Sgt Campos and Sgt Berraz are on a mission but there's no patrol and no risk of ambush here. They are in Brooklyn, New York, giving away business cards to whoever will take them.

Theses two men are recruiters for the US Army. We are far from Baghdad but, if needed, Abdelkader Berraz can talk in Arabic to the young people he meets in the streets.

That’s one of the missions of the team in this very diverse neighborhood - to recruit immigrant soldiers able to speak different languages.

Back at the office, the sergeants have a strong selling point: enlist and you’ll get US citizenship.

Abdelkader knows what he is talking about. He was himself born in Morocco, but then came to the US to study and stayed. In 2005, he heard the army was looking for translators. Had he stayed a civilian, it would have taken years to get citizenship. Here, he says, “it took me 3 months, less than 3 months, I got my citizenship which is outstanding. I never thought I’d become an American soldier."

Every year, the US armed forces already recruit around 8,000 non citizens. Sgt Campos, who came from the Dominican Republic as a child, took that path and his experience helps him to better explain what the army is: "They don’t ask if you are a citizen... Everybody is treated the same. Everybody wears the same uniform, everybody believes in the same thing. And that’s to defend this country."

But up until now, only permanent residents, meaning green card holders, could enlist. That was not enough for the army. The Pentagon is therefore launching a new experimental programme in New York that will allow it to recruit 1,000 non-citizens this year. The enlistees still have to have two years of residence in the US and must be here legally.

When asked how his family, back in Morrocco, views his choice, Abdlekader gives a very pragmatic answer: "I send money every month, they are very happy."

But the Pentagon insists that it won’t allow illegal immigrants to enlist.