can an American enlist in the British army?

[Treetopflyer]

that anyone who "serves in the armed forces of any foreign country as a commissioned or non-commissioned officer" will be subject to potential loss of citizenship. So, it's fine to be cannon fodder, but not an officer. Weird.

Not sure what you mean, it specifically says commissioned or non-commissioned officer. A commissioned officer is an officer.

 

[Baron Kurtz]

Well, it's quite straightforward. Why would a person who served a foreign country at a rank below officer be subject to different punishment than those who were officers (commissioned or not)? It seems a very strange line for the Dept. of State to throw in at the end of that paragraph.

 

[Treetopflyer]

Ok, you may have to spell this out for me. It doesn’t say there is different punishment. It says that both officers (commissioned officers) and enlisted (non-commissioned officers) are subject to loss of citizenship. I didn't read anywhere about different punishments.

Unless you mean, why would it be specific enough to actually mention both categories as opposed to just "as a military member"?

 

[Baron Kurtz]

Forgive the lengthy preamble, it explains my thinking.

Is every rank in the armed forces considered an officer, from the lowest ranking member of the new intake on up? I was under the impression that "officer" meant something more than simply "member of armed forces"; that it was a statement of certain ranks (maybe Sergeant on upwards), the attainment of an office generally in this context involving leadership. With the difference between commissioned (coming straight out of officer training school with an officer rank) and non-commissioned (rising from the non-officer ranks to attain an officer rank) being for whatever reason maintained. I can't imagine a 17-year old Private would ever be described as an officer, for example. Vintage British military clothing is often marked "officers" or "other ranks" on the labels, to distinguish between what officers and non-officers are allowed to wear.

Therefore, anyone who had not attained an "officer" rank would not be included in the statement on the Dept. of State website regarding commissioned officers and non-commissioned officers. The statement suggests that if you had served in a foreign army but had not attained officer rank, you would not be in danger of losing citizenship, but if you had attained officer rank then you might be in danger of losing citizenship.

bk