have a skill or profession and want to do that job in the military.  X-ray technicians, firefighters, or even journalists like me could enlist under such a program.

What makes the 09 Lima program stand out is that it is specifically geared towards non-US citizens who bring to the table one very in-demand skill - the ability to speak fluent Arabic, Dari, Pashto, or some other needed language.  But these recruits also have a handicap - their grasp of the English language is not sufficient to allow them to make it through basic training.  So the 09 Lima program puts them through a sort of pre-basic basic, where they learn American culture, Army culture and work on their English language skills.  Once they finish the course, they are then able to enter normal basic training.  It' is a very small program, with something less than forty recruits in each class.

Here's the interesting part.  According to Lt. Col. Frank Demith, these recruits are offered an "expedited citizenship program, once they serve one day of honorable active duty." 

Military service has always been a way for non-citizen US residents to obtain citizenship, and thousands have performed honorably in service to our country before it actually became their country. 

though the Army must certainly have a thorough vetting process in place to try and avoid a scenario like that described by Erick Stakelbeck's recent blog, in the case of the 09 Lima program, the ability to receive "expedited American citizenship" must present a tempting opportunity for jihadi extremists with ulterior motives.

In this case, however, the military is obviously keeping a sharp eye on things to keep anything like that from happening.  Whatever happened with the "Fort Jackson Five" - and the details are very sketchy at this point - it appears that the Army's Criminal Investigation Division was on the ball.