VOA慢速英语--美国军队拥有多样化国籍战士

America’s Most Diverse Fighting Force Celebrates Its Differences

For much of U.S. history, the American military fighting force was mostly white and male. But today, the force is as diverse as the country it serves to protect.

Fort Bragg in the state of North Carolina is home to the "All-American" 82nd Airborne. It calls itself the most diverse division in the United States. And the unit’s soldiers say that, despite racial problems within the country, its values remain unchanged.

Lieutenant¹ Colonel Joe Buccino is communications director for the 82nd Airborne. He says the unit was the “first racially integrated unit in the U.S. Department of Defense³.” It was also the first division to have woman infantry⁴ commanders, and the first to be organized with people from all over the country.

The base has paratroopers from all 50 states, with more than 120 nationalities.

Private First Class Irvin Andrean grew up in Indonesia before moving to the eastern U.S. state of Pennsylvania as a teenager. He joined the Army as a mechanic. He says he has never felt out of place.

"When I first got here, they all welcomed me," Andrean said. "Like, they never treated me differently."

Sergeant⁵ Selene Uribe grew up in the United States, but English was not her first language. She says joining the U.S. Army required making some changes.

"Coming from a very small town, which is Richgrove, California, 99.9 percent Hispanic, it was a culture shock," she said.

Uribe and others in the unit say they welcome the differences within their division. They also say they have grown from working with people with different life experiences.

Specialist Vince Vest said, "I've met some very amazing people and it's opened my eyes a lot. And I've gained a lot of wisdom through those people, and I've made lifelong friends.”

Out in the civilian⁶ world, the United States is in the middle of a political debate over immigration and racism⁷. Some of the debate has been fueled by controversial remarks made by President Trump⁸.

The soldiers at Fort Bragg say they have not experienced racial discrimination in the military. Yet Master Sergeant Jose Colon² worries about the day he retires and returns to non-military life.

"I don't see any camaraderie⁹ in the civilian world coming," he said.

Colon says the 82nd, and the whole U.S. Army, has an established a code of conduct that does not permit racism.

"You feel safe in some aspects by being in the military because you have these rules that help protect you and make it equal," he said. "That's why I love it. That's kind of the reason why I joined."

As the political debate over immigration continues, the Army continues to welcome recruits from all over the world.

Staff Sergeant Alfred Kollie fled Liberia and lived most of his life in a Ghana refugee camp. He now leads a 20-soldier fueling team for the 82nd Airborne.

Kollie said, "As a child in Africa, seeing all the chaos¹⁰ and death and destruction, I felt myself that I owe the world to be part of something good and not something evil."

I’m Ashley Thompson.

Words in This Story

diverse - adj. different from each other

despite - preposition. without being prevented by (something) — used to say that something happens or is true even though there is something that might prevent it from happening or being true

integrate - v. to end a policy that keeps people of different races apart in (a place, such as a school

infantry- n. the part of an army that has soldiers who fight on foot

paratrooper- n. a member of a group of soldiers who are trained to jump out of airplanes using a parachute

teenager - n. someone who is between 13 and 19 years old

wisdom- n. knowledge that is gained by having many experiences in life

controversial- adj. relating to or causing much discussion, disagreement, or argument

camaraderie- n. a feeling of good friendship among the people in a group

1 lieutenant   

n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员

参考例句：

• He was promoted to be a lieutenant in the army.他被提升为陆军中尉。
• He prevailed on the lieutenant to send in a short note.他说动那个副官，递上了一张简短的便条进去。

2 colon   

n.冒号，结肠，直肠

参考例句：

• Here,too,the colon must be followed by a dash.这里也是一样，应当在冒号后加破折号。
• The colon is the locus of a large concentration of bacteria.结肠是大浓度的细菌所在地。

3 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

4 infantry   

n.[总称]步兵(部队)

参考例句：

• The infantry were equipped with flame throwers.步兵都装备有喷火器。
• We have less infantry than the enemy.我们的步兵比敌人少。

5 sergeant   

n.警官，中士

参考例句：

• His elder brother is a sergeant.他哥哥是个警官。
• How many stripes are there on the sleeve of a sergeant?陆军中士的袖子上有多少条纹？

6 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

7 racism   

n.民族主义；种族歧视(意识)

参考例句：

• He said that racism is endemic in this country.他说种族主义在该国很普遍。
• Racism causes political instability and violence.种族主义道致政治动荡和暴力事件。

8 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

9 camaraderie   

n.同志之爱，友情

参考例句：

• The camaraderie among fellow employees made the tedious work just bearable.同事之间的情谊使枯燥乏味的工作变得还能忍受。
• Some bosses are formal and have occasional interactions,while others prefer continual camaraderie.有些老板很刻板，偶尔才和下属互动一下；有些则喜欢和下属打成一片。

10 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。