Not directly related but back in ‘03 I got sent to Roosevelt Roads Naval Station in Puerto Rico to straighten out an issue with navy jet engine components.
In engaging the sailor maintainers in the shop I quickly realized several were PR natives and could speak very little English if any and they needed a bilingual sailor to translate.
Being it was in an aircraft maintenance environment that just didn’t sound safe to me.
Apparently the standards for being an “American” in the US Military is a bit loose to say the least.
IIRC, being an ‘American’ in the US military isn’t even required..................
That’s crazy.
During Vietnam, there were entire Spanish speaking only platoons in the Marine Corps. Also, prior to WWII, there were Marine Corps platoons comprised entirely of Polish nationals.
Puerto Rico is a US territory. Some, but not all territory populations are US citizens. Puerto Rico has long been a territory where the population is considered to be US citizens, hence their right to enlist.
That said, foreign nationals may enlist under certain circumstances. There were many Filipinos in the Navy. They may not be officers. Only citizens may be officers.