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Menacho escreveu:Afghanistán, fotos de foil272:

manuel.liste escreveu:

Menacho escreveu:Afghanistán, fotos de foil272:

manuel.liste escreveu:

Menacho escreveu:Afghanistán, fotos de foil272:

Spain turns to Latinos to fill military ranks

They're soldiers like any others, enduring the grind of military life and sometimes risking their own as peacekeepers in hot spots like Afghanistan. But these troops defend a flag that is not their own.


Spain has struggled to recruit soldiers since it abolished the draft in 2000 and created an all-professional army. At one point it even lowered the IQ threshold for enlistees, although it later raised it again, and eventually opened up the military to immigrants. Today, such foreigners _ most of them young Latin Americans _ make up nearly 7 percent of the military's 80,000-member force.

For these soldiers from mostly poor countries like Ecuador and Bolivia, the advantages are clear: a steady monthly salary of $1,300, which is not that bad by Spanish standards and rises significantly with overseas assignments, and the possibility of obtaining Spanish citizenship.

"Who would have thought I would end up taking part in missions with the Spanish army? It is odd, different. But it has opened up a lot of doors for me," said Dalton Rafael Jimenez, a 22-year-old Ecuadorean who has been in the Spanish army for nearly three years.

But the risks are just as evident. Spain has peacekeeping missions deployed in dangerous places that include Afghanistan, Lebanon, Kosovo and Congo. Of the last 10 fatalities suffered in such missions, four were immigrants.

And the presence of immigrants in the military also raises the question of whether newly affluent Spain is turning to those less privileged to do its dirty work.

In 2007, three Colombians serving with a Spanish contingent died in a terror attack in southern Lebanon and an Ecuadorean died in a mine explosion in Afghanistan.

Jimenez was in Afghanistan when his countryman was killed.
"It was a strange situation. You cannot get used to experiencing things like this. It was like a movie," said Jimenez, who belongs to an elite, 2,000-member paratrooper brigade called BRIPAC, of which nearly 500 members are immigrants.

Elsewhere, the United States lets immigrants with legal residency serve in its armed forces, and Britain makes soldiers of people from Ireland and Commonwealth countries. But otherwise, a program like Spain's is quite rare in Europe. And it is a reflection of how a once demographically homogenous country is sporting a new multicultural look.

The military is not open to all immigrants, but rather just ones from countries with which Spain has historical, cultural and linguistic links. That means most of the countries of Latin America and Equatorial Guinea, a former Spanish colony in West Africa.

These foreigners serve in all three branches of the military _ army, navy and air force _ and by nationality Ecuadoreans are the largest group, followed by Colombians and Bolivians.

Maj. Pedro Machuca, a spokesman for the paratrooper brigade, said that as Spain's immigrant population has surged from an insignificant proportion to more than 10 percent in about a decade, it is only natural for such people to serve in the military of their adopted home.
"I have always said that the army is nothing more than a reflection of society," he said.

And of the risks, Machuca insisted they are the same for immigrants and Spaniards alike because enlistment is voluntary.

Immigrants who want to enlist need to have residency papers in order, pass a physical examination and commit themselves for three years, a promise which can be extended to nine, Machuca said during a tour of the brigade's barracks on the outskirts of Madrid.

Because of Spain's economic woes and soaring unemployment, requests to join the military are up as much as 70 percent in some recruitment centers, and 20 percent of the petitions are from immigrants, the Defense Ministry says.

But for immigrants an even bigger incentive is the idea of obtaining Spanish nationality.

They are eligible for it after serving a second three-year stint. Any immigrant with legal residency can opt for this too, but doing so after serving in the army is quicker because the military puts the paperwork on a fast track.

Diana Hernandez Tabares, a 24-year-old Colombian, has been in the army for four years and done two stints in Afghanistan. "It is odd to serve under a flag that is not yours but you get used to it," she said.
"It is not easy, both being a woman and not being in your own country. But you win respect on your own and here we are all equals. Anyway, I have always liked this world and I would love to work as a police officer or something related to security," Tabares said.

Another Colombian, 26-year-old Christiam Herrera Gonzales, who was part of the unit that lost three soldiers in Lebanon last year, says he will stay in the military once he obtains Spanish citizenship.
"I don't regret anything at all, and I have had great experiences," he said. "I am here because I want to be."

AMRAAM escreveu:Aqui os dejo unas fotillos de Afghanistan,en donde entre otros materiales se pueden apreciar las nuevas ametralladoras MG-4.





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