Do I have to be a US Citizen to be in AF Security Force?

Question

I'm currently a legal US resident. I've been in the US for 7 years, went to middle school and recently graduated highschool. I kind of wanted to go to the Navy and become a MA, but since it requires US Citizenship, I was wondering if the Air Force has the same requirements.

Planning to be a Police Officer

any suggestions would be appriciated! any!

Answer 1

I thought this was a forum for answering questions not bashing others answers. I am NOT a moron My father is a 30 year Chief and currently a GS-16. My husband is Active AF and our best friend is a recruiter for the AF. The AF will help you will your citizenship, they will help you get the materials you need to study. You cannot get a TSS clearance without being a citizen.

To the answers above me and those below me that called me terrible names: Anyone can answer a question. There is no prerequisite for answering questions. Anyone can answer. Since my husband is deployed the only time I get to myself is when my son is asleep. I like to come on Yahoo answers and spend a little theraputic time answering questions. I don't always have the right answer. No one always does. But you don't have to bash and call names like you are better than me!

Answer 2

Future FBI Guy has it right, first if your not an actual or naturalized US citizen you cannot get a security clearance, that is the bottom line. By the way as long as your a legal resident here....Ie have an I551(Green Card) you can join the service, any service and get your citizenship after your in quicker than if your not. The military however will not help you gget your citizenship before your in, whoever told you that is blowing smoke up your hind end.

Answer 3

The answer to your question is yes. Becuase you have to have a security clearance in order to sleep on the flightline and at the gates. No BS though, you do have to be a citizen to be in Security forces

Answer 4

yes. all security type jobs in all the Branches require a Clearance, and you must have Citizenship in order to be granted one.

Answer 5

No----you do NOT have to be a citizen to enlist---in any branch---there are plenty of non-citizens serving in uniform

and yes---it IS generally harder to get into the Air Force

Answer 6

Generally, they do not give security clearances to those not born in the US!

Mustang Sally, we have had plenty die in Iraq that were not US citizens!

You can join any service and not be a US citizen!

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Barbara A. Mikulski (D-Md.) took to the floor of the U.S. Senate today to introduce the Kendell Frederick Citizenship Assistance Act, which would make it easier for military service members to become U.S. citizens and demands better coordination among U.S. immigration and military officials. A companion bill will be introduced in the U.S. House by Congressman Elijah Cummings (D-Md.).

The legislation comes after the death of U.S. Army Spc. Kendell Frederick, 21, who was derailed by a number of bureaucratic errors in becoming a citizen. Spc. Frederick was killed on October 19, 2005, by a roadside bomb as he traveled in a convoy to a base to get fingerprinted. A citizen of Trinidad, Spc. Frederick tried for more than a year to become a U.S. citizen. His application was delayed several times due to miscommunication and misinformation from the U.S. government. He was granted U.S. citizenship a week after he died.

“Kendell wanted to become an American citizen, yet a series of bureaucratic screw-ups and unnecessary hurdles prevented that and cost him his life,” said Senator Mikulski. “Kendell Frederick’s death in Iraq shows clearly how broken our bureaucracy is and why it is so important to pass this bill.”

Senator Mikulski’s floor statement, as prepared, is below:

“Today, I rise to introduce legislation to fix a broken bureaucracy and help non-citizens who are serving in our military become citizens of the United States.

“There are over 40,000 non-U.S. citizens serving in the U.S. military today. Many want to become U.S. citizens but are caught up in red tape and paperwork, bureaucratic run-a-rounds, backlogs. That is wrong. Many of these young people are on the front lines in Iraq, Afghanistan and throughout the world, fighting terrorists. They are focused on fighting the enemy. They shouldn’t also have to fight the bureaucracy just to become a citizen of the country they are fighting for.

“My bill makes sure that it is easier and quicker for non-U.S. citizens serving in our military to become citizens. My bill is called the Kendell Frederick Citizenship Assistance Act of 2005. Why? Because Kendell Frederick’s death in Iraq shows clearly how broken our bureaucracy is and why it is so important to pass this bill.

“Kendell Frederick was an Army soldier from Maryland killed in Iraq on October 19, 2005. He was 21 years old. Kendell was killed by a roadside bomb on his way to get fingerprinted to become a U.S. citizen. But he was also killed by the botched bureaucracy of the U.S. government – by their incompetence, by their indifference, by their ineptitude. This is inexcusable.

http://mikulski.senate.gov/record.cfm?id=249736