Lithuanians serving in the U.S. Army National Guard

Dear members of the Lithuanian Community, this January marked my 7th anniversary of moving to the United States together with my wife Inga and my daughter Vyte after winning a Green Card lottery (diversity Visa Program).

By that time I was a commissioned officer of the Lithuanian Army in my 15th year of service and I couldn’t have imagined my future challenge. It was even harder to foresee myself joining the Washington Army National Guard only after three months from arrival to the U.S.

The military service in a foreign country is not counted in the U.S. military and only U.S. citizens can become commissioned officers in the U.S. Armed Services. So I could not become an officer right after I joined and my Army career choices were very limited. I was accepted into military service as a non‐prior service recruit. I enlisted in the rank of specialist because of having a bachelor’s degree that I had been awarded upon graduation from the General Jonas Zemaitis Military Academy of Lithuania. After that, I shipped to basic training. Since then, I have been serving in Washington Army National Guard.

Soon after the completion of my basic training, I was deployed to Iraq and later to Ukraine where I had an interesting experience working with the Lithuanian military while being a U.S. Army soldier. Since then, I have graduated from the Army National Guard Officer Candidate School and I am planning to become commissioned as an officer “again.”

I believe that members of the community, their relatives or friends may have questions or concerns about joining the U.S. military, including the Washington Army National Guard. You are welcome to contact me and I will explain the current requirements and incentives for service in the Army National Guard.

My contact info:
Roman Gusev
Cell: (253) 533‐8929
Office: (253) 512‐8913