An American Foreign Legion

Recently I read that the US military is easing its requirements for enlistees. Under certain circumstances they are relaxing their rules about accepting people with a history of mental illness or drug use. This is a response to the difficulty they are facing finding people to fill their ranks. It seems that the popularity of recreational drugs and the poor physical fitness of America's youth has made finding proper soldiers quite difficult.

Our country also has a problem with defining a path to citizenship for undocumented workers. By looking at these two "problems" as "opportunities" and mixing in a bit of European history I believe our country can craft an elegant solution to both of these issues.

We simply have to form an Americanized version of the French Foreign Legion. We would recruit young men and women who want to become American citizens. They would enlist in the American Foreign Legion for a set period of time, say four to seven years. During this time they would be given classes in English and American values. They would also prove their dedication to becoming a good US citizen. At the end of their first "hitch" in the legion, they would be automatically become US citizens.

I see this as a Win/Win. America gets some new citizens who are willing to fight for a right to be part of the greatest military in the world and red blooded Americans. The young men and women would never have to face questions about their value to the US and their commitment to our values.